Color Me Inspired!

By Marie Masters

One of my creative writing students recently told the class what gives her inspiration—the yellow room where she writes.

Maybe she gets so much done in that lemony room because it’s where she goes to be alone. Apparently, her family hates the color and stays out. Her father-in-law calls it the Jungle Room, because it’s filled with creeping-up-the-walls greenery. How could he know the room has special meaning for his daughter-in-law, who once fought serious depression?

“One day I woke up and decided I wanted a yellow room in my house,” the student recalled about her epiphany. After that, nothing held her back. With the help of a sunny color and a good therapist, life is brighter. She’s becoming a good writer, too.

Creativity experts subscribe to this “color the world wonderful” theory as well. Writing Guru Julia Cameron (author of The Artist’s Way, The Vein of Gold, and other creative living books) suggests that one’s favorite colors trigger the passion lying dormant within.

Then there are home makeover shows. The designers revel in splashing the first roller of vivid pigment across dare-to-be-dull white walls. Deep inside, I hate them. They’re having way too much fun. Meanwhile, I’m busy commiserating with the hapless homeowners; like them, I’ve always thought neutrals maintain real estate value. After all, no one wants to buy a house with Peppermint Pink or Latrine Green walls.

But, lately I’ve been liberated from caring what future owners of my home might think. Like Dorothy, I’m diving into Oz. I’ve already sponge-painted a few walls, recklessly adding tint and texture. I’ve even stenciled whimsical seashells and starfish around the picture window. Now I look out and into the sky with wonder.

And my rampage against the blasé has just begun. This summer, I plan to colorize an entire room… maybe adding stripes… painting the ceiling a different color… or contrasting the doors. The question is where to start. Do I want to see red everyday? Will green make me greedy? Should I go with iris, the true shade of inspiration?

Here’s how I’m making color choices:

Psychology of Color

I’ve learned about the “non-verbal” cues of hues from the Pantone Guide to Communicating With Color by Leatrice Eiseman (Grafix Press Ltd.). It features every mood from “romantic” or “soothing” to “capricious” and “robust.” The former are sherbet pastels capable of calming the most intense stress. The latter are vintage tones mimicking wine or cognac and conjuring images of an afternoon in Tuscany.

Do-it-yourself Decorating

Color! Punch It Up With Color—The Trading Spaces Way! (Meredith Books) features highlights of popular TV show makeovers. Page after page of glitzy rooms give even the most timid amateur decorator complete confidence to mix tints, patterns, fabrics, and whatnots for a dramatic “home is where the art is” effect.

Personalized Paint

Most paint stores can customize a color. My local Sherwin Williams admits to having matched fall leaves, a burned fig leaf, a blade of grass, and even a metal part on a toy car. So, about any color is possible!

That’s all I needed to hear. Now I’m ready to roll into a new color theme.

Watch out blah white—it’s time to break out of my eggshell gloomy rooms once and for all.

Journalist Marie Masters writes inspirational articles, columns, and short stories. As a college “writing coach,” she also helps students look within for inspiration and creativity. Contact her at mariemasters@earthlink.net.