Color has such power! The power to influence our emotions and moods. Certain colors can make us feel happy, sad, calm or even uneasy. For designers, understanding how to properly use color is a powerful tool. I have always been drawn to color. I enjoy the challenge of harnessing color to create pleasing palettes. In Elsie de Wolfe's book "The House in Good Taste", she devotes an entire chapter to using color effectively. She said "love of color is an emotional matter, just as much as love of music . . . The appreciation of color is a subtle and intellectual quality . . . The proper arrangement of tones creates an atmosphere that is full of life".

Our twenty-two month old daughter, Annabella, loves drawing and using color. She chooses each color with great excitement and then proudly thrusts the crayon into the air while exclaiming the color out loud. "Blue" or "Red" or " Green"!

Colorblocking has been a popular fashion trend of late. It is easy to understand why. The look is sophisticated, smart and modern. Color blocking is a fun, creative trend to experiment with by combining separates in contrasting shades from your own wardrobe.

Colorblocking first began dominating the runways in the 2011 shows. For the Fall 2013 season, designers have reinterpreted colorblocking. Instead of blocks of color, designers are also using strong geometric shapes that fit together like a well-planned jigsaw puzzle. Each piece looks like an abstract work of art.

Ellsworth Kelly, an ingenious artist known for experimenting with abstraction by using bold swathes of color with strong geometric lines, has teamed up with Francisco Costa of Calvin Klein to recreate a dress Kelly originally designed in 1952.

An example of Ellsworth Kelly’s artwork.
Yellow Relief Over Red (2004) Oil on canvas

Color blocking inspired the combination of fabrics for Solbrook’s Dempsey Ottoman.