“The best color in the whole world is the one that
looks good on you.”
~ Coco Chanel ~
Color has the ability to make us feel within us deep rooted emotions that we are not even aware of many times. It can be subjective to each individual person, but like everything I teach, there is a level of objectivity to the topic. As a result, color can help us communicate who we are and how we want our home to feel.
The key to choosing paint colors for our exterior and interior walls is to stay focused. Now, with all of the paint color choices out there for our walls, how do we stay focused? The answer is that we pull together the attributes from the feeling we want to create in our home along with those that represent our personality traits, and only then do we choose our paint colors. Choosing paint colors with this focus in mind will have us creating a harmonious color palette that communicates us.
Again, we can like a lot of paint colors, but it doesn’t mean they should all go in our homes. We have to understand the “why” and our reasoning behind them. Then we will be happy with them long term and finally feel home.
A jarring feeling in a home occurs when we choose colors from multiple feelings and don’t understand the different meanings that they can communicate. This is when we create a lack of harmony and when the negative elements of a color will be communicated in our homes.
Focusing on the colors in our major feeling and that represent our personality traits will create harmony naturally. It also will communicate the positive aspects of the feeling and the individual color. It ultimately makes choosing paint colors for our walls easier.
Please remember that every color is represented in each of the 4 feelings. It is about choosing colors that work within our feeling and picking the right tones. As long as we focus on that feeling we will find that the colors will work together.
On a side note, the feeling that you discovered you want to create in your home, after going though the Finally Feel Home program, will automatically communicate your main personality traits. They naturally go hand in hand.
Finally Feel Home Tip:
We need to view the exterior “walls” and interior walls of our home as a whole vs. separate spaces. When we have this mindset we automatically create a consistent feeling from the moment we lay eyes on our home. We will open our front door and be confronted with a harmonious feeling.
A Reminder of the Different Feeling Colors
If your feeling is the gentle side of fun you will be looking for light and soft colors. They will have a warmer undertone to them. If you gravitate towards the creative side of fun the colors will be colorful, bright, and vivid with a warm undertone as well.
If you are the simple or elegant side of timeless you will be on the search for cool, delicate, and muted colors that can have a touch of grey in them. If you are drawn to the romantic side of timeless, colors will be worn, faded, almost sun bleached, and muted as well.
The colors of the warm side of welcoming are warm, intense, and muted. They are the warmer colors in nature that are noted towards the beginning of the autumn season. The relaxed side of welcoming are represented by the lighter colors in nature that are seen towards the end of the autumn season. Both sides are muted and have a warmer undertone.
The colors of both the dramatic and understated side of the distinctive feeling can be strong and intense. The dramatic side can also feel rich while the understated side can feel minimal. They are noticeable in different ways, and tend to have a cooler undertone to them.
Before You Get Started…
I want to stress the importance of understanding that there are no right or wrong paint colors. You are in the driver’s seat. The key is to focus on your major feeling and personality traits. Then choose the right tone of a color that will help best communicate that feeling and that will best represent you and your home.
How To…
- Revisit your workbook from the “Finally Feel Home” program and remind yourself:
- What words best describe your personality?
- What did my ideal day feel like in the paint the picture exercise?
- What were my key values in my blueprint once I connected the dots in the exercises?
- What is the major feeling you discovered for your home?
As with every decision you make for your home, keep your major feeling at the forefront when thinking about colors for your walls. This is what will keep you focused, making the right decisions, and create a feeling in your home.
Please complete the first two “How To” steps in Part 1 of this guide.
Part 2 will be headed your way soon.