BLUEBERRY
“When you have what you love, you have everything you need.”
Growing up, I went to private school. Nuns, mass, the works. My daily wardrobe consisted of some crazy, multi colored blue plaid skirt and white shirts. We eventually evolved to navy blue slacks and skorts. I rocked the color blue for eight years but this constant barrage of blue wore on me and you could say that my love of blue dimmed considerably. But late one cold, February night blue or should I say BLUEBERRY found its way back into my life in a meaningful way.
I was desperate to find the perfect chair to stage next to a fireplace in the basement of my home which I was selling at the time. I was in a panic because the open house was in the morning and I am a little OCD on things looking just right. Blame it on being a visual merchandiser for years (yes, it’s a career). Stylistically, I knew I wanted classic lines but color...I had no clue. That was until this lovely little velvet number in juicy blueberry called out to me from behind stacks of forlorn merchandise. There he was in all his glory - silver nail heads, low scooped arms, subtle legs. And there was only one of him. I knew it was meant to be. After bargaining with the store manager, he came home to rest in the basement living room. I have two rough and tumble boys but as soon as they saw this chair, they immediately sank into his lap and curled up with a book.
Their immediate response got me thinking about the effect color has on our senses and emotions. In this case, blueberry was a color that resonated with all of us. For me, it felt new, rich and luxurious. It was no longer the overused color from my childhood. For my kids it was soft, comforting. Blueberry has just the right amount of energy to be dramatic yet approachable and still fun. In fact, the blueberry chair inspired me to carry the color into the dining room. Now our little man has three companions in the same shade. They all live in sweet harmony with a blend of whites, creams and greys and accents of rose and red.
So where does the infamous chair live today? He has been elevated to the living room where my main man has claimed him as his own. I smile every time I see him lounging in that chair, TV remote in hand, happy as a clam. And I realize that the color of this chair represents my happy place when the people I love are surrounded in comfort. And that’s all I need.