Primary Focus

I remember about a year ago, I was at work, thumbing through a flyer from CIL paint, claiming what their color predictions for 2010/ 2011 were. And every color combination featured some shade of gray with it. It gave me this moment of epiphany: there were more shades of gray out there other than the light gray textured sweat pants and shirt I wore everyday as a kid! Gray could be purple or blue or red and still be classified as gray! And it's been remarkable to see how the trend has taken off over the past year- I see it on every design show, in every home magazine, and in every gallon of paint I mix. How could you not love it?- given the right shade, it's so versatile and neutral, that it literally can go with everything! But, I'm starting to wonder... is gray the new white? Has gray become this cop-out color that we cling to because we know it's fail-safe and will make everything trendy and in style, in the same way that we all choose white trim and accents- because we know that it won't let us down?

I think that for the next month, I'm going to boycott gray. I'm going to knock that shade down a few pegs with some bold color. I think it's imperative not to pursue just the safe things, but the things that we love. The next time you think of adding an accent to your living room, or painting a feature wall in your kitchen, consider one of these gems:

I've recently mentioned that I'm not into red right now, but soon will be,- here's a thought: why not paint a feature wall red, and then paint the other 3 walls a gold hue, and ground it with some chocolate brown accents.




Caliente AF-290



Navy blue- the ultimate love/ hate relationship of my life. I've heard the complaint countless times: "Navy blue is so heavy! It makes the room feel so dark and small!" That's ludacris. I dare you- paint your ceiling navy blue, and if your room is too dark and heavy, then switch out your 40W for some 60 or 100W bulbs! Problem solved!

Van Deusen Blue HC-156


*sigh*... yellow... I know it's a beast. It's bright and sunny and cheerful (heaven forbid some of those qualities should ever enter the home). Did you know that yellow is one of the most recommended colors for a home office, as it has been proven to improve drive and work ethic. Consider this statistic:

"80% of employees who work in grey offices admit they feel 'depressed' and 'bored' from the moment they walk into the building. However, those who work in blue offices claim to be more focused (40%), whilst those in yellow offices are more creative and inspired (40%)."

Yellow Highlighter 2021-40

Strive to vanquish the gray in your life - however it may look. And remember: there are no bad colors- only bad color combinations.