Resist the "Easter Egg Home" syndrome...Create a Home Pallet Book

Never under estimate the role of color in creating ambiance. Color is magic, but you must use it for good and not evil.

Have you ever walked into an “Easter Egg” house? Those homes where you traverse the rainbow spectrum from front door to back? Each room a complete island unto its own, the bold welcoming foyer in a sunny yellow, off to the left is the romantic dining room in deep magenta, the kitchen with its cobalt blue accents, and the living room in with its relaxing mint green hues. Oh yes, we have all seen them…maybe even some of us live in them, don’t worry your secrets safe with me.

It’s not your fault; we love color because it evokes feelings…it is the foundation for building ambiance. The key to using color responsibly is to take a holistic view of your home and always remember this point…

Color is transient which is why you have no color memory.

Our perception of color relative to its current environment.  Next time you are in the local paint store take a paint chip and place it on a five different colored pages of construction paper and you will see this intriguing effect. The same color on a white background will look different if a black background is then substituted. It gets even more interesting as far as intensity and hue if you place a different color behind the paint chip. Then consider lighting...The light as it changes throughout the day will also affect color. A yellow placed in a sunny kitchen will most like take a deeper golden hue if used in an upstairs hallway.  This is why the local paint stores provide those lovely paint samples and why most paint sales associates will advise you to take the chips home and observe the chips on the walls for several days before choosing your color.

So go to your favorite paint store and pick up a pallet and then boldly choose the color you like best. But let’s go one step further after you have picked the perfect color and painted your room…keep the paint chip!

Consider buying a small notebook and title each page with the rooms in your house, obviously it will be easier to carry this into the various furnishing stores than the entire wall from your living room. It will also save you a lot of time and frustration if you need to freshen that coat of paint a few years down the road. But most importantly, this “pallet book” will be indispensible in avoiding the “easter egg” home syndrome as you move from room to room in your house. Order the pages to mimic the natural flow of movement through your home. As you contemplate your color choices for each room take the time to paste the paint chip in this notebook. Then try this, flip the pages rapidly and contemplate how you feel as you progress through the pages. Do the colors flow harmoniously…if not you may need to reconsider hue, tone or tint of your color choice. 

Try it out and see if it works for you.