FOUR Ways to add color to your home

By Brittany Ferrero

Our environments shape the way we feel - so why not make them more delightful? 🌈

When I was a child, my parents made the daring statement "Sure, you can paint your room any color that you want". I went through a phase of tropical neon green, safety orange, Hi-Lighter yellow, periwinkle blue (with glitter)... you get the idea.

Now, as an artist and designer, and with a *slightly* more refined palette, I still love to take time to thoughtfully create spaces, and I hope to share some inspiration with you here.

I think that harnessing color to impact our mood and mindset is a powerful tool, and I also love history of color as we know it today - did you know that, until blue dye was discovered, the color blue was considered to be the absence of color because when you bottled up blue things (like air and water) it looks clear? There is still some skepticism about whether blue pigment truly exists in nature at all. Also, we teach that there are 7 colors in the rainbow because hundreds of years ago, Sir Isaac Newton looked at sunlight through a prism and chose 7 of the colors he saw to correlate with Pythagoras' discovery of 7 musical notes that make up the diatonic scale used in modern music!

Since so many of us are now working from home, let's make our homes somewhere we love to be! Here are 4 fun, easy, and inspiring ways to bring more color into your life:

1. Houseplants

In addition to cleaning the air, boosting your mood, productivity, concentration and creativity - plants are a great way to add more color to your home.

Houseplants come in an array of colors! Some of my favorites are (from top left to bottom right):

Pink Polka Dot (Hypestes phyllostachya), Calathea (Stromanthe Tricolor), African Violets (Streptocarpus sect. Saintpaulia ), and Guzmania bromeliads.

Plants are also a great excuse to get bright pots and planters and macrame hangers. Be sure to check out the Garden section of Jenny Lemons for bright, fun handmade planters!

2. Paint

Painting is probably one of the fastest, inexpensive, and fun ways to make a BIG impact on your space! You can also always cover it back up if you need to go back to white walls or want to try something new. And it doesn't just apply to walls - doorways, ceilings, mantles, and furniture can get makeovers too.

I love collecting inspiration in a Pinterest board, then testing out ideas in Photoshop and trying out paint samples in the space to see how the colors work in different areas and lighting.

Mural by: @househomo

Mural by: @banyanbridges

3. Artwork

Hanging artwork in your space is a great way to support local artists, and have a rotating gallery within your own home!

Temporary hangers like Command Strips make it easy to try out different locations and arrangements, and these drywall hooks are handy for hanging when you don't have a stud finder.

Dark Grey Lemons Print by Jen Kindell

There are also helpful guidelines you can follow for how to hang your art, if you don't know where to start! This Apartment Therapy article goes into detail about The 57" Rule and how to apply it.

4. Accessorize

There are so many other often overlooked opportunities to fill your life with art and color, so take a look around - everything from blankets, to tea towels, curtains, mugs and coasters - can get a colorful upgrade.

Here are my current favorites from the shop: