Color Rut No More | Thriving Women in Business Community

If you find yourself in a color rut, join the club. It happens to everyone from time to time. Whether you’re someone who favors pale colors or bright ones, dark ones or light ones, there is always room to play with new color combinations.

Color inspiration can be ten feet away from you at all times. Here are some places to check for new ideas.

Look out a window and see the industrial mix of shades in building materials. For someone who loves neutral shades, you may discover a great subtle palette.
Spend a few minutes on the same park bench throughout the year. A garden will change colors with the seasons and provide new color combination ideas.
Study the pattern of a rug beneath your feet. Professional colorists worked on that pattern and chose the colors out of thousands of possibilities. The colors that are just right in this rug pattern may be just right for you.
Observe the way a meal is presented in a fine restaurant. What colors are being used to garnish the meal? Chefs are artists and they play with colors when presenting food that appeals to the senses. Steal some ideas from that plate!
Dinnerware in a store or at someone’s house may have a color mix that appeals to you. Make a note of the colors or take a picture of the design. Go home and see if you have similar shades living in your closet waiting for you to mix them together.
Pick a favorite room in a home decorating magazine and study the color palette used in the furnishings, drapes, rugs and accessories. Is there a fun mix you’d like to try to replicate?

Keep your observations fresh by noting them somehow. Paint them, take a picture of them or rip out that page of a glossy magazine that inspires you. But remember, there are colors that work best on you and only you (see photos), and you’ll want to build your professional wardrobe around the colors that make you radiate. If you aren’t sure what those colors are, seek the services of a professional color analyst, share your observations with her, and have her design a custom palette just for you.

I’d love to create a unique color palette for you if you live in the Bay Area or on the Monterey Peninsula. You can call me to learn more at mlgellatly@powerful-presence.com or register at http://powerful-presence.com/store/services/colorful-analysis.html. You’ll find it so much easier to have a wardrobe that is harmonious and mixes and matches well.