How to Use Color in Your Home to Get What You Want

Okay, maybe color won’t get you what you want.  BUT, maybe it will!  Who’s to say?  If you’re feeling positive about life because you woke up in a room with colors that make you happy, maybe you’ll get the job you wanted.  I’m going to gush about color again this week because I’m still feeling excited about color and pattern.

A month ago I painted our old, sun-bleached garage side door a pale coral color and absolutely loved it.  In the same breath I took a wrought-iron glider that came with the house and spray painted it baby blue and now I am “Color Laura” and please address me as such.  I am in the process of painting an old thrift store dresser that we have in our entry a cheerful pink and I think I may need to stop there and evaluate my situation.

Here are some colorful interiors that have charmed me.  I need color fireworks in my interiors these days.  All the gorgeous, perfect minimalism from the last few years in design is hard on the maximalist in me.  I have some tips on how you can incorporate color in your home at the end of this post!

I’m still not in love with dark rooms (in general and at this moment), and after thinking a little bit about living with color in the home I have a strategy to employ.

1. Wrap the room in fairly pale wall color – white, pale blue, pale lilac, pale pink – you get the picture
2. Anchor the room with some medium tones of color.  If this is a living room, maybe it’s your sofa or your rug.  If it’s a kitchen, it could be your perimeter cabinets or your island.
3. Add a few bursts of a bright, “look at me” color.  Hot pinks, bright greens, bold yellows, crisp, clear red, strong oranges, baby blue – think clear, clean, turn your head color.  Resist the accent wall!  Unfortunately, unless it’s in a nook (or behind a pool), it can make your home look like a model home.  Another easy way to make this look boring and model-homey is to use the exact same color in multiple places in the room.  The exact shade of blue used over and over is boring to the eye.  If you like the idea of multiple spots of blue, try adjusting the shade of blue on your pillows, art, chair – resist the urge to replicate that same color.  Even a single lamp in a bold color can change up the feeling in a room.

Go forth, have fun with color and report back to me!!!