In this episode, I visit the New York studio of my friend Lori Weitzner, a pattern designer with her own line of fabrics and wallcoverings. She's also the author of Ode to Color. This is the second part of our conversation: last week was all about nature in her work, and this week is all about color. We go through five of the ten "color worlds" from her book. Each one combines colors, materials, scent, music, and story around a particular feeling.
The idea I took away is this: the color you need isn't always your favorite color. Lori's free color test isn't built to confirm what you already like. It points to what your space and your life may be missing right now. That's a very different way to choose color than starting with the color wheel or a favorite paint chip, and it explains why your answer can change from one life chapter to the next.
There's a second idea running through the conversation too: every room has a different emotional job. Each room serves a different moment in your day, so different rooms can draw on different color worlds while still flowing together.
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This episode is sponsored by Aura House.
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
The color you need isn't always your favorite color
Lori designed her 18-question color test to point to what you may need in your space, not what you like or already use. When I took it, I expected Waterside because I'm drawn to water. Instead, I got Alchemy, the world of creativity, with Night Shadow as my secondary result. Your favorite color tells you what you love. A color you need answers what's going on in your life right now.
What a color world is, and how it differs from a color palette
A color world is a group of colors plus everything that comes with them: the feeling they create, their place in culture, the stories, even the scent and music they suggest. Lori found them when a HarperCollins editor told her she was writing the book she thought people wanted, not the one she wanted to say. Lori spent a month pulling swatches, poems and quotes from around her studio, and they sorted themselves into color worlds. She's clear that this is her philosophy, not color science, and that you may have color worlds of your own.
Five color worlds from Ode to Color
Earthly: the hot earth. Cinnamon, terracotta, fire and ignition. It's the world of passion and of getting going on the things you want to do but aren't doing yet. In Lori's words, there are people who go through life smiling and people who want to sing, and this world is for singing.
Garden Party: pure joy, fun and play, in early-spring colors like soft peaches and light greens. Lori draws a clear line: this is active play, not rest. Her own versions are slightly muted. Yours might be sweeter.
Fragrant Woods: the wet earth, as opposed to Earthly's hot earth. Deep, rich, mossy greens, the colors of the forest floor after rain. It's about nurture and memorabilia, and about caring for yourself and others. Above all, it connects you to nature. It's the world Lori always gets, living in a concrete loft in New York City.
Waterside: blues and aquas, including greener, turquoise-leaning blues. Familiar, comforting, and grounding. Lighter blues feel airy and boundless, like the haint blue painted on porch ceilings in Charleston and New Orleans. Lori writes that blue was the last color to be named.
Out Loud: energy, courage, going bold and not caring what people think. Lori says it's important "in doses," and it's not a world for a bedroom.
Every room has a different emotional job
A room's purpose isn't only how you use it. It's also how you want to feel in that daily moment. So different rooms can call for different color worlds, as long as there's a flow between them. The same goes for the people you live with: everyone in a household responds to color differently, and a child's room can need something completely different from the rest of the house.
How color needs shifted after COVID
About 150,000 people have taken Lori's test. Before COVID, Earthly and Waterside were near the bottom. Since then, Waterside is number one, and Earthly is second. Lori's reading is that people wanted the familiar and stable (Waterside), and they also felt pushed to stop waiting on what they really wanted to do (Earthly). The colors we need shift with the moment we're living in.
You don't have to repaint: start with a candle
When people get Earthly as a result, they often ask Lori if they need to paint the whole house terracotta. Her answer is no. You can start by lighting a candle. A candle is fire; it's ignition, and it brings that world into the room right away. A color world can come in through small, personal touches. You don't have to start over.
Look for color inspiration beyond interiors
Most of the images in Ode to Color aren't interiors at all. They're materials, places, artwork, fashion and moments in time. This is something I talk about all the time: if you're trying to find your own signature style, other people's rooms are the least useful place to look. Start with what moves you in the wider world.
Resources
Take Lori's free color test: https://odetocolor.loriweitzner.com/
Buy Ode to Color: https://www.loriweitzner.com/shop-ode-to-color-book
Lori's website (including the music and scents paired with each color world): https://www.loriweitzner.com/
Lori Weitzner is a pattern designer based in New York City and the author of Ode to Color. Find more guest interview episodes and full show notes at SlowStyleHome.com/podcast.
[Photo gallery of book spreads below]
Earthly
Fragrant Woods
Garden Party
Out Loud
Waterside
