And so it begins!

It's no secret that I love color. Vivid and vibrant, saturated, shimmering color! And I'm really not certain when this came about, as I used to decorate my home and dress myself in somber, earthy shades of brown and taupe. But at some point change definitely arrived, and I now find that I thrive in a colorful environment. Bright hues cheer me. I feel energized when I wear certain colors on my body. And I fully appreciate that many - ok, most - people wouldn't be at ease in my surroundings on a permanent basis, but that's ok. You can come and visit in small doses. ;-)

When we moved into our cottage in September of 2003, I hired a painter to take the faded yellow walls in a new direction. He coated the entire house (save for the upstairs bedroom, which retains its original 1948 knotty pine paneling) in Sherwin-Williams Buckram Binding, a serene sandy shade. I infused the space with color from my ever-expanding art collection (many paintings were bought on eBay!), but eventually even that didn't fully satisfy my longing for color, so I began transforming the cottage into a Technicolor riot by repainting the walls. An aged ocher in the breakfast room, Frida Kahlo blue in the kitchen, the hue of an Autumn gourd in the living room, ripe avocado in the dining, gleaming tigereye in the den, breezy aqua in the workout room ... I consider my house to be a work in constant progress (and believe me, a 68-year old home is always in need of something), and I'm not opposed to a little color revision (again!) if and when the spirit moves.