Home decor: A colorful new book to help if you’re stuck in neutral

Have you had this conversation with yourself?

“Self, I don’t know what color to paint my walls.” “I’ll go with a neutral white or beige to play it safe,” you decide.

The sofa? “Better be safe and get off white,” you reason.

The area rug? “Hmm, I don’t want it to be too limiting, maybe a beige and gray blend,” you answer.

And this is why so many rooms are as colorless as a bowl of oatmeal.

Enter Rachel Mae Smith, color consultant, The Crafted Life blogger and author the upcoming “Colorful Living: Simple Ways to Brighten Your World Through Design, Décor, Fashion and More” (Ten Speed Press, $26).

Smith’s love affair with color began 10 years ago, when she found herself stuck in an oatmeal-hued palette.

“I was going through a rough transition after a failed relationship,” she said by phone. “I didn’t have much money and thought if I furnished my apartment in neutrals, I wouldn’t be wasting money on something frivolous that I secretly loved, like a hot-pink velvet sofa.”

The result, she said, was that “I didn’t like how my own home made me feel.”

That was then. Today her Chelsea, Mich., home, which she shares with her husband and 1-year-old daughter, is full of color and joy.

“When you pick colors for reasons other than happiness, it can have the counter effect,” she said. “If you love a certain color, lean into it.”

“Colorful Living” illustrates how buying furniture in colors you love — whether it’s pastels, woodland shades or jewel tones — not only results in a psychological boost but ultimately saves money.

After taking readers through a painless review of color theory, Smith’s book shares tips on finding your favorite color, which perhaps you’ve suppressed. (Hello, yellow!) It then walks you through choosing a palette for your home and incorporating colors you love into your home and wardrobe. Here are some excerpts from our conversation:

Q. What do you wish more people knew about color?

A. Choosing color doesn’t have to be that serious. More people should choose joyful over safe. When you mindfully choose items based on colors that make you happy, you’re more likely to love what you have longer. While choosing a hot-pink sofa or a funky patterned chair is certainly not for everyone, in the grand scheme of life, it’s a low-risk endeavor. Research shows, we are more likely to hold onto bold designs longer because we crave visual stimulation.

Q. Where should the color-anxious decorator start?

A. Begin with small items you use often — a mug that’s your favorite color is a start. Then try getting a lime-green soap dispenser or an indigo doormat and see how dashes of color in high-traffic items add joy. To introduce color to a bland room, start with a rug in colors you love. Then bring color from the rug upward into the room with art, throw pillows and accent pieces, such as vases, sculptures, and planters. Outdoor furniture is another place to push yourself with color. Try brightly colored outdoor rugs, pillows, tables, chairs, and umbrellas.

Q. Most people think that investing in neutrals is smart and choosing color is expensive, but you flip that. Can you explain?

A. First, if you’re painting your walls neutral with resale in mind, you are painting your home for the next owner not for you. You miss the point. Second, products are usually the same price regardless of their color. Third, putting the time into creating a cohesive color palette helps you reduce impulse buying and frivolous spending, because you shop more selectively.

Q. Much of your book is about granting permission to break the rules, but you also mention a few color rules we should follow. What are they?

A. Acknowledge what you cannot change — the floor, cabinets, trim — and incorporate those colors into your palette from the start. Don’t ignore existing colors because you don’t like them. Choose favorite colors that complement them and make the space feel more in sync.

Q. Is there a place for neutrals?

A. Neutrals — beige, gray, taupe, black, white, cream and brown — have an important place in design. In fact, they can set off featured colors. In my entryway, for example, I painted the ceiling (Sherwin Williams) Loveable Pink, the color of bubblegum, but the walls are white, and the floors are a mid-tone brown wood.

Q. What’s your favorite color?

A. If I could have my whole house in pink, it just might be. My hair is pink. It’s been pink for nine years. It works for me.

Marni Jameson has written seven books, including 2024’s “Rightsize Today to Create Your Best Life Tomorrow.” Reach her at marni@marnijameson.com.