Identify and Accept Your Colors

Almost everyone has an affinity for a certain group of colors which often starts way before interiors are part of our jargon.  Certain colors grab our attention like a magnet.  It doesn’t matter what the color is on, our eye seeks out these certain colors on auto-pilot.  When trying to come up with an interior color palette for your home it helps to identify your personal colors, we’ll call them color magnets. Successful interior designers understand color resonates with people for different reasons.  We have to identify a client’s personal color magnets to create a color scheme they will enjoy for years.

You can do this by determining your personal color magnets.  Identify what colors always pull you in.  Anything looks better to you in these colors.  There are trendy colors which capture your attention too, but these come and go.  Trendy colors bring on a smile and a second look, but they don’t stir something in your soul.  True color magnets are with you for years.

Photo by Ami Woods

My color is blue.  It comes from my hometown of Harbor Springs in Northern Michigan.  I grew up gazing at the crisp deep blues of Lake Michigan.

One doesn’t need hours of introspection or days on the couch of your local shrink, but accepting what your personal colors magnets are can save you from forcing a color scheme which looks good in a magazine and thousands of dollars later, wonder why you hate the room.  Include your color magnets in your home to make it personal and comfortable.Metal panel siding on a section of the existing house in, what else, “Lisa Blue” installed by a Siding Contractor. Sofa detail.The blue kitchen.  I’ve had some clear blue in every kitchen I’ve had.  Sometimes it was just as an accent.

The old Twitter photo… of course the cars are blue too.  Am I obsessed with blue?  No, but I understand it is a color I am inherently drawn to so I don’t fight it.  I have no blue rooms in my home other than a hallway or the kitchen.  However, there is a spec of blue – not always noticeable in every room.

If you identify your connection to a particular color and accept it, this will help to create a lasting and successful color palette for home interiors.

What are your color magnets?