Colors in Moods

From the desk of: Phoebe Allen

When you look at a blue sky, what do you feel? 

What do you sense? 

How does it make your body move?

For me, when I look at the sky on a blue bird day, with a few white clouds in the distance, I feel a sense of freedom. The first couple of thoughts that come to mind are: 

1. I wish I could sit on a cloud…

2. Who else, right now, in the world is looking at the same point in the sky as I am?  It brings me an awareness of community.  Every time.  And so, when I see the color sky blue in a flower or perhaps, a linen, I feel those same emotions. 

Since quarantine hit, I have been trying to be more aware of the little things in life and have more appreciation for them.  Colors truly are the little things in life, and without them we would be in a grey world.

When I think of my favorite color I immediately turn to pink, not because I am just another girl who likes the color pink or because I have found a love for millennial pink, but because that color truly brings me so much joy.  I cannot help but smile when I see it.  So, to be sure I have lots of pink in my life, I painted my walls in my bedroom pink, I tend to fill my house with pink flowers, I like pink clothes. However, I would not deck out my whole home or design a whole ballroom for an event in pink because it drowns out the beauty of the color.

When I use pink in an event setting it is the accent color, an eye-catching pop of color in the room, and each time I do this, the guests love it.  They feel that same sense of joy I do.

Red is a color that I have a love/hate relationship with.  And I think a lot of people do too. When I think of red, sometimes my mind goes right to blood and that is not something you want people thinking of when you’re designing their event space!  However, I think red can be very beneficial when used in the right setting.  Imagine a dinner with tablecloths draped in thick velvet linen with candelabras sitting atop.  That is using red in a proper manner.  That makes me feel grand and luxurious.  I also gravitate towards red food.  See below for these deep red cherries.  You know they’re sweet and utterly satisfying but looking at them they seem too dark and ominous to be a treat.  Sometimes colors can be deceiving…

Purple really is my least favorite color.  I think for me it is just too bold and too strong and it makes me thing of an old cranky King sitting on a throne or a barbie doll and for some reason I never loved barbies… However, I have started to like lilac and lavender.  Those to me are not even purple!  They are a different color entirely because they give me an entirely different feeling.  The make me feel light and soft, not cranky at all!

I could go through the whole rainbow saying what colors make me feel but I think you get the point.  Yes, colors are trendy, but they also make you feel things.  Next time you see a leafy green tree, or a bright yellow stripped towel, think to yourself how do those colors make you feel? And ask yourself why did I gravitate towards them?  Maybe you are feeling bold or maybe you’re feeling a little shy. 

When I am designing an event space, I always think of the client first, of course… but then I look inwards and think, ‘what would make this space shine and what feeling do I want my guests to feel?’

The next time you look up at the sky, pause for a moment and ask yourself ‘yes this is a sky, but more so it is a blue sky and how do I feel?’