Color ‘is’ the Story…
As I stepped into a bakery shop, my four year old at once ran towards the display counter and ordered a slice of his favourite rainbow cake. A few minutes later, when the waiter served his order along with my Cafe Latte’ , I felt how growing up makes us so monochromatic.
As I heard him prompt ; green — leaf, yellow — sun, blue — sky, red — apple, I realised how over the years, APPLE for me had transformed from red to golden to green & later to Steve Job’s white. Colours had also found a meaning beyond objects, and had begun to act as stimulants for memories. While red for me was my school uniform blazer, green was my mother’s lush garden, yellow were my first heels, while blue reminded me of my swimming lessons.
That is the beauty of colours — they are all around, enveloping us in memories from our past, forming their own little little stories.
My perspective on colour has evolved over time. My days in HongKong were as fast paced as the robotic lifestyle. The density of population was massive in the downtown where we lived. With transport, technology, traffic, hoardings, match and mismatch of colours trying to grab my attention, I would love to come back to my nest with neutral colour walls. It was my abode for solace after a busy, chaotic day and was also my charging dock for the next day to come.
When we moved to Hyderabad, life was more balanced and so was my home. I created warmth in the background with white walls, while two accent walls — teal blue and peachy pink in two separate rooms created pops of colour that energised the space and added elements of surprise with little artwork.
Colours in spaces have their own significance. Colour — or lack of colour — is probably the first thing you will notice in a room. Colour is an external expression of all emotions that we feel — from serious to playful and everything in between. Tones and Shades instantly set a mood, express a feeling and create a sensation within your home. So it is very important to find the hues that speak to you.
For me, colour is how I explore my aesthetic and express creativity. It is how I accent and enhance my space, set a vibe, and build a story. What I particularly love are the endless options and diverse possibilities. Colour inspiration is everywhere around us — from a food set in serving plate by the chef, or a children’s book that creates a visual intrigue, or even the nature all around us. All that you need to do is find YOUR story among those colour palettes.
Being in the profession of a Home Stylist, I realised over the years that the mistake that most people make is to select the colour based on the current trends, which is NOT the best way to find your true colours. Colour is personal. Hence selection has to be careful. To help you find your ‘custom palette’, I will be coming with next blog, ‘Find your True colours’, which will be beneficial, specially to those who are seeking ideas of how to convert their Houses into their Homes.