#joyfulcolour

I used to have this pair of pants that I absolutely loved. I think I got them my first year out of college, and to be honest, they didn’t look that great on me. They were blue and white seersucker in a wide-legged cut and they were a bit too long, making me look a bit like an awkward sailor wearing hand-me-downs. And they weren’t actually that comfortable. They were a little tight in the hips in a way that made me feel like if I wasn’t quite careful, I might split them right down the center. Oh, but I loved those pants. Why? Because inside the waistband they had this little strip of yellow piping, along with a floral lining. The yellow was inside the pockets too. Every time I went to put them on, I felt this intense burst of joy. So much so that even after I’d stopped wearing them, I still couldn’t bring myself to get rid of them — for years. I still think about them! The designer of those pants understood something powerful about joy: small moments matter a whole lot, sometimes more than the overall experience. A tiny pop of color in an unexpected place can have disproportionate impact. It catches our attention, focuses it, and casts a halo effect on its surroundings, making a run-of-the-mill object or place feel more considered and special. And when it’s hidden, like the yellow lining on my trousers, it creates a feeling of having a joyful secret, one that you get to rediscover again and again. With this in mind, I’ve been collecting some ideas for unexpected ways to use color at home, in products, and other items. What I love about