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Don’t Be Afraid of Color
By Sue Lyn, on October 27th, 2005
My husband, Mark, has been the single biggest influence on my decorating style. In fact I don’t know if I can even call it my style as much as our style. He’s always been as much a part of any decisions about furniture or colors as I have. Before I met him I liked many things, but I don’t know if I could have said I had a real style that I gravitated towards. I always liked bright colors and simple domestic items. I collected vintage tablecloths and antique kitchen tools, but didn’t have the money for very much more. Plus, how much can one really indulge oneself when living in a series of short-term apartment leases? Serendipitously, Mark and I met and got engaged at the time Mark was moving into the first house he’d ever bought. It was a blank slate, and we worked our way through the decorating process together.
You can see one result of the merging of our tastes in the photograph of our living room above, which was taken on a sunny day. The walls are painted a strong red. Furniture is mostly black with accents of red and gold. I like to think the effect is dramatic, but also warm and comfortable. There are lots of pillows, afghans and throws to keep things cozy. Plants add a contrasting touch of green that really stands out against all that red.
For the first several years we lived in the house, the walls were an unremarkable off-white. We talked about painting the room red for years before we actually did it. Once we finally started the painting process, I was the one who nearly chickened out. We got the first coat of tinted primer up and I freaked. It looked so, well…red. When I voiced my doubts Mark just shook his head. “Luke. Luuuuuke,” he intoned in the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi. “Don’t fear the color, Luke.”
And he was right. When we finished the painting and moved our furniture back into the room, we were delighted. Whereas our pieces had floated in isolation on the white wall previously, now the warm red pulled it all together, and made it look like a collection instead of a random assortment of stuff. The black and white photography now popped off the wall, yet the contents of each frame were clearly linked to the others in the room. Our pale wooden floors looked bold instead of washed-out. In dimmer light after the sun set, the room virtually glowed in the light of our lamps. What I learned from the process was to trust our own taste. Before we painted, we thought we knew what we wanted, but were uncertain. Now we feel like we’ve proven ourselves.
I think lots of other people are in the same position we were during the years we debated whether we had the nerve to paint the room bright red. We worried about whether it would be too much. We had a lot of trepidation about breaking the rules that say “dark colors make a room look smaller.” But who makes all those decorating rules anyway? Who else should decide what’s “tasteful”? We happen to like bright colors and strong effects. And after all, we’re the ones who live here every day. Why should we decorate for anyone else’s taste? I say, go for it. Forget the rules. Paint your kitchen purple if that’s what you like. Nobody wins if you wind up living for years in a dull anonymous box instead of a home that truly reflects your own likes and dislikes.
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