“Color is a power which directly influences the soul” –Wassily Kandinsky 

For 20 years I wore a military uniform, no regrets, just an acceptance that with that career choice came heavy influences on my personality and lifestyle. Although I wanted my home to look nice and of course, orderly, my design choices did little to represent the me buried deep in camouflage. It was strange that I could appreciate beauty and color but failed to splash it through my home and create a sanctuary. OK, there is more to the story, a previous and controlling relationship and everything that is common in that scenario but that aside my home and personal style was stilted. As I healed from that relationship, shed the military uniform, and looked around, I wondered why there were no colors, brilliant patterns, flowers and even the small bric-a-brac that influenced my soul.  

As children we loved bright colors and wearing stripes with shorts and cowboy boots but as we grew older, we became progressively conscience that certain colors “clash” and that patterns should not be mixed. I have thrown those old ideas out and will share some of the most fabulous places that I have visited that pushed conventional design and color, designers who have influenced me and how I choose new or in many cases, old items that make my apartment, my sanctuary.  

Using one of my favorite designer’s quotes, Dorothy Draper, “Birds are so much wiser than we! A robin builds a nest for robins. A seagull builds a nest for seagulls. They don’t copy each other – or build themselves nests as described in The Birds’ Decorating Magazine” So if it feels right to you, it is right.