Inspired by Color

There are hundreds, if not thousands of books and articles that focus on the emotional and mental impact colors make in our everyday lives. Certain colors provide for happiness and energy while others are more calming or saddening but it all depends on how you use them and in what spaces. I have seen people rock a dark navy or black space or room even though those colors are defined as cold, hard, dark, etc. I commend anyone who can be fearless with bold colors.

Colors are very inspiring! When something catches our eye, it is normally the color that we are drawn too first. I take random photos of anything and everything if the color strikes me and I find it interesting, beautiful or inspiring. I will print out the photos or save them and refer back to them when I need ideas for paints or home décor.

Colors can be organized and categorized in so many ways. The list below is my personal understanding of color groups on a basic level. Other’s might argue something different and that is fine. This list can be tremendously expanded as well.

Calming colors: blues, light purples, light greens, light shades of soft colors
Energized colors: red, yellow, orange, bright pink
Naturals: greys, white, beige, browns,
Dark: black, deep browns, deep navy, deep purple
Rich: champagne, purple, gold, maroon, deep shades of pink

My challenge, I don’t always feel very brave about new colors, or pops of color. Or that I determine to by personal decorating style or taste is faddish in regards to colors. I love white, grey and black and I really shouldn’t care if anyone thinks I am faddish. I love pinks, greens and blues as well but I am not going to paint my living pink or blue but I am going to use blue accents. All spaces serve different functions and purpose due to that fact, I will save my pink colors for our bedroom or my office. Those are truly our/my spaces.

Colors depends on the purpose or the function of the space. For example, a master bedroom is traditionally space that is defined as calming, restful, peaceful, and quite. However, in your home, it may be a space filled with kids, laughter, catch-all of work items, etc. As child, when growing-up, we did not enter my parents’ room very often. That was “their” space which was completely understandable in a very small house filled with kids.

What colors do you remember from your childhood room or house? Growing-up in the 80’s, my childhood home was filled with browns (a lot of shades of brown), my parent’s room was light blue while my bedroom, which I shared with my sister, was wallpapered. The wallpaper was mostly of white, pink, blue little children at play, pink carpet and miss-match furniture. When my parent’s built a new home when I was 16, I wanted far away from pink and white (and brown). Each of us got to “pick” out room colors but with approval from my mom. My room was teal and white. My brother’s room was Purdue colors and my sisters (who shared a room for 1 year till I moved out for college) didn’t get much of say-so they ended up with pink (which both of them hated).

As I think back to my room, it was a space that I loved, it was all mine. I found privacy, calmness and pride in my room that I helped to decorate. I truly loved coming home to my bedroom. But I can see that if you don’t like your room or space, hate the color, organization, furniture, etc. that space becomes almost lifeless and life-sucking. You hate entering that room. How many of us have that one room or many rooms like that? We just shut the door. Don’t want to look in there, don’t want to confront it. That dislike of a space starts with purpose/function and then color. Which all of these can be changed.

Think about the following questions:

What rooms do you really hate or dislike in your home?
What is it about them that you really hate?
What can you change about this space?
What do you want to do with this space? What do you need in your home? Do you need playroom, storage, sewing space, etc.?

What is holding you back from tackling that space? (time, money, need help with colors?) Determine if all or any of the above apply and start planning. It is money, then start saving back $10 a week. Or if it is time, look into your calendar and mark off two days to work on that space. No one is going to give you time, you have to take it for yourself.

Start collecting color paint swatches each time you go to hardware store and put them where you will see them every day. Save pictures from magazines and pins from Pinterest. Create a board of inspiration. I promise if you start with color, you will be inspired to keep collecting more colors and images. To transform that room or space, this is your first step, find your rainbow of colors (even if white and grey) and start there. Take pictures, purchase some color books, keep collecting those pins on Pinterest and save magazine pictures or photos. Anything that helps inspire your color journey. Below are are my photos and color inspiration.