Expand Your Life with Color:
Redecorating for Personal Growth

By Jill D. Johnson

I recently visited a dear friend who had purchased a home near a lake. Three previous owners had added onto the home and each addition was done with the intent of meeting the needs of the inhabitants at the time. An elderly couple owned the home previously and had been in ill health and unable to maintain or update the home.

My friend and her husband have taken a neglected space that needed a lot of renovation and turned it into a restful retreat. This was done in stages and done within a budget that precluded the use of ingenuity, creativity and currently owned furnishings. I love it when people are stretched to be creative and resourceful when creating a living space that meets their needs emotionally, physically and spiritually! Loads of money can overcome many obstacles when redecorating but I am not sure one’s essence comes through by the end of the project. Maybe I am biased when it comes to “do-it-yourself”ers!

During the remodeling, this industrious couple painted paneling, replaced carpeting and flooring, updated light fixtures and created more space for storage and appliances in the kitchen which is situated in the middle of the home. Rather than hinder light from entering the kitchen through large family room windows, they eliminated hanging cupboards over the kitchen sink where they had hung before. They installed adequate lighting over that area instead, and created a pantry in another area of the kitchen.

The most striking change came by way of their use of color in the space. It would be an easy task to take a nautical theme and run with it, living so close to a lake. That would be a predictable and comfortable choice. The decorating does have some nautical and beach-themed overtones, but I found the use of color very pleasant and serene.

The choice of carpeting for the family room really sets the tone for the entire home. It is a subdued shade of green with a barely discernible pattern that lends an organic feel, like walking through grass. The paneling is painted a pale shade of green reminding one of pale beach glass. The flooring in the kitchen area nicely combines the colors of sand, grass and water. And the dining area with its refurbished wood flooring, pale furniture and beach scene watercolor painting creates the feeling of restful relaxation. One can almost hear the whoosh of waves and the sound of laughing children playing among them.

I found the choice of color as a Feng Shui consultant interesting. Green and almost all shades thereof are the main color for the Wood element and embody the characteristics of growth. It is the main color in the area of the Feng Shui Bagua Map known as Family.

My friend and her spouse recently celebrated the marriage of their daughter and have gained a son. Many family members gathered around this occasion in celebration of the marriage and the updated home. My friend expresses the need for change of locale in the not too distant future to be nearer to this young couple. She also expresses the openness to changes in how she earns income and is flexible in her ways of doing that, even though she is a degreed individual.

For myself, I became aware of a deficit of green in my life, that I feel the need to embrace by adding it to my living space and wardrobe. As I contemplate change, I want to embrace this color as a way to support my energy and open my heart chakra to new beginnings in relationships. It has been said that the eyes and skin absorb color, so absorption is not limited to ingestion of a color through eating food.
I find it satisfying to look at and use color in new ways that one may not ordinarily perceive. Paying attention to our color choices can reveal much about our lives and ourselves, and support us in our growth and expansion on all levels!

Jill D. Johnson began her Feng Shui practice “Heaven on Earth” in Holland, MI in 1998. She is available for private consultations for your home, office or business and can be reached at 616/494-0026.