What's your favorite color?

Last year, a good friend sold me a beautiful quilt she had made for less than half the price she had offered it on her store: Shadow Manor. The wonderful quilt inspired me to decorate my new attic refuge around it. The quilt is black, gray, lavender, and white. The primary colors of my room are lavender and gray walls, with (primarily) black wooden furniture. I tossed in a little orange here and there for a little extra Halloween theme.

When I was a kid, I thought my favorite color was red. In high school I had a yellow room, but then switched to pink and purple. If asked from that point onward, I would say that my favorite color was blue. Now, I'm torn.

I love purples and pinks. However, I love black and orange as well. And, most of my dress up clothes end up being brown, for some reason. I'm also planning on decorating another room in red and orange to mimic the colors of sunset.

So, if you ask me what my favorite color is, the answer you get will probably depend on the time of the day, day of the week, and in what context I'm considering the choice to apply to.

I can say this, however. My days of preferring muted colors for clothing and interior design are pretty much done. I'm almost fifty years old, and I like color, color that has something to say. Color shouldn't be a background or an afterthought. Use color with a purpose. You can wear earth tones that speak (they don't have to be demur and boring). You can design a room in pastels, but still have a message for the eye.

Don't be afraid of color. Don't be driven by what other people might think or like. Use color to please yourself, from the color of your hair, to the color of your socks, to the color of your car (I truly covet a obnoxiously lime green car I see in the work parking lot sometimes.) Life is too short not to enjoy yourself in a relatively harmless but creatively fun way.

Live the rainbow!