Anna French’s Wild Flora Collection
They say that all things which go around come around. It’s certainly true in the worlds of fashion and interior design. We’ve been enjoying the rediscovery of mid-century modern for several years now. But is it time to leave the 70’s behind and move on to the 80’s? Anna French’s Wild Flora collection of wall coverings is making me thing that the answer is an absolute yes.
The 1980’s was the era of the English Country House. Interiors were decorated with over-stuffed, Chintz-covered sofas. They sat amidst ottoman-style coffee tables laden with piles of books, topped with a vase of peonies fresh from the stately gardens out back.
Often, movies precede the emergence of a particular style. Out of Africa greatly influences Ralph Lauren’s signature look – both in fashion and interiors. That movie, as well as A Room With A View, Howard’s End were influencers in the English Country Look that symbolized the 1980’s.
The Return of The English Country Cottage?
The great thing about rediscovery is the way an old style is reinterpreted to make it look fresh. Mad Men, for example, aims for historic accuracy. And the look isn’t quite as hip as we would have thought. It’s the reinterpretation that makes it fresh to our eyes.
I’m beginning to see this same reinterpretation applied to the ‘80’s Country Cottage. Why? Sometimes it only takes one movie to start things moving. In my humble opinion, Atonement is responsible for giving this look new life.
Atonement’s Living Room: A Feminine Country Setting
The movie’s set design was very popular and got a lot of press (not unlike Something’s Gotta Give). Cecilia’s bedroom, in particular, was gorgeous. Yet all interiors featured floral wall covering with matching window treatments. It’s a feminine look that works really well within the architectural framework of the rooms. Of course, the movie takes place in the 1930’s. But, as I said, we’re constantly taking a new look at old things.
Another influencer is the popularity of Jane Austen’s novels and the gentrified rural world in which her characters reside Рsort of faded fancy.
Anne French’s new Wild Flora collection of wall coverings and fabrics is spot on this trend. If you like a feminine style, it’s worth taking a look at.
Color Forecasting with Benjamin Moore
Sonu Mathew has a name that fits in perfectly with her position as Senior Manager of Color & Design at Benjamin Moore. Sonu is a Hindu word meaning Gold. What could be more perfect? Sonu was gracious enough to take time from her busy day to discuss a number of color-related design subjects with me.
We talked about color forecasting, an industry unto itself, and one that I find fascinating. We touched on creating color palettes and Benjamin Moore’s revolutionary new paint, Aura. I’ve divided our interview into three parts. The first topic is color forecasting, which poses the question: how do you know what colors will be hot two years down the road without using a Ouija board?
Benjamin Moore’s Sonu Mathew
Design Hole: You’re promoting really bright colors, like yellow and fuchsia. Why brights?
Sonu Mathew: We’re really promoting the idea of optimism in 2009 РIt’s a year of transition in the economy and politics which will have an effect on design.  The expression of colors that embrace this transition in a positive way is what we’re excited about.
Design Hole: What areas of influence do you look at when forecasting. Does the economy play a large role? Fashion?
Sonu Mathew: When we look at trends, we look at socio-economic movements, fashion, technology, and political climates and how they all come together to create culture in society.  For example, the current down economy may influence the number of new colors a car manufacturer may be financially able to introduce in a given year.  This will likely mean fewer experimental colors and more basic neutrals.  If that’s the case, we can argue that self expression should not be lost, but reinvented in the home with a greater degree of vigor, personalization and customization.
Red is a traditional color for weddings in China. White rules the day in the West.
Each society has associations to color (i.e. red for weddings in China, white here) that you can use to stimulate a connection through color to represent what’s to come in that culture.
A more global color trend example is an entire color family like Green.  It is an easy color for the human eye to adapt to and it’s also a color that has become the representative for the ecological movement globally.  Going Green has become both figurative and literal.  Therefore, the Green Family has come to the forefront of design and has essentially become a neutral (you’ll find Wales Green in our 2009 collection to represent this).
Green works well as a neutral.
Also, we tend to see a rejuvenation of color in a cycle too.  What changes is the tone, value and intensity of a particular hue each time the color comes back. Lastly, sometimes technological advancements (like making synthetic processes) allow for us to discover a new color- think of mauve- and the newness of that color catches on in our culture.
Insights to the colors we’re looking at for 2009:
We find a new optimism in 2009- we are on the verge of new beginnings politically, socially and culturally speaking.  As we’re faced with changing times, we chose to embrace and experience it fully.  We express that through our color choices for 2009- they are a combination of bright colors like St. Elmo’s Fire, Peony, and Wales Green balanced by grounding colors like Ebony King, Dior Gray and Stone Brown.
Benjamin Moore’s forecast is drawn from paints in their existing wheel.This palette is designed to work together.
Yellow attracts many of us- it radiates warmth and energy.¬† Deciding on the right yellow can be challenging.¬† St. Elmo‚Äôs fire is both a great transitional color and its namesake is a weather phenomenon that‚Äôs representative of a light that leads the way in times of uncertainty.¬† It pairs beautifully with Dior Gray for a sophisticated effect.¬† We’ve been seeing fashion designers play with it on runways in unique combinations like gold, silver, pink, etc.¬† It‚Äôs the very subtle hint of green that is the key to St. Elmo‚Äôs compatibility with these colors.
Green is easy for they eye to process and so is deemed a calming color.¬† Because of environmental focus, it’s also representative of nature.¬† Green has been gaining speed over the last 5 years and is now basically a neutral.¬† It goes with any color.¬† Wales Green is a nice variation on the acidic greens we‚Äôve seen in the past.¬† It‚Äôs relaxing and fun!
Peony is that representation of Fuchsia- punchy, exciting and can be treated as a color for an accent wall or an entire room filled with dramatic influence.  It’s a blue based red and colors in this family have been associated to luxury in the past.
Design Hole: What is the goal of promoting seasonally trendy colors while still keeping in mind that homeowners will only repaint once every 5-10 years?
Sonu Mathew: We all look for transition and refreshing ideas at different times or seasons in our own lives.  By offering edited selections of color, we keep our clients up to date on what’s happening in the exciting world of color & design (tying into home fashion and accessory collections that are introduced throughout the year) while finding new and fun ways to highlight just a few of our over 3500 colors.  Inspiration can strike us at anytime and we hope to help each individual find it through our work.
It’s also important to recognize the difference between a trend and a fad. Fads are a “flash in the pan”, an idea that’s over before it begins and that leaves someone with regret.  Trends and their purpose are to be evolutionary.  You’ll see a family of color that you can certainly live with for years.  As I mentioned earlier, tone, value, intensity may shift, but the colors we select are meant to be livable.
Lastly, we find where homeowners used to be on a longer cycle, about 4-6 years between repainting, they’re now repainting every 3-5 years on average and not necessarily repainting the entire home at one time.  Rather, we work on smaller projects more regularly now.
Design Hole: How much does Benjamin Moore take climate into account when predicting popular colors? For example, bright yellow is a bold choice. Will it play well in the frozen north as well as the sunny south?
Sonu Mathew: We consider lighting in environments when suggesting colors and recognize that every situation is different.  The context of color actually plays a large part in how any given color will live in any location.  For example, when looking at our yellow, St. Elmo’s Fire, we also offer accompanying colors.  There are the brights such as Peony and Wales Green for the environment that craves a bold combination of color and there are what I call grounding colors in the selection such as Ebony King, Dior Gray, and Stone Brown that can offer a very comforting and rooted influence in combination with that same yellow.  Also, as you reference, light, even artificial, is of extreme importance.  A poorly lit interior environment is often the culprit of dissatisfaction when it comes to our spaces.
Also, we are advocating our optimistic yellow as an accent color – if you are going to paint one wall next year, consider St. Elmo’s Fire.
Stay tuned for part two of our interview on Monday! In the meantime, what top three colors would be in your color forecast? Have you seen enough newscasters wearing purple ties? Is that a trend or a fad?
Purple Love
If you like to read shelter magazines, you may begin to notice that purple is making its mark in the design world. The trend began in France and is becoming a major trend. Personally, I love it. It’s a bold color – one that can transform a room tremendously with just a can of paint.
This room is from French magazine, Maison Francaise. Notice the way the designer used three colors to create a wonderful sense of drama. He used purple on the walls (“Brinjal” by Farrow and Ball) and coordinated it with indigo on the doors and furniture to create depth. The final touch is the turquiose used for the back the armoire. the turquiose is reflective and makes the glassware pop.
Also, notice how the purple and indigo play off the orange tones in the dining table. The wood is accentuated because the blue tones are complimentary colors of the orange tones in the wood. Zip!
Finally, the light colored carpet and fabric on the chairs add light, so the room isn’t too dark. This is also where adding ambient light comes into play. A chandelier is wonderful, but if the room is still too dark, adding some simple downlights will brighten the room on a dark day and add even more drama if used creatively.
Here are a couple of other rooms in the same home. Again, look at the way color is used to work together. The indigo doors are aged so emphasize the decorative molding. I love the way the fabrics aren’t matched to perfection. Lots of stripes – but they work so well together. It’s this more casual approach (for lack of a better word) that creates a sense of a “real” room for “real” people. It looks like humans with an opinion live here. Not like a decorator super-matched everything to death. Those types of room always wind up looking like hotels to me.
If you’re interested in trying purple in a room, here are some paint colors to consider:
- Mythic‘s #016-5 & 016-6
- Pratt & Lambert‘s Shaded Climatis and Anchusa
- Benjamin Moore‘s Grape Gum and Starry Night Blue
I couldn’t find the Farrow and Ball colors on their American website. We haven’t caught up with this trend. I”ve contact the company to find out if and when they’ll be introduced here and will update when I hear back.
UPDATE: A reader corrected me about the “Brinjal” color, which is on their website. I was working too fast and didn’t see it. My bad.
Photos: Jean-Marc Palisse
Kitchen Innovation
Going to the Salone del Mobile was a wonderful experience. As I said earlier in the week, the most inspiring aspect were the kitchens. Of everything I saw, kitchen design was the one things that’s taking the largest step forward. The rule of the kitchen triangle principle is a thing of the past. And once the rules have been broken, everything becomes open to change.
Here’s a peek at some of the innovative things I saw.
In-line cooktops are a huge trend. The improvement in ergonomics is obvious – no more reaching for pots behind pots.
Smeg (more about them later) has introduced a horizontal dishwasher that opens with a touch. It sits higher in the cabinet, making access easier.
Miele has a built-in pressure cooker. For busy families, it’s a great thing to have. I use mine (not built-in) all the time. It makes perfect risotto in 9 minutes.
You might think there isn’t a thing anyone could do to improve a simple sink, but I saw a lot that were integrated into stainless steel countertops. A slope drains the water into the sink. Colanders and cutting boards were also built-in design elements.
Archlinea offered up a couple of nice ideas. One is a greenhouse designed for growing herbs and such – this one suspended from the ceiling. The other is a countertop warming tray.
Elica had a large display of artistic vent hoods. They’re designed to resemble light fixtures. Some looked a bit strange to me, but it’s an interesting idea and one that kicks the idea of kitchen as living space up a notch.
Finally, I fell in love with these tempered glass counters and backsplashes. Loaded with color, which you know I love, they broaden the creative aspects of kitchen design. Above are examples from Valcucine and DADA.
Now some bad news. Not all of these products are currently available in the states. But fear not, the US is such an enormous market that many are coming our way. We just have to wait a couple of years.
More Kitchen Love
Continuing with the idea of kitchens and family rooms living as one, here’s a photo essay of kitchens from Milan. (Did you know that Italy ranks number two in the world when it comes to kitchen sales?) Notice how the dining tables are creatively integrated into the workspace. I also love the new way cabinet doors are opening and their larger widths.
Archlinea used larch for their table.
One of Snaidero‘s kitchens with a more furniture-like look to it. I like the way the upper cabinet doors open.
Not such a great photo, but this was an interesting way to incorporate a cooktop with a dining table.
Another Snaidero kitchen. I like the way the shelving runs across the wall – moving from kitchen utility to decorative space.
See more after the jump.
