How to Use Color to Create a Home That Truly Reflects You: Feng Shui, Emotions, and Personal Style

Dress your space in the colors that match your vibe—

authentic, bold, and unapologetically you!

Your home is yours. Every inch of it, every color, every detail—it should feel like you. I say this all the time: your space is an extension of your inner world. So why should you force yourself to live with a color that doesn’t sit right with you just because it’s supposed to be good Feng Shui?

Take the classic advice about painting your front door red to bring in abundance. In Feng Shui, red is associated with vitality, protection, and prosperity, symbolizing the energy of fire and attracting positive opportunities. Sounds powerful, right? But what if you hate red? What if every time you pull into the driveway, that bright red door makes you feel tense and irritable? Will that really tell the universe, "Yes, I’m ready for more abundance!" or will it just flood your energy with agitation? Color isn’t just about following rules. It’s about how it makes you feel.

My life has been full of color, and it has profoundly shaped my approach to design. I’ve always been drawn to the emotional depth that color brings to a space—how a bold choice can energize a room or how soft, muted tones can create a sense of calm. My personal experiences with color have taught me that it’s not just about aesthetics; it’s about crafting an environment that resonates with who you are.

I once painted my bedroom wall a soft lavender, embracing a whimsical shabby chic cottage vibe. I had a living room painted in sage green to complement a blue-green Victorian-style wallpaper framed within the picture molding. And furniture in all shades of blue, greens, and golds.

Yes, some of these choices might seem dated now. And that’s the point.

You can experiment, have fun—and it’s also a great way to create impact on any budget.

Color is making a comeback, but if you're unsure how to work with it, it's easy to feel stuck—caught between playing it too safe or second-guessing bold choices. The truth is, color isn’t about following trends or picking the ‘right’ shade; it’s about creating spaces that feel layered, considered, and deeply personal.

How to Use Color With Confidence

Start With Emotion, Not Trends
Trends can be inspiring, but they shouldn’t dictate your choices. Instead, focus on what truly resonates with you. Instead, ask yourself: How do I want to feel in this space? Color is deeply psychological, and its impact is personal. Warm tones like ochre, rust, and deep terracotta create grounding and connection, while cool shades like deep blue and forest green invite calm and contemplation. Design for feeling, not fleeting trends. And remember, color isn’t just about paint—it can come through textiles, timber, and accessories too.

Master the Art of Tension
Great interiors don’t just match—they contrast in a way that creates depth. Instead of defaulting to a perfectly coordinated palette, embrace unexpected pairings: rich mustard yellow against soft lavender, deep olive with dusty pink, navy offset with burnt sienna. The magic happens in the interplay of opposites, where warm meets cool, light meets dark, muted meets saturated. Nature is the perfect guide—think about bright wildflowers against earthy greens or the way the sea shifts from deep navy to soft aqua.

Let Texture and Materiality Guide Your Palette
Color isn’t just about paint—it’s about how it interacts with texture and material. The same hue will feel different on matte plaster versus high-gloss tile, soft linen versus polished concrete. Consider how materials in your space will affect how color is perceived.

Think Beyond the Walls
Ceilings, doorframes, window trims, skirting boards, and even bookshelves offer opportunities to layer color. Furniture, artwork, and objects can bring in just as much impact as a feature wall.

Use Color to Shape the Space
Color is a design tool. Want to make a small room feel larger? Use a continuous color across walls, trims, and ceilings to remove visual breaks. Want to create intimacy? A deep, enveloping shade like navy, charcoal, or merlot can draw the walls in, making a space feel cozy and cocoon-like. Think of a moody restaurant with dark walls and candlelight—it’s designed to feel intimate and inviting. A deep, enveloping shade will draw the walls in. Have an awkward architectural feature? Emphasize it rather than trying to hide it.

Develop a Signature Palette
Great designers create cohesion by developing a signature approach to color. Start by noticing the hues you naturally gravitate toward—in your wardrobe, in nature, in art. Do you love warm, earthy tones or cool, moody shades? Over time, your intuition for color will strengthen.

Break the Rules (But Know Them First)
Once you understand tone, contrast, and saturation, you can start breaking the "rules." Who says pink can’t be grounding? Or that dark walls always shrink a space? These design myths exist to be challenged. Experiment, test swatches, layer unexpected combinations, and trust your instincts.

Every color carries an emotional weight. Some feel uplifting, some grounding, some just off—to you. But to someone else, that same color might feel perfectly aligned. That’s okay. The key is to pay attention to how color affects you personally rather than just applying universal meanings. Your home should be a reflection of the energy you want to cultivate. So, next time you’re faced with a blank room, don’t default to the safest option. Lean into what excites you, embrace contrast, and trust that confidence with color comes from using it boldly and intentionally.

If you're ready to create a space that truly aligns with who you are, let's work together. Book a Design Alignment Call with me, and let’s bring intentionality, balance, and beauty into your home—one color at a time.