Dispelling color myths & 6 steps to getting confident with color
Alright friends, we’re three weeks into this deep dive on All Things Color, and I think it’s time to tackle one of the biggest misconceptions about color that is out there.
Alright friends, we’re three weeks into this deep dive on All Things Color, and I think it’s time to tackle one of the biggest misconceptions about color that is out there.
If I had a penny for every time I heard someone say that they don’t ‘like’ or don’t ‘do’ color; that color just isn’t ‘them’, then I’d be rich! Although also, not. Because, pennies.
The point is, that so many of you feel discomfort or unease around color, that the easiest thing to do is to just avoid it all together. You find yourself sticking to a neutral palette and following color trends even if you don’t really like them because you lack confidence with color and quite frankly, it’s nerve racking choosing colors for your home. And I 100% get that. I do!
Because, we’ve been led to believe that liking, wanting, pursuing and enjoying color = sparkly rainbow unicorn color all over your walls, furniture, ceilings and floors.
But let me tell you this:
Color and colorful are not the same thing.
Let me say it again.
Color and colorful are not the same thing. They are not interchangeable.
Liking color doesn’t have to mean: Bold! Bright! Loud! Striking! And whilst it absolutely can mean those things, it can also mean: Quiet. Gentle. Thoughtful. Considered. Think Farrow and Ball’s Setting Plaster
or Clare Paint’s Current Mood
Injecting color into your home can be as simple as painting your trim a color other than white, or going completely monochromatic.
Paint and Paper Library, London
I want you to feel deeply comfortable with color. I want to help you find ways to understand what color means for you, so you can confidently embrace it when choosing it for your homes and spaces.
So, how do you get comfortable with color? And how do you start embracing color if it’s not something you’ve ever done before?
Like pretty much anything when you are starting anew, you need to know the lay of the land. You need to learn what you like and what you don’t like, and in order to do that, you need to be regularly exposing yourself to the possibilities.
Just knowing where to start can often be the most difficult part of the process, so I’ve put together a set of 6 easy, actionable steps that you can take to help kick off your color-discovery journey.
Visit a shop that sells an array of physical interior design magazines. Barnes and Noble would be a great place to start but many libraries have a good selection too. Give yourself a good chunk of time and just start flicking through the pages of all the different mags. They’ll range from high end to more accessible in terms of both price and style.
Buy the magazine or magazines you like most and start bookmarking the things you like. Cut them out and make a mood board or a file, or simply draw a circle around them or dog-ear the page for future reference. Or make copies of pages you like if you’re at a library (I don’t think they’d take too kindly to you defacing their pages!)
Subscribe to an interiors magazine so that inspiration is coming at you on the regular. Physical copies are my fave, but many are digital only now, so it’s worth looking for those too. There are fantastic deals to be had. Take a look at Discount Mags as a starting point.
Check out some interiors books from the library. Or just sit in the library and paw through them. Some favorites include:
Every Room Should Sing - Beata Heuman
Atlas of Interior design - Phaidon
Vogue Living - Houses, Gardens, People - Hamish Bowles
The newly released How To Live With Objects and Aphrochic are on my Wish list.
Follow some super interiors accounts on Instagram and follow their blogs for more in depth conversations around the work they do. Some of my most enjoyable follows are:
Visit second hand shops, thrift stores and vintage marketplaces for inspiration. They are also fantastic places to shop for colorful pieces for your home.
With all of the above, you need to be asking yourself:
What are you drawn to?
What is it that gets you swooning the most?
Pay attention to what it is about that particular magazine/book/blog/instagram post that is inspiring for you. Is it a couple of colors working together in one particular room? Is it the minimal style of the homes featured? Or the art on the walls of a more maximalist home? Whatever it is, make a mental note. Better yet, make an *actual* note.
As you do this, you’ll find that you’re slowly building your personal color profile. And now you have a foundation on which to base your choices. Hooray!
From there:
Test color out. Be brave and put yourself out there. Start small: Wear a different color or put on lipstick in a different shade. Buy a colored lamp base, a few scatter cushions for your couch, a planter for an open shelf.
Because the more you try and test different colors and color combos out, the more you’ll be able to recognize those that you immediately feel comfortable with, and those that you don’t.
(…and also those colors that you kinda like but are not 100% sure about. I’m going to go ahead and say that those colors probably aren’t for you).
Most of all, remember:
This should be a playful, enjoyable endeavor. A discovery of self. Not a torturous, painful experience where you throw in the towel half way through because the task is too daunting and overwhelming. So make it manageable. Bitesize pieces. Take it slow and expect it to take time.
And…
Iffffff you’d like to dig deeper on this, or tackle any other color-related questions, then stay tuned because very soon I’ll be offering Color Chats; individual calls with me where we can talk through questions around color that are specific to your home. You’ll be able to book a time with me directly, here on the website and we can chat through all the things! More coming very soon!
Or!
You can book a full service color consultation with me, right here with my Color Sessions service. Not sure what’s a Color Session entails or whether it’s right for you? No problem, just send me a note! I’d love to chat more about how I can help you.