Find Your Color

I took my 10 year old daughter shopping today and as we were looking at all the clothes, I realized that I was consistently drawn to certain colors... mostly the blues and greens.  Now, I don't really have a lot of blues and greens in my closet, but for some reason those colors kept speaking to me today.  Color is a funny thing... from day to day we are drawn to different colors for different reasons.  Blues and greens are very serene, calming colors which might explain the fact that I was pretty relaxed and calm today while shopping with my daughter.  If I had also been shopping with my 7 year old and 5 year old, chances are I would have been drawn to the reds and oranges.  Bright colors that shout, "Here I am, I'm not relaxed one little bit!"

Choosing colors for your home is very similar to choosing colors in your wardrobe.  You want what makes you feel happy, good, attractive.  Take my bedroom, for instance.  I love the beach.  My dream house would be a shabby chic style cottage on the beach.  If I could pick anywhere to go on vacation, it would be the beach.  I feel comfortable, relaxed and happy in the warm sand listening to the crashing waves.  It's my heaven.  So when I was ready to get rid of the bright pumpkin walls of my bedroom, I knew I had to bring some of the beach in.

I chose a very calm and soothing light blue for the walls and a sandy colored berber carpet.  All the furniture we already had was wood, but a very eclectic mix of styles: knotty pine dresser, dark glossy wood antique vanity, vintage and rustic sewing machine table that we use as a nightstand.  And then, we were lucky to find a shabby style (but newly built) bookshelf with glass doors that might or might not be old windowpanes.  Our photos over the bed (of our children, of course) are framed in dark natural wood frames that resemble old driftwood.  It's my dream bedroom.

Before

After

If you are stuck deciding on a style or color scheme, think of those things that make you feel good.  It's a really good start.