Color Basics: Look to nature for design inspiration

Exotic: Bedroom photo from House Beautiful.Color is a decorator’s most powerful tool.

It has the power to change everything about a home.  Like magic.  It is the first thing we notice. The wrong color sends us in the other direction  and the right color draws us in.  Color turns a dull space into something exciting.  It can soften a room. But picking just the right color can be a challenge.

We are not talking about selecting paint colors (although that is part of it).  It is  about the emotional aspects of color and deciding what you like and how to achieve a feeling or an emotion in a room or in your entire home.  It is what happens before you begin to pick out paint colors.

When I do a color consultation for a client, I find that most are confused about where to begin the exciting task of picking out color.  Since it is about the client’s home and not mine, what  is a decorator to do!?

First, I ask how they want the room to feel.Calm: Photo from House Beautiful.  

I start with a tour of the home to see what colors jump out.  If the home is totally neutral and the client wants to add color, I go into the closets and look at clothing, check the walls for artwork, cabinets for pottery and dishes.   Anything to give me an idea of what colors the client likes. 

If that fails, we look at magazines or get in the car and head to a market (yes, a market!) or museum or park.  We may walk through a hotel lobby...to determine what speaks to us.  And how we want the home to feel.   

For my own home and for my clients, I am constantly taking pictures of vignettes of color:  flowers, pots around a pool, a setting in a park,  that draw me in and speak to me.  Inspires me.  This helps me to decide what mood I want to create: Playful. Whimsical.  Elegant.  Exotic. Cozy.  Sexy. Exciting.  A spring garden.  Summer.  Nature-inspired.

Take a look at the vibrant colors in these photos from Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle and see what speaks to you.  My rule:  Stick close to nature and you cannot go wrong with color!  

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