Color Splash

Posted by Kristin Abraham May 19, 2007

Today I've decided to watch a couple of decorating shows to get some inspiration. As the weather turns nicer I'm just losing my desire to do anything inside so I figured watching other people do things might inspire me

This show claimed to change the look of a room by just using color. Being a painter, this interested me. I was skeptical. And now I see that they're building elements and buying light fixtures and chairs and other pieces. So, not everything is being changed by color.

Overall, its not a bad show and they have some good tips and decorating info to share. But I have a fundamental problem with this particular project they're working on. They've got a nice victorian styled home and a couple that likes to add modern pieces to create a little punch and pizzaz to their home. I think this is great and I love that the couple has defined their own sense of style.

But part of my problem is the outside of the home has blue accents, quite beautiful ones. And the decorator looked at the couple's clothes and the rest of their home and decided they liked blue. But he had already made this decision when he approached the house and mentioned that the blue was giving him some inspiration. He then also based the room on a gloomy day at the beach. What?!

Do you want your dining room to seem like a gloomy day at the beach? This is my big problem. He's supposed to be a color expert and is doing the room in grey and silver and blue. These are not happy eating colors. Yellows and oranges and reds actually create a physiological response in people and make them hungry and they enjoy their meals more. (Just look at the colors of most fast food restaurants and the uniforms).

Also, a dining room is a place where people come together to celebrate and enjoy each other's company. A gloomy day at the beach does not suggest good warm times with friends and family if you ask me.

What would I have done? I would have painted the room a few shades of very light sunny yellow then I would have brought in some nice warm woods (he has selected a black table and spray painted silver chairs). Then I would have pumped up the room with hits of cobalt blue throughout.

The Victorian aspects would be addressed by the yellows and woods and the modern would be touched on with the sleek cobalt accents.

Now, in the end the room was pretty because it was new and the family liked it but I'm actually pretty confident that they'll redecorate it in a year or two.