Filed under: Color, Holistic House, House Magick, Living, Living Room | Tags: color, color palette, holistic house, home decor, living room
We call it the “living room” automatically, without even thinking about what those words mean. The living room is the gathering place of the home, where we entertain, socialize, and enjoy each other. Making the living room a comfortable, welcoming place for all is key to creating an inviting living space.
Let’s start with the use of color. I am a big proponent of using neutral colors as the main backdrop in the living room, and here’s why: to create the colors we know as “neutrals,” pigments located directly across from each other on the artist’s color wheel are mixed together. Neutrals are literally the blending of opposites. Let’s think symbolically for a moment – when we are looking at communal living space, where harmony in the home is important, the harmonious blending of opposite elements is a great energy to bring in. Think of the different personalities in your home seeking to live in harmony together – a neutral color palette can help us all get along.
Use colors for accent pieces: pictures, pillows, accessories. These you can change with the seasons or with the feel you wish to create in your space. But to encourage harmony in the home, try a neutral palette for the large areas – walls, window treatments, upholstery.
My dog reminded me that around my house, the dog days better be every day, all year ’round! 
This morning we were greeted with temps in the upper 70s instead of the upper 90s. Now that’s more like it! The record heat this year was wearing even for a summer-lovin’ gal like myself. I’m a big fan of all the seasons, though, and will be just as happy to see the snow this winter. Each season brings its own set of colors and lighting, wonderful and unique, for us to enjoy.
Just got back from the evening walk with the husband. We stopped at our favorite tree, as we do each evening, to look at the amazing flowers. The tree is called the silk tree or, more commonly, Mimosa (aka Albizia julibrissin, if you’re into binomial nomenclature) and has gorgeous paired dark green leaves and the most delicate feathery pink and white flowers.
Here’s a great image of one from Duke U:
The beautiful silk tree in bloom
So, why am I rambling on about trees, when this is a design blog? Because I am always looking for inspiration, and nature always delivers! The delicate colors of the flowers contrast so beautifully with the rich deep green of the leaves, and the soft, filmy texture of the flowers next to the robust texture of the leaves and bark makes this a great example of textural interest as well.
The great physicist Richard Feynman stated once that “Nature’s imagination is so much greater than man’s that she’s never going to let us relax,” and I think he is correct. Whenever we need to see things in a fresh perspective, or want new insights into beauty, we can look into the forest or the sea or the meadows or the stars and see endless opportunity to be inspired by such beauty.
I hope you have time this weekend to get outside and take look around for inspiration in your life, too!
