Feng shui recommends colors for each area of your home or business. However, turning this into an impressive color scheme often requires advice beyond standard feng shui books. Annie Sloan's Color Schemes: For Every Room is one of the very best if you want your surroundings to look as if you've hired a professional decorator.Let's say that you're working on your Fame and Reputation area, which is often what visitors see first when they enter your home or office. Red is recommended, but... then what?
In Annie Sloan's lavishly illustrated book, you can start at the "Reds Plus" page and choose a color theme. For example, if you'd like a Pacific Islands look, start with Hibiscus Red--a slightly orange-ish red--and accent it with Gauguin Blue, a greyish medium blue.
Next, turn to the Pacific Islands section of the book and see the many other colors that will work well with your basic red and blue "islands" theme. You may want to add Banana Leaf Green, Lagoon Blue, Guava Orange, or Mango Yellow.
And, if these colors don't sound familiar, the book is filled with good, large swatches. You can take the book to the paint or home furnishings store to match the looks that you like.
If you'd prefer an African Visions theme for your Fame area, Ms. Sloan suggests starting with Ghana Red and Clearwater Green. If your tastes are more traditional and favor antiques, choose the Neoclassical colors of Aubusson Pink and a lovely bamboo shade of brown called Sandstone.
For your Money area, instead of overloading the corner with purples, choose an Elizabethan Pageant theme, and a muted Lavender Sachet shade, accented by a lovely pale Cambridge Blue. If you favor vivid colors reminiscent of fine art and the coast of France, Ms. Sloan offers an Impressionist palette. Or, Mambo Carnival colors may liven up an otherwise sedate or dark corner.
What I like best about this book is that it helps me to break out of the "crayon box colors" approach to feng shui. I'm using this book when decorating, but also for innovative color combinations in my art and photography.
If you're working with color for any reason, I heartily recommend Annie Sloan's Color Schemes: For Every Room.
Learn more about Annie Sloan's Color Schemes: For Every Room at Amazon books:
To learn more about Feng Shui, see my many other BellaOnline columns. For more current Feng Shui ideas, book reviews, and free downloads, see my website, Shui To Go! (pronounced "shway to go!").
