There’s a big trend I’ve observed while perusing through my favorite design blogs, neutral colors. It almost leaves a bad taste in my mouth. But then again, my paint choices seem to be akin to Mimi’s make-up and clothing choices.  You remember Mimi from the Drew Cary Show right? If you don’t definitely check it out, it’s a hilarious show that I’ve wasted many a afternoon watching re-runs of during college.

If you remember correctly, my living room looks like this, when it’s clean and I’ve sent sweetie and Annie dog off on an afternoon adventure.

Very yellow and very red, isn’t it delicious?!? I love color, and have such a hard time accepting this trend into neutral. Maybe it’s not a trend, and just an element of design that’s been around since before I became interested in design. Are we that afraid of color nowadays? Or maybe it’s just that we are all too lazy to re-paint our rooms once we tire of the Barbie Pink. ( I like bright colors, but not that bright!)  As I learn more about design through reading my shelter mags and design blogs, it got me to thinking, which in and of itself is a very dangerous past time that I try to avoid like a dirty dish that needs washing.

But like I was saying, it got me to thinking, why are we afraid of color? Yes, I’ve seen a colorful throw pillow here and there, or maybe a pop of color in a nice lamp or a rug. But what about real color? A bright colorful wall, or a bold piece of furniture, a red couch perhaps?

{Image Courtesy of Being Brazen}

Instead these days, especially in some of my favorite blogs, I’m seeing rooms that look more like this:

{Image Courtesy of Apartment Therapy}

White, cold, sharp but not in a good way. In the sort of way that you could poke your eye out. But not shoot your eye out like the ill fated Ralphy on A Christmas Story. Yeah, I had to squish in a movie reference, even if it didn’t fit.

But again, I digress, it has been said that a good neutral wall color can work as a “canvas” for riskier design choices. But why not make your color the risky design choice? And why should color be risky at all when it’s such an easy fix. A can of paint won’t run you more than $30, if you purchase the good stuff.

I’m not saying that I’ve never fallen victim of a trend that would later be called outdated and ugly. I was a child of the 80’s, I wore my fair share of side pony tails and leg warmers. But what I am saying is that, shouldn’t we have things in our home that make us happy? And shouldn’t we be proud of those things that make us happy? Most importantly, shouldn’t we love our homes? It’s the place that witnesses our most important and profound moments in life, and most often those times that aren’t so important or profound.

Trend or no trend, neutral or colorful, a home is a place where you feel the most comfortable. A place where you can express yourself, either through design, or another outlet, it’s the place where you can be yourself. And there should be no shame in that, and no excuses made for the state of our homes. We all get busy with life and sometimes the floor doesn’t get vacuumed as often as we would like. (Yes, I’m preaching to myself here too!) Our homes should be an outward expression of who we are or how we feel, and there should be no excuses made for that. We should all love our homes, and fill them with whatever it is that makes us happy. Whether it be that old blue 80’s couch that you just can’t bring yourself to part with, or a sleek new contemporary sofa.