What your wall colors say about you

Color has power over us. So the first step to choosing a palette for decorating could be to ask how you want the room to feel.
“You start to get an idea of the mood that they’re after, and color can enhance that,” said Kate Smith, chief color expert at Sensational Color in Ashburn, Va.
Smith is mainly a consultant to corporations. Her clients produce products in enough colors to confuse the average consumer. She steps in to help those businesses help their customers make the right color choices.
“Some colors make you feel calmer; some make you feel energetic,” she said. “Most people respond in those general ways, even if they don’t recognize it.”
I was fascinated reading about the psychology of color on Smith’s website. There’s much to recognize about ourselves, family members and friends just by looking at the colors in our homes.
Yellow, the color of sunshine (and much of my home’s interior), relates to happiness and optimism. Tranquil and refreshing green speaks of value for nature and community. Blue, a calming overall favorite, is for the trustworthy and committed. Purple uplifts and calms the mind. Creative people and eccentrics tend to embrace it.
Softer colors can help you relax. For a lively room, use intense hues and high-contrast combinations.
I’m feeling better now about painting our family room a flaming terra-cotta orange.

Karen’s blog: http://homelifeclt.blogspot.com; on Twitter @sullivan_kms

Get help for your home makeover from Ikea design videos

Chad and Emily Fair are celebrating this week. Their home in Matthews just got a makeover by a team from Ikea.
Theirs is the second Charlotte residence and the seventh nationally to get reorganized and redecorated at no cost. Eventually 22 homes in Ikea markets are expected to get an update for season one of the Ikea Home Tour.
You can see videos of the Home Tour makeovers at ikea-usa.com/hometour. You can also pick up ideas and solutions for your own project.  See more pictures from the makeover here.
“Often we discover people have design paralysis,” said Keith Bradley, lead designer for the Fair’s makeover. “Hopefully, the videos will inspire people to make changes.
The Fairs were selected after submitting a video in which they described their problem: The roughly 1,500-square-foot house they bought nine years ago didn’t work well for a family of five.

“We’ve watched the house grow smaller,” said Chad Fair, a teacher at Charlotte Christian School.
The children – ages 4, 6 and 8 – needed a place to do homework. The family didn’t have a table for the dining room.
Bradley focused on the Fair’s L-shaped living room and dining room. Among the changes, Ikea’s team added a dining table, storage units on the wall, and living room sofas that are light enough to be moved for playtime.
“This really met a need for us.” Chad Fair said. “The kids used to get up in the morning and watch TV. Now we find them at the desk coloring.”

Karen’s blog: http://homelifeclt.blogspot.com; on Twitter @sullivan_kms