As a young girl, growing up in the midst of the Women’s Lib Moment, I rejected all shades of pink in my clothing and room décor and never looked back. Pink was society’s self-imposed girly color, and I wanted nothing to do with it.

But as I moved into my 60s, I suddenly fell in love with pink. I painted my bedroom walls pale pink and special-ordered a soft pink sofa for my living room. I even placed all pink flowers in my balcony garden. Pink, pink, pink. I had to wonder what was up with this color fixation.

Colors Reflect Life Change

After some reflection, I decided my enchantment with this color, which is often associated with nurturing and compassion, was my soul telling me that it was okay to take a deep breath and relax at this stage of my life. It was time to discover new colors.

I could hear my inner voice saying, “Heidi, have more compassion for yourself. Come snuggle into your pink sofa cloud and feel the love.”

New Seasons Demand New Colors

We expect nature’s colors to change with each season. So why shouldn’t we expect our own color palette to change as we transition through our own life seasons?

I’ve definitely had to rethink some of the colors I wear because of my maturing skin tone and silvering hair. And I believe it’s just as important to rethink some of the colors we bring into our living spaces.

Our physical environments are an extension and reflection of our inner-selves – who we are now and who we want to be in the years to come.

Are you ready to create a more supportive, harmonious, and “the real you” color energy in your living spaces? If so, here are a few points to consider that can help you find the colors that reflect your uniqueness at this stage of your life.

Our Memories Live in Colors

Much of what I do as an interior designer deals with helping my clients choose paint and fabric colors that create a beautiful and nurturing home, design-wise and heart-wise. In the process, I’ve learned that colors can be tricky because they hold so many memories.

I know of one woman who refused to have gray in her home. That is, until a beautiful experience of swimming with dolphins on vacation forever changed how she looked at the color.

Similarly, when I returned home to hot, land-locked Atlanta after a blissful trip to the Caribbean, I redesigned my kitchen around subtle ocean colors to hold the memory of those gentle sea breezes and heavenly blue waters.

Are there certain colors that hold memories – good or bad – for you? If you’re feeling drawn to the color now, maybe it’s your inner self wanting to either celebrate or change the memory around it.

Notice What You’re Noticing

What colors inspire you today? Which are yelling, “This is so me”? Notice which colors pop out at you as you walk through a nursery or thumb through a color fan deck. You might be surprised.

Trust your initial response to the color, even if it’s called Electric Lime or Psychedelic Purple. You don’t have to paint your entire living room in it. Even as only an accent color in a pillow, vase, throw, or wall art it might create the feel and allow the expression you desire. Never underestimate the impact of a small design element.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Traditional design wisdom recommends having two or three colors flow throughout a home to help create a cohesive design and rhythm. But if you’re loving more than a few colors, don’t worry.

It’s okay to push the boundaries and experiment with lots of color combinations. Nowadays, trending design styles, like bohemian, have found a way to harmoniously play with layers and layers of patterns, textures, and colors.

Strange how combinations that once seemed unlikely or mismatched now work in beautiful synchronicity. You may not want “color clutter” in every room in your home, but go with your intuition and what you want to express about yourself.

Give a Color Nod to Nature

I incorporate Vastu, also known as the yoga of design, into all my projects. Vastu’s ancient science and wisdom teaches us how to partner with the natural world so that positive energy moves freely throughout our human built spaces.

Colors, each with their own unique energetic frequency, can help balance our spaces by bringing in nature’s uplifting colors.

Green goes with every color and speaks of refreshing, nourishing, and renewal. Placing living plants throughout the home is an easy and cost-effective way to infuse your life with the energy, emotion, and intention of good health and vitality.

The science of Vastu also balances the energy in our living spaces by placing representational colors of nature’s five elements – space, air, fire, water, and earth – in their respective geographic directions in a room or home. (Your smartphone compass, typically located in the utilities folder, can quickly establish the directions in your home.)

Here’s a color scheme you can utilize:

• Place blue shades in the northeast to represent water.
• Use delicate colors in the northwest for air.
• Put flame colors like red, orange, and golden yellow in the southeast for fire.
• Position earth tones such as brown, cinnamon, and ochre in the southwest.
• The space element is located in the center of a room or home and should remain open and uncluttered.

These colors can be brought in through any decorative item, such as a painting, pillow, candle, or vase.

Let Intuition Guide You

Color is here to support you energetically, emotionally, spiritually, and aesthetically. So, let new colors inspire new memories and create a nourishing home for this season of your life.

Break a design rule, if necessary, to achieve the beauty and sense of belonging you desire. In the end, your own intuition will always be the best guide for your personal color choices.

Have you been surprised by a few new favorite colors that you didn’t like a decade or two ago? Are you gravitating toward shades you never considered before? What colors inspire you today? Which are yelling, “This is so me”? Please share your color inspirations and explorations with our community!