Comfort From the Storm by Arthur Raybold

Have you noticed that people rarely complain about the colors they observe in a sunrise or a sunset or the color of trees, mountains, sand, oceans, boulders? We instinctively seem "to know' that nature is intrinsically the way it should be. The work of humans is another thing. Paintings of natural scenes are open to criticism because the painter is interpreting nature or imposing his/her feelings onto some otherwise natural scene.

If we show a dozen people a painting of an old New England barn, we will get 12 different opinions as to what they liked or didn't like about it. Is it any wonder that committees have trouble deciding on colors for stucco and trim on the exterior of their condominiums? Committees of an egalitarian bent even go to the trouble of painting huge areas of their condominiums with several paint schemes. This way every single homeowner is motivated to express a legitimate opinion as to what colors (some not even exhibited) would be best.

It is important for HOA boards and property managers to understand what kind of statement their property is making. It can look convivial, welcoming, comfortable, cutting edge or conservative. It can also look dark, closed up, dated or say to people "We don't care what we look like to others; we have to hang onto our reserves as long as possible."

Color has become a huge factor in today's market and feelings are driving today's color trends as well. Today's trend colors reflect how we feel about our lives and our homes. Everyone in today's world feels stress as a constant companion. We are incessantly cell-phoned, e-mailed, paged, faxed, grid locked, road-raged, soccer-mommed and put upon by the demands of too much to do in too little time. What we are looking for in our homes is comfort from the storm. We all just want to get home, nestle down in our comfiest chair in front of our home entertainment center, send out for food and close the door on the world.

How does this translate to housing? The nostalgia and comfort of historic housing styles have become hugely popular. We respond to living environments that look solid, comforting and nurturing. Rough, rusticated brick has replaced smooth, slick brick in popularity and stone of all sorts has become very popular in even the most urbane of locales. These elements give buildings the sense of being built well and of lasting value, and more importantly, of somehow protecting us from the craziness of life.

These same emotions drive today's color trends. The colors of today and the near future are colors that make us feel comfortable. They are colors that are comforting and nurturing and enduring. They are softly khaki based with warm environmental overtones that reflect not only comfort but our awareness of the environment.

We can work to give our homes and community a sense of comfort and security that will nurture our lives. We can come home and have the feeling that our dwelling reflects nature-the way things ought to be.