What A Difference A Year Makes
Colour of things to come by Louise Lambert
What a difference a year makes, not only in our political world, but how we paint our homes. Colour has the power to reflect our emotions and feelings. In 2016 the Benjamin Moore paint company declared “white” to be the colour of the year and shocked us with its steadfast austerity. “Shadow” is this this year’s super star colour. Its best described as a royal amethyst dripping in drama. Gaia Mueller, of Benjamin Moore, Kelowna and West Kelowna, remarks that rather than being alienating and cold, it is warm, relatable and comforting”.
The artist side of me adores shades purple or aubergine. I use them to create depth and atmosphere. Not an obvious colour to the viewer, it allows objects to take center stage, creating a beautiful back drop.
“Shades of purple may work in art, never the less, why did the company Benjamin Moore feel moved to choose something drastically different from their white?
Ellen O’Neil, the creative directive of Benjamin Moore stated the following in a recent interview with Architectural Digest …”Simply White, as the 2016 Color of the Year was a tough act to follow and she admits “we all felt a little color-deprived”. O’Neil was influenced by her travels to Paris, Korea, and Copenhagen. She says “Shadow” reminded me a lot of this incredible smoky, deep purple. It is a really usable color—four walls in that color would work. It’s more Russian tea room than Scandinavian cafeteria. People are looking for layers—it’s tactile materials, its textures, it’s palettes that are much bolder.”
Perhaps a Russian Tea room is a sign of things to come.
So how does it work at home..?
Gaia Mueller, part owner of Benjamin Moore Kelowna and West Kelowna, provides these convincing thoughts on “Shadow” or shades like it. “It adds drama and romance to a colour palette which had tended toward minimalism and even austerity over the last few years. Our world is, as Webster’s dictionary put it in their 2016 word of the year “surreal”. I believe a colour like Shadow takes us away from what can sometime be bleak or austere whites and greys toward the more reassuring warmth of jewel homes.”
This rich shade will work very well with our “Okanagan Palette” which we featured in our 2016 articles – May décor article
Use darker tones of purple in wine shades in a room you use at night such as a media room. It will envelope you and feels very peaceful and calming.
Emblematic of royalty, purple may also make you feel rich. If you’re tired of the beige on beige or grey, try something a little more exciting. It has a powerful effect on our emotions.
If you don’t want to pick up a paint brush, introduce these jeweled tones in your accessories for starters.
Embrace the drama of the year with the new colour of 2017.
By Louise Lambert
Westside Weekly, January 27, 2017