Is anyone else walking around their house hating EVERYTHING this time of year? You know that decorating void between the Halloween decorations and Christmas.

This is the time of year before I begin decorating for the holidays that I get this feeling inside. It starts as a slow rumble and quickly crescendos into me wanting to shout from the rooftops “I hate everything in our house, nothing works, let’s throw everything out + start over.” Not at all rational or practical but you get the point + I feel much better getting that off my chest.

Surprised that this happens to us interior designers too? I don’t think I’m alone when I say designing + decorating my own home is way tougher than helping others with theirs.

Back to hating everything…So this morning I grabbed my coffee mug, took a deep breath + a step back.

What would I do if a client came to me with these feelings? Would I tell them to toss it all + start from scratch? Um, no not if I wanted the job. So where would I begin? How would I help them formulate the plan for their lovable + livable + happy home?

By capturing their whole house color palette!

Huh? You just said you hated everything + want to start over.

Let me explain.

All good design starts with an evaluation of the current space. It starts with a survey of your home with objective eyes; slowly working your way through your house evaluating paint colors, observing the accent colors you’ve brought in. The stuff you have that you might not want. (hello kids!) We could go step further + capture your metal finishes + textural accents too. But let’s keep it simple for today.

Now that we’ve gathered the colors we take another step back to evaluate:

How do they look together?
How do they travel through your house?
Does it feel cohesive?
How does it make you feel?

Personally, I love when the color + character of the home is sprinkled throughout; throw those colors + textures + elements around like confetti!

And there’s a REASON you chose what you chose to put into your home:

Maybe it was is something that you HAD to have.
Maybe it was something from your grandmother and brings back wonderful memories.
Maybe it’s something that brings you joy when you walk past it or sit on it.
Maybe it was an impulse buy - hello Target!
Maybe you just needed to fill the space.

OK, now what? Well, that’s where an interior designer can help. It’s our job to listen, observe + interpret our clients vision + bring it to life.

Here’s what I would do. I’d put all of those colors into one place so you can see them all together to be able to evaluate what you see + if it aligns with your vision.

Once I did that for myself I was able to see my whole house color palette:

And guess what?

I DO have a plan for the house; a COLORFUL plan; a plan that I LOVE. No need to start over.

Base colors + accents that all speak to each + speak to me!

Now what am I going to do with this image? First, I’m going to print this out + go through my house to see how well the color is sprinkling through. I’m also going to keep a copy with me in my car for when I’m out + about looking for things to bring into my home. I’ll ask myself the question does this new item help me achieve my lovable + livable + happy home? If not I’m going to move on.

I hope this helps you in your home + brings some color to your day!

If you’d like help creating your whole house color palette or need help with any other design services please reach out at hopeandbay@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you + helping you!

Creating a lovable + livable + happy home! Part I - Whole House Color Palette