Colour….It’s a wonderful thing. It evokes so many moods, emotions and memories. I have never met a person who has said that they hate colour. It seems to be a universal gift that everyone appreciates. In today’s world we have a vast spectrum of colour that seems to be virtually endless in scope.

I always have a little inner giggle when I hear someone say that their favourite colour is blue. As there must be a thousand shades of blue, which exact one do they like? I don't personally have a favourite colour. There are colours I like more or less than others, and then there are some that I just can't bear to be around. However, for the most part I love colour in all its wonderful glory.

Choosing the proper colours for your home can be a very challenging task. One of the first things I do when I'm choosing colours is to see how the natural light works with each individual room. Colour can be very affected by light. I have actually seen walls completely change their tone throughout the day with the changing light.

I tend to work from an opposite point of view than most when choosing tone colour for a room. I work from the perspective that if a room gets a lot of natural sunlight I will gravitate toward using brighter, happier colour tones that intensify and react, bounce and reflect. These things bring out a sense of dance and movement, which in turn evoke a feeling of happiness. Most people, when given the luxury of ample light will generally choose colours that are heavier and stronger in tone because they feel that the room can bear it. I prefer to use the heavier stronger colours in a more dimly lit room. I believe that if a room is naturally dim then it should be cozy, warm and calm.

When choosing colours for a home, I prefer them to have a feeling of flow and commonality. When I speak of tone, I am referring to the level and intensity of the colour- light, medium or deep. I like to use tone on tone shades with shots of bursting complimentary colours in selected areas. Tone on tone usually refers to two shades that sit close together on the spectrum. When I speak of colour flow I am referring to how your colour pallet will move through your home from one room to the other. A good rule of thumb here is to make sure that all of your colour choices have the same tone value. You may accent or punctuate an area with a bolder, stronger colour tone. However, if using more than one accent colour make sure that they are in a similar tonal range. If you follow these simple rules there really are no wrong choices.

Colour is very personal to every individual. We all see colour differently and we all have different reactions to it. This has more to do with an individual's happy or sad memory in association with a particular colour. It is also widely known that colour can also provoke a sense of smell. For example, I designed a cocktail lounge called the tangerine room years ago. It was a round room and everything in it was a perfect tone of tangerine, including the lighting and furnishings. Everything was glossy and the air was cool. Everyone who entered that room sensed that they could smell a hint of tangerine. I choose tangerine because it is a warm, happy, invigorating colour. It is zesty, fresh and sweet in essence. We have all had a moment with a cool, perfectly fresh tangerine dancing on our tongue. It evokes a pleasant, happy feeling. This is exactly what colour should do for an individual. It should be personal and envelop you in a warm feeling of happiness and security.