Color

I love color . . although some who know me may be surprised to find that out.  I'm not sure it's evident when you look at my clothes or personal space.  My closet has a lot of color in it although it tends to be solid rather than patterns.  There are a few exceptions to that such as stripes and a tropical print dress.  Somehow when I try on patterns I just don't feel comfortable.  And anyway, isn't color blocking all the rage at the moment?

As far as my space, I do use more interesting color.  The three homes I've owned were new homes I built so they were standard "builders white" everything.   I'll admit, it took me awhile to get around to decorating and in each home, once done and seeing how all the color on the walls warmed up the space I wondered how I ever lived with all white.  My first home was done in the early 90's in North Carolina and was jewel tones.  Hunter green living room, burgundy dining room, navy blue and white powder room and all in the kitchen.

My second home was in Arizona and I was determined to try to fit into a southwestern style.  After purchaing a southwest print area rug with purples, oranges, reds, etc. and cream/gray tile, I eventually redid that space.  An oriental carpet in sage green, burgundy and tan.  This led to a large burgundy faux finish leather wall in the family room and dining room, tan and sage green in the rest of the space. I also swapped out the old tile for maple hardwood in a walnut stain. 

My current home is in Annapolis.  It's a new home and was the builders model, so it was "done" when I moved in.  Being in Annapolis, it had a bit of a nautical theme with blue and sand.  While not necessarily my preferred color scheme, I have yet to make any changes.  My favorite room is the guest bedroom which has cream colored wainscoting 3/4 of the way up the wall and then chocolate brown walls.  I love it.

So to me, color is extremely important to make a space warm and comfortable and established the mood and feeling of the space.