Color Transforms

Color transforms any design, whether for the good or bad, depending on the message or mood that is trying to be portrayed.    There have been times when the lack of color seems more fitting than the addition of color- when color would have brought a design to a different and unfitting place. Usually, however, color is a welcome and powerful addition to a design- one that adds more and portrays and emotion or mood better than any other design element could.  

One of my favorite examples of how color transforms for the good is during the Christmas season, when house after house twinkles with holiday cheer and warmth due to a simple addition of color through lights and decor.   Color has the power to transform moods and transport people, especially during the holidays.

When looking at homes, there are so many different types of architecture that very few homes are designed exactly the same.  Furthermore, some homes are new, some expensive, some run down, others historical.  Eleven months out of the year, these houses may have nothing in common, but that one month, entire blocks are lit up with color and light and they all look cohesive -alike somehow.  The color is the element of the decorations and the holiday lights that undeniably contributes the most to the transformation. 

Image from http://christmascartoons.org/christmas/tag/christmas-lights/

Also, each house has its own style, and the way one decorates can say a lot about the person that lives there.  Even the quantity and the color of the Christmas lights one chooses sets a mood and can change the entire feel of a home’s exterior, revealing if the homeowner is playful or more refined.    When it comes to Christmas lights, the most common colors are white strands, or a colorful mixture of primary (red, yellow, and blue) and secondary colors (orange, green, and violet), but sometimes people throw tradition out the window and make their house pink.  It doesn’t really matter, either way color is transforming a home from ordinary to special to the person who lives there.

Image above (left) and two below from http://www.funny-potato.com/christmas-lights.html

Image above (right) from 

http://www.draftexcellence.com/christmas-lights-ideas-for-houses-and-christmas-trees/71902/

Furthermore, each color looks different when it is placed amongst the array of other colors: sometimes it appears more vivid, sometimes dimmer, an element that allows for so many colors to be mixed and still being aesthetically appealing.  

Passing by a home covered in colorful lights and wreaths makes me feel warm inside, it doesn’t matter whether they are warm colors (red, orange, and yellow) or cool colors (green, blue, and violet). 

It is hard to explain in its entirety the feeling one gets when they see a neighborhood transformed, but it can be emotional- the fact that color can be so immensely powerful.  Color like this can truly transform the design and feel of any home.