Page 104 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2021

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LIVING IN
COLOR
story and photos by Holly Harrison and Shannon Stage
Merriam-Webster de nes color as the visual perception of how an object re ects light. So, unless you have decided to just sit in the dark, you are surrounded by color. We often rush by the colors in our life but whether we actively notice or not, color is a powerful force of nature. Animals use it to keep predators away and to woo potential mates. Plants use color to attract pollinators and to disperse seeds for future growth. We humans are attracted to colors because of the way they make us feel.
C olor informs our decision making from what we wear, to what we eat, to how we decorate our
home. Every year, color experts from around the
world create new palettes of color they believe will attract consumers. These new colors in uence color-conscious industries such as fashion, home furnishings, and product design. Being more agile than other businesses, fashion houses are the rst to present new color trends. Colors hit the runway a couple of years before we see it in home furnishings.
Paint companies have started releasing “Colors of the Year”
to inspire us to update our homes. Painting is one of the easiest ways to make an immediate change. In addition to protecting your home’s value, it can make an invaluable change in how you feel every day.
Selecting paint colors can be daunting. Here are some things to think about when you get started:
Choose colors that create the mood you are looking for. Painting the whole house or most of the house one color can give a home a serene, calm e ect. It can create a neutral palette on which to layer colorful textiles and furnishings. We love Benjamin Moore’s Fossil for all over the house. Just change up
the paint’s nish for the walls, trim and ceiling. If you want more variety, we like painting special rooms coordinating colors. The master bedroom can be a place to bring in another color to set it apart from the rest of the house.
Having neutral walls doesn’t mean they need to be painted gray or white. A color can be neutral when it doesn’t compete with your furnishings and accessories. Creams, dusty greens and blues, along with umbers and siennas can all be neutral. The new hues you will see for 2021 are colorful, just more subdued than we have seen in the past. Everything in the interior design world is being called “natural” and “organic” right now.
Ceilings should always be painted a color, even if that color is white. Make a deliberate decision. We recommend using a lighter version of the wall color on your ceilings.
104 | January 2021
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Staircase painted in Benjamin Moore's Midnight Oil.