| Phobias can get pretty strange.Take ‘antidaephobia’ for instance – the fear that somewhere, somehow, a duck is watching you… Who are these people? |
| So tell me, what’s with all these WHITE WALLS? |
Few would name their favourite colours as white, beige, grey or black, yet often their closets and home are filled with these bland, neutral tones. |
| In North America, there seems to be a cultural bias against colour, dismissing it as child-like and frivolous – inconsiderate even, maybe even falling into degeneracy, depravity, disorientation, and excess – instead prizing neutral hues as a mark of urbane coolness and rational mature taste. |
| Scroll through Instagram feeds, flip through interior design magazines, Pinterest uploads…and all you see are interiors filled with white walls. O.K., sometimes they’re grey. And once in a while – greige. When the designers for these rooms are questioned as to how to make white rooms more interesting, they respond by saying that you just need to add some texture and a pop of colour – like a cushion. I’d give up sarcasm, but that would leave me with interpretive dance as my only means of communication. (There is satisfaction in accurately naming the thing that torments you.) |
| You probably also now want to know my position on trans fats. |
| “I’m not afraid of colour, but I’m afraid of the wrong colour.”, say people everywhere. |
| “What if I get that chartreuse leather sofa I love and hate it in five years? I better go for black.” “What if that shade of red is too much in that room? Beige is safer.” “What if I tile my backsplash in cobalt blue, and it hurts the resale value?” |
| So afraid of making a mistake, they do nothing. But that in itself could be a mistake. A lack of colour makes us feel uneasy, without even realizing why. A colourless space affects our mood negatively, our ability to concentrate, our productivity, as well as the inability to remember the name of the heart-shaped island off the coast of Croatia, between Zadar and Pasman. (It’s Love Island.) |
Instead of giving into these fears, maybe we should just step back and say, “It’s okay to go a little bit nuts – or to put it in gentler terms, fascinatingly unbalanced – to have fun with this whole thing, and to start injecting some colour into my life.”
Not that some of you don’t already have enough colour in your lives – and I don’t mean the walls and furnishings.
Our lives aren’t pure and perfect, and our homes don’t have to be either.
Hold out for perfect and you end up holding nothing.
Many believe that working with neutrals is easier than working with colour, that they are less daunting and easier to play with and interchange.
They feel that they must be easy to work with because neutrals dominate nature – no, I don’t think so. I think if you’ve actually read what quantum physics has to say about nature as I have – well, I read an email from someone who’d read it…
Neutrals actually can be more difficult to work with than colour as there are different tones in each neutral – greys, browns, blues, greens, yellows, pinks, purples, etc., and combinations thereof.
| So, what rooms or areas are best for experimenting with colour? Dining rooms painted a deep colour, such as claret or aubergine and illuminated by dimmed lighting and candlelight, makes the room feel classier and cosier. Powder bathrooms can be treated as amped up little gems, painted or wallpapered in crisp, energetic colours. The front entry painted in a high-octane hue can be transformed from okay to extraordinary. |
So for all you chromophobiacs who are still reticent to take on the challenge of painting a dynamic colour on your wall, purchasing a brightly coloured sofa, or installing a vividly patterned floor, there are always these tried and true ways to bring colour into your life and home. Fresh flowers and plant pots Lamps and lampshades Textiles such as walls hangings, quilts, toss cushions, throws, and area rugs Artwork, photos and decorative items such as vases and baskets Botanicals and plants Open storage showing off coloured dinnerware A side chair |
So what are the top 3 decorating tips I give to someone who is afraid of colour?
1. Snap out of it.
2. Start small – try adding colourful cushions on your sofa and if you are really daring, a throw.
3. Hire a designer.
Our lives aren’t pure and perfect, and our homes don’t have to be either.
Hold out for perfect and you end up holding nothing.
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