Discovering My Color Story

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #LiveColor #CollectiveBias

Every so often, I get to do a really cool project on my blog. I’m excited to tell you guys all about this one! I received a copy of an advanced copy of the soon-to-be-released book Change Your Home, Change Your Life™ with Color by Moll Anderson. If you know me at all, you know I’m obsessed with watching home improvement/renovation/design shows. They are pretty much on my TV all day (except when the husband or rug rats interfere).

So let me begin by telling you about Moll Anderson. She is an accomplished author, TV/radio host, interior designer, and philanthropist, advocating for women and children locally. She has received myriad accolades throughout her professional career.

In this book, Moll Anderson discusses the importance of color in our lives, in our home, in our wardrobe – all aspects of our personal style. She encourages her readers to explore their color stories through several fun question & answer sections throughout the book. These sections really get you thinking about how we all develop our color preferences through life experiences. She divides colors into the following categories: Transforming Black & White, Energizing Orange, Invigorating Yellow, Balancing Green, Reviving Turquoise, Comforting Blue, Enriching Violet, Uplifting Pink, Empowering Red, Motivating Metals, Nurturing Neutrals, Softening Pastels, and Grounding Black.

“Color is an amazing source of energy and has a sensory effect on all of us. It affects our moods, our feelings, and even our behaviors.” – Moll Anderson

My favorite color is green, and through these questions, I realized that my favorite {maybe even first} memory from early childhood was walking through tall, green grass in the mountains in upstate New York to get to a lake to catch tadpoles with my dad. The grass must’ve been almost as high as me, I was just 3 or 4 years old, and the colors of the green grass, the blue skies, and the wildflowers are so vibrant in my mind because it all seemed larger-than-life. I’ve always felt very connected to the colors found in nature, and it makes me wonder if it all comes back to this early, vivid memory.

Moll’s book is filled with colorful photographs, so I started to think about some of my favorite photographs and how they make me feel. These photos of the kids at a farm last November make me feel so warm and happy inside – the colors are just so beautiful.

Inspired by this book and my love of color, I began to search my house for different colorful objects that make me feel good inside, and I put them together in different color combinations to create vibrant vignettes that I’m excited to share with you:

• The mint/pink/light aqua combination is probably my favorite. It’s a beautiful blend of soft colors that just make me feel happy! The mint and light aqua have a fun retro/vintage feel and the pink just gives it a nice feminine touch.
• The next combination is peach/orange/yellow. This combination feels warm and inviting. It’s bright and bold at the same time.
• And my final favorite color: GOLD. I used to be a silver girl, then I started really enjoying copper copper, but now, gold is my latest metallic. A touch of gold gives the perfect sparkle to any room, outfit, or even make-up look.

All of these fun colors prompted me to think about how color is used in my home, and I realize what I tend to do. My walls are all different colors. We have sage green in many of the rooms in my home, light aqua in the second bathroom and my office, dark blue in Bryce’s room, green stripes in Lydia’s room, and a muted purple-type color in the master bedroom. Other than a bright red couch in the family room, most of the other colors in our home are pretty dull, especially in the master bedroom where it’s all brown and beige. The wall color is dark, so the room has a very drab, dull feel to it. Really doesn’t lend itself to happy thoughts {or romance} so it’s time to switch it up. I thought about fun ways to bring color into my bedroom, and I immediately remembered a beautiful, colorful photograph I took over winter break: sunset in Biloxi, Mississippi.

In my next design post, I’m going to show you how I used this photograph as my bedroom redesign inspiration, following Moll Anderson‘s Fearless Five:

• Start small and paint a wall – not the whole room.
• If you can wear it and feel fav in it, then you can life with that color!
• Be smart, think art.
• A pop of color goes a long way.
• Flower power your way to a bouquet that makes your heart sing.

My plan {which may change} is to repaint my bedroom a brighter color, create amazing wall art using this photograph, and accessorize with pops of colors using some of my favorite objects above.

And if you’re looking for a copy of Change Your Home, Change Your Life™ with Color by Moll Anderson, it will be available at Target on March 14th, 2017.