Colour Exercises

Color Exercise 1-a

In our first exercise (which is actually a series of exercises) you will
hopefully discover what your favorite colors truly are!

• First go to your closet. What is the predominate color of your clothes and accessories? By color, I mean all the ranges of colors - their shades and tints. If you notice that you have quite a bit of red ties or scarf's, are they warm red (with touches of orange) or are they a cool red (with undertones of blue)? Orange may include peach, coral, terra cotta, burnt sienna or vivid pure orange. If you tend to wear a lot of blue because it looks great on you, then why not paint a room the same color and you will always be surrounded by a color that compliments your skintone?

• Now walk around your house, look around at your home decor, and determine which room is your favorite, the room that just makes you feel good when you are in it. Does it have your favorite colors in it? Chances are, it does. If not, what colors are in it?

• The next step is to go to a paint or home improvement store where they have free paint chips on display. Quickly glance over all the paint chips and without thinking about whether a color is just too dark for a room or not, grab the colors that you are drawn to. Once you get them home, lay them out and see if you can identify colors that you found in your closet. Do you see a reoccurring color? If so, I think you have found one of your best colors! 

• Can you incorporate these colors into your homes color scheme? Or have you already? 

The reason that clothes and accessories are a wonderful key to finding your true colors is because we are more daring with clothes than we are with furniture and finishes. When spending $2,000 on a sofa, we are more tempted to "play it safe" and go with a familiar color than we are to branch out into a new territory or color. With a shirt, which is a much smaller investment, it is an instant "I love that color!" and we purchase it. With carpet and furnishings, we are afraid to trust our inner voice because we know it is a large investment and one we will have to live with for years. Everyone does that, it is human nature. However, if this exercise helps you determine your absolute favorite colors, then you will be more confident to purchase them and use them in your home.

Color Exercise 1-b

• Grab a notebook and start at the front door of your house, just as a guest or delivery person would. Look around…