Own Your Style

Swag your spirit. Don’t just own your home, own your style. Who are you? If you are wondering about the answer to that eternal question posed by all mankind, look around your room. It will give you the answer, sometimes, it’s even shouting at you.

Do you recognize the personality that created your space? Is it a mirror of your soul? If not, why not? Let’s look at what is going really going on in your room. First, what color is it? Do you have a favorite color? Are you using your favorite color to power up your day and power down your night? Here is what the “experts” have to say about color: “The colors of the rooms in your home are a direct reflection of your personality.” That’s a lot of responsibility not to mention a heavy burden.

On top of all of everything else you have to do, now you are responsible for the mood influences in your space. Terrific. So how do you affect the mood in your room?

Here are a few simple principles.

• You want love? Go with red. It is the most exciting of the colors. Downside, test taking in red rooms promotes failure, use this color with caution.
• Orange is a happy color, removes inhibitions, consider this when planning your orange room. (You might refer back to red, the passion color?)
• Yellow, like sunshine is synonymous with joy. Be warned, this color has been known to  generate irritability and even make babies cry when it is overworked, but then don’t we all generate irritability when we are overworked?
• Blue is a favorite color of dieters, this color can help decrease the appetite while establishing a calm sense of well-being. Note to self, think twice before painting your dining room or kitchen blue.
• Green is the friendly color and preferred for most rooms in a house. What is the dark side of green? Too much of this amiable color can invoke feelings of envy and avarice. Whoa.
• Purple is royal and its cousin, pink.
• Pinkis tender and sensitive, great qualities in a leader, right?
• Then we have the neutrals, their virtue is their flexibility.

You can add color to liven things up, subtract color to calm things down.  We should all have spouses and partners with that kind of flexibility, just a thought. There are several other factors to help define your style.

Does an uptown classic look lift you up or is it shabby chic you prefer? Is an easy breezy coastal spirit your style or does a colorful family fun room hit all cylinders? Is it rooms that ramble or modified spaces that hold you close? Are you contemporary or all about the antique? Doesn’t matter, all of the above mentioned are fabulous, especially if it makes your heart sing. There is, however, one rule we cannot move beyond, no matter how hard we try. Well-being is linked to a clean house. Recent studies have shown those who have a clean home have a healthier and happier environment.

Your mother was right.