Remember when everyone had their “colors done” by holding polyester swatches up to their face to see which “season” they were? If all your clothes were in this color palate you were guaranteed to look good and feel great every day!

But sometimes we shy off when it comes to using color in our homes. It feels so permanent, so risky. We stick to white walls and tan carpet and brown sofas, dark cherry dining rooms and light pine bedrooms.

Look out over your showroom floor: is it a sea of brown and tan and beige, with a little bit of olive thrown in? How do you display color trends, and how does Mrs. Jones react to them? What colors are fresh now, what’s stale and what’s coming up next season?

What scares Mrs. Jones about color? Is it how to make colors flow from one room to the next? Or how to set the mood with hues? How do you calm her color qualms?

What can you tell about Mrs. Jones’s willingness to experiment with color by her clothing – or even her car?