And, all of those tidy spaces make it much easier to change the wall color when I get the urge!

Here’s a peak at the piece I wrote for Latina Style magazine titled, Clearing Spaces:

Dear Cristina,

During the winter my family and I were stuck in our house more than usual. Now that we have time to relax, I’m looking at a lot of clutter and mess and it’s making me loca. I don’t have any money to remodel, but I want a fresh start on a budget that’s mostly going to be hard work rather than cash. Where should I begin?
Ana Louisa P.

Have you ever moved and noticed that after you unpacked your things and put them in your new home, you saw your belongings in a new light? The process of moving is all about preparing for a change. You probably had a garage sale or giveaway before you left your old house, taking a look at your things with the view, “Do I really need this?”

The good news is that you don’t have to move to get a new view of the same old stuff in your life. The easiest way to focus your vision is to clear out the clutter. Without the distraction of clutter you’ll be able to see what you have to start with so you can determine the best way to begin a big change.
This change won’t have to cost you a dime, though you will have to work hard. You may even make some money if you sell your discarded items.

Working from where you are and with what you have can bring about amazing results, whether we’re talking about fitness, emotional growth or home décor. You always have more than you think – just not in the way you usually think about it.

Focusing on what you really like and want to continue to live with won’t stop at your home décor. Even more surprising is that changing your home on the cheap can be a creatively challenging project that will not only result in a “new” way to live in your home, you’ll discover talents you didn’t know you had. You’ll quickly realize that refining your focus will extend to other areas of your life, maybe even including your work and personal relations. . . . READ MORE

Though we may have a good idea of what we like, getting into the heads of our clients and guiding them to know what they like is a bigger challenge. We are not privy to the experiences they have, and even if we were, the tendency within ourselves to relate to the client through our own story influences our perceptions. The way any of us respond to a color is the result of our experience, good or bad. Everything we see, hear, feel, smell and touch informs our color perceptions.

So how do you get out of your own head and into your client’s head? Nurture your intuition and you can leapfrog your personal preferences so that you can truly hear your client.

Developing active listening skills will enable you to successfully engage your intuition in the process of choosing colors. Listening between the lines of your conversations with the client and observing their reactions to choices will give your subconscious the clues you need to respond intuitively. I’m not saying you need to psychically pull solutions out of the atmosphere, though that would be nice. You do need to be open to ideas that may seem a bit random.

Here’s an example: I was working with a couple who were finishing a very complicated remodel of their home. They brought me in to help them create their foundation color palette. Things went well until we got to the master bedroom. They couldn’t agree and their frustration with the remodel and each other was growing. They went to another room to quietly argue, leaving me alone with my color samples. During that time, I started leafing through the samples. The name Mt. Rainer Gray caught my eye. I knew that the couple was very athletic and spent time in the Cascade Mountain range. The color fit well with the existing palette, so I presented it to them when they returned, making a point to say the name of the sample (something I usually don’t do). They looked at the color, looked at each other and exclaimed, “That’s where we met!” Remembering how much they enjoyed each other (when they weren’t remodeling) they quickly put aside their frustrations and agreed on the color.

My solution was a long shot; nonetheless, it illustrates how by observing and listening carefully my subconscious got enough clues to create an answer for my clients. Intuition isn’t fail safe, but is does help. Begin to exercise your intuition by starting with something down-to-earth. Note the color of something your client enjoys regularly: a favorite food or drink, a color they wear often, even the color of their dog or cat can be a starting point. Include that color (or something similar) among their choices and watch their response. People and their perceptions are constantly changing. Clearly observe what is and your mind becomes more open to what might be.

Guiding my color consulting clients through change and watching them grow with their choices is a gratifying aspect of my work. Buildings shape how we live our lives and the designs we live with reflect our past and prepare us for our possibilities. Relevant design brings beauty to the process. It’s good work!

Read more of my articles on my website www.CristinaAcosta.com