It's the colour of love, it's the colour of anger, a signature of Royalty and it warns us of danger. So how can we use such an attention seeking colour in our homes?
The Most Powerful Colour.
As an item of clothing, red can symbolise empowerment and confidence. And we are seeing more and more of it on the runways, in all shades. A speaker for Pantone recently pointed out the following swatches to keep an eye out for...
The attention seeking nature of red can make it difficult to use in the home, by my own admittance I avoid using it for room sets as it scares me a little. But let's remember that there are lots of personalities to red; it's not just letter box or warning sign red. The colour stretches from almost brown to dark and spicy tones that can add a level of sophistication and class, right the way across to blush, tranquil pinks. As pink is after all, light red.
Dark and Spicy
The dark and sumptuous reds go all the way into browns, burgundies and purples. These tones can be layered harmoniously with greens and blues as well as neutrals, they can also be used for entire rooms including woodwork to really create a sophisticated and classy space. Perfect for bedrooms, office spaces, bathrooms as the over all feel is much calmer than bright reds but still energy boosting.
Bright Red
Attention seeking reds have an all together more modern feel to them, that teams well with both cooler neutrals and eye popping splashes of vibrancy, think bauhaus.This shade of red makes for a dramatic feature wall and contemporary colour blocking. I would use this colour more sparingly in a space of rest, relaxation or concentration as it can raise blood pressure and anxiety in some. Where I would use it as a statement could be a staircase or perhaps a cupboard, hallway etc as these are spaces we use but don't stay in for long. So you get the positive energy boosting effects of a splash of red but not the negative.
A designer to recently embrace punchy red, is well renowned and celebrated Lee Broom with his Maestro Chair. A great way to add an accent colour to a living space. Click on the image to view his website.
Light Red
Pink, a colour being reclaimed from its overtly feminine and child associated past. Pink has gained a new grown up and sophisticated look. Which works for any space, old or new, big or small. It's no longer feminine nor masculine and has a tranquil quality, which is something a lot of us are searching for as we spend more time at home than ever before. We recently painted the chimney breast in the living room in the ELLE Decoration collaboration with Crown pink ( see image below ). And could not be happier. So much so that the dusky hue has made it to the bedroom in the form of bedding... I think this colour could become an addiction.
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