Colors dance but never solo.
You’re standing in front of hundreds of paint chips at the hardware store. You’re thinking, “Grab one and run.” Wrong! Never pick out one color. Colors dance. But never solo.
Colors dance before our eyes because they are not substance, but refracted light. Color is not a solid, but light waves in the air that we perceive as color. Research tells us this but like many things known but invisible, we forget. And when we forget and treat the color in our spaces as a solid, we deaden the air and stifle the dancing. But now, throw the cape of the magician, sorceress and conjuror over your lab coat and let’s explore the magic of color.
Why have colors in your space dance? Think about those things that you can stare at for hours and hours, water and fire. It’s the subtle changes of color reflecting changes in energy and elements that content us. Of course, we can include water and fire elements within our space. But we can also capture those qualities of light on a static wall by choosing colors that work together to stir the air, and that are able to reflect the changes in the space from season to season, day to night. We can break down the perceived solidity of the wall. (Remember you have a cape on!)
So how to make it happen. Like all good things, directions are simple but imagination and time are required. First, buy paint that has lots of pigment. The more pigment in the paint, the more possibilities for interactions and reactions, creating movement. But how do you know which paint brands have more pigment? Easy. They are more expensive. Sorry, but essential for the dance.
Now you know which brands to use, collect your paint chips. They are free. Take more than you need. Ideally, choose the whole palette for your home at the same time but if you can only do one room now, make sure you have paint chips for the rooms that are adjacent to it. Take each paint chip you are considering and put it side by side with the chips for the other colors in the room or adjacent rooms. Squint. Do you see a slight quivering where the two colors come together? If so, you know those colors will team up and enliven the space. If you don’t, keep at it. This takes time and playful effort but magic often does.
Color is compared to music. I also think color is like humanity. Infinite possibilities of hue, a personality that requires close harmony with our kind (humanity in our case.) Importantly, real power is in the unseen rather than the seen. And best of all, like color, we have those moments when we find among our kind those who make our eyes sparkle and our step lighter in dance. Magic.
BONUS
Free sample palette from nature: Check out the photo at the top of this post. I snapped it to show the dancing of the red berry but realized that it could be the basis of a fantastic palette. The proportions are even good. The whites and grays holding the space, with texture to give variety and allow for a play of light, the light-catching acid green of the lichen, the dark green of the moss to add gravity, and finally the bright little bold skip of the red berry.