Color Stories for the Home
Having strong-willed children has been such gift, most days anyway. They challenge me more than life itself, but I know they’ll grow up and make some fantastic humans. Part of raising strong-willed children is allowing them to make their own choices, even if it means they have to learn the hard way - which they do 99% of the time. A little reverse psychology helps too. You’ve got to make them feel like they’re making the decision that best suits them. For instance, my toddler loves to dress himself, but if it were up to him, he would have worn his fire truck pajama bottoms and his raincoat as a top to church. So, I narrow down the options to 2 or 3 outfit selections that are a bit more …occasion-appropriate. It’s a win-win for both of us.
Defining a color story for your home is no different. Actually, making any selection for your home is no different. Learning to appreciate all the styles while narrowing down your options will keep you on track and prevent a color story that doesn’t match any better than fire truck pajamas paints and a dinosaur raincoat.
Here’s three approaches you can take to easily and quickly define a color palette for your home…
01. // An Organic Approach
Consider using the environment around you to form a color palette. If you take a stroll down the street and really pay close attention to the colors of the trees, pathways, and architecture, you’ll be able to take note of what your eye stops to linger over. Perhaps the rocks down the river’s path are full of earthy tones. Maybe the browns and grays of the woods bring you peace. Color is all around us if we look closely enough.
02. // A Closet Approach
If you’re not sure what colors you’re attracted to, take a look through your closet. The colors you buy for the apparel you wear is a finite indicator of the colors you’d likely want to see on a daily basis throughout your home. Maybe you notice you wear many shades of blue. Perhaps you wear lots of warm colors with pops of fun statement pieces in your jewelry or accessories. These same aesthetic combinations can be applied to a color palette throughout your home. The colors you look good in are the colors you’re going to feel good in when it comes to your space.
A Quick Note:
I love to share. …words and house favorites and stories. This post may contain some of my favorite things - some of those things may contain affiliate links. This just means that if you end up purchasing anything through me, I might receive a little kick-back.
What I share is very intentional and only items I’ve allowed to enter my own home - tried and true.
03. // An Artistic Approach
Pulling and highlighting particular colors from a work of art that may be displayed in your home is a great way to create a common theme throughout your space that subtly or boldly compliments the original source of color inspiration. Paintings have 1000s of color options within a single stroke and can easily provide a creative approach to your home’s palette. A wallpaper’s design is always a great place to pull color from as well. Color is such a story teller and can be projected in so many ways.
Color is easily one of the most vital decision-making factors in how your home is perceived and enjoyed. Immense studies have been done to learn how color alters our energies and moods. Perhaps this is why color is often a timid topic that brings a home owner decision paralysis when it comes to making those decisions. For some, a neutral palette is the dominating sweet spot where for others, a defined color palette full of lots of vibrant colors is the main color inspiration. Color is your own story!
For mixing colors, take a split approach. For example, perhaps you have 70-80% of your palette filled with your main color scheme. Then your pops of color come in with the remaining 20-30% of your palette. You can consider color roles as “front stage” and “back stage” parts in the play. Both are equally important, just used differently.
But if you can narrow down the tactics to define a color palette, that can at least be step one. I hope the approaches above help you do just that!
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by Hope Johnson | inspired my nostalgia and comfort
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