Blogging House Beautiful: What's Your Color Personality?

The September 2009 issue of House Beautiful was all about color, one of my favorite design topics. A large portion of the magazine was dedicated to helping readers discover their "color personality." Not only did it include homes from each color personality, but also a fun variety of methods for finding your true colors, including mood rings, numerology, iPhone apps and much more! I thought it would be fun if we took a look at the 5 specific color personalities highlighted in the magazine through beautiful homes.

Personality #1: Balanced
The first color personality, "Balanced," features the home of designer Windsor Smith. She chose a wide range of colors in her home, from a navy kitchen to a pink sitting room. However they're not unnerving in the least; they reflect an eclectic, high-energy personality but with a sense of coolness.


Personality #2: Rooted
"Rooted" focuses on designer Eric Cohler's Manhattan apartment, pointing out his burgundy, tan, and black dining room. It immediately screamed bachelor pad to me, but the House Beautiful team notes that he feels "grounded" in the space. They say that the "Rooted" color personality would fit someone who is inspirational, successful and comfortable. There is a lot of warm, inviting colors including chocolate, mustard and deep reddish-browns.


Personality #3: Relaxed
Next up? The "Relaxed" personality. Enter an all-beige room. OK, well it's not all beige, but it certainly feels monochromatic. And the home of designer Sara Scaglione is beachy -- calm tans, beiges, creams and whites mixed with warm wood tones and gold accents. Now, I'm not a huge fan of all-beige all-the-time homes, but I quite like her house. Sara tells the magazine that she used natural light as the key accent in every room, and that texture and contrast keeps it from feeling flat and boring. This color scheme is for someone who prefers feeling cool, calm and collected at all times.

Personality #4: Positive
Bring in the good vibes because "Positive", as reflected by designer Allison Paladino's happy home, pops. The energetic and bright pieces in her living room are not for everyone, but I can see how it reflects a positive and social personality.

Personality #5: Dramatic
Last, but not least, is "Dramatic", the final color personality. Designer Rob Southern's bold home is one of my favorites in this feature. It's got pizazz, glamour, excitement -- all the things you'd expect from someone with a dramatic color personality! Rob piles color upon color and layers texture upon texture with no shame. He takes patterns outside of most people's comfort zones. I found myself often saying, "Oh, I love that, but I would never do it in my house!" (So I guess you know where I fall!)

Read More:
- Turquoise in the Bedroom
- Trend Watch: Gray Walls
- Decorating in One Color: Green