Hue Amour

I have increased the amount of purple in my wardrobe over the last two years quite substantially.  Yes, it had been a hot color but I consciously chose it to be a more frequent hue in my life for more reasons than just being a fad.  I rarely say the word purple without preceding it with “power”, as many friends know.  Purple has a history of being linked to royalty.  The many shades and tints of the purple dye was created from extraction of different sea snails (check out the history of Tyrian Purple here), through an elaborate and expensive process that made it mostly accessible to the elite, which is where the color finds it’s royal heritage.   Before I move on, I also want to clarify that the color violet is the more true hue on the color spectrum whereas purple comes from a blend of reds and blues.  I use purple intermittently with violet as most people relate to them as being within the same hue.

Purple can be a strong color, whether within the pastel family or bright and bold.  It screams for attention and authority, yet surprisingly does not intimidate.  Being a blend of a warm and cool hue (red and blue) it does not weigh heavy in either temperature zone.  Purple is another strong color choice worn by those in speaking or political positions.  In all honesty, I believe it can be, and should be, a more suitable choice than red in many instances as it does not have the intimidation and heat that can exist with red as well as purple has associations and heritage to wisdom and clarity.

As for your home, I think purple can be an amazing choice.  I love purple with turquoise, a mix of reds, and of course it’s complements are green and yellow.  It’s direct compliment is green-yellow (think chartreuse or lime green) so varying shades of the these two hues work great with a range of purples.  I also love the look of using purple as an accent with an all white or neutral backdrop.  Using a deep eggplant or vibrant amethyst as an accent color in a rustic and warm home can bring with it some exciting energy and movement.

We all know pink has a feminine association for pretty much….everyone.  Though, there is much more to this color than just a picture of a little girl.  Today’s current associations are primarily due to gender stereotypes more than real color psychology facts.   Even still,  I think when you brighten and embolden this hue you have a very strong and empowering color that can add some needed female energy to balance out many spaces – even a man’s pad.  I am referring to fuchsia, also known as magenta.  The color name fuchsia comes from the fuchsia flower.  It’s a bright shade of pink that is a blend between red and purple.  It’s not near as energetic as red and certain shades of fuchsia can even be calming.  Like red, it is a romantic and passionate color but without the intensity that red carries; a bit softer and more playful.  I really enjoy using this color in design primarily for it’s light playfulness.

This couch was my inspiration from a Design Sponge post. It's so bold, lively and makes me want to sink into the couch with a smile.

Fuchsia’s complement on the color wheel is lime green.  I don’t know about you but it makes me scream “hello 1991″!  Good thing 1991 was a great year for me.  Another good thing is that these neon colors are back in a big way.  If you want to have some fun with these complements I recommend putting in a dark and stabilizing neutral to the mix such as chocolate brown.  Fuchsia is also fun with yellows and a variety of green hues.  If you mix with blues you’ll have a very calming and cool space and if you include a lot of beige and white to this mix you might drift off to a mediterranean sea village.  When played with oranges you have a perfect child’s room for their imagination to run wild…but be careful it doesn’t have too much heat in it or they will never sleep.

Fuchsia can also relate to spirituality and has been considered a sophisticated and refined color of late and was more commonly associated to fine culture in historical times.  It’s a great color, in my opinion as it has a beautiful balance of elegance and sweetness.  Start looking at pinks, and especially fuchsia colors, and thinking about your emotional reactions past the gender ideas and you may be surprised at what you’ll experience.

These days kitchens are usually the heart of the home.  Open kitchens where families can spend the majority of time together, dinner gatherings, and gourmet home cooking are all reasons for making this room bigger, more functional, and open in today’s age.  Kitchens haven’t always been like this.

Kitchens used to be a room in the home where only servants frequented to prepare the meals, at least for the wealthy.  It was designed purely for function and due to the lack of modern stoves, tended to be full of soot and smoke.  Then it morphed into many other styles depending on the class and location but most predominantly it found it’s new look starting in the 40′s when stay-at-home Moms needed their kitchens to be efficient and enclosed from the rest of the home’s living area.  At this time modern day technology brought in appliances, dishware and architectural elements in a multitude of colors and new materials.  Now days the kitchen has been opened up to accommodate not just the chefs and Mothers but the entire family, guests and even the pets.

There’s your brief history lesson on kitchens but the reason I write about them is really only because I have seen so many inspiring pictures lately on kitchen design.  Because kitchens have such a valuable place in the home these days, it’s important that the design of them is taken as seriously, if not more seriously, than other rooms. These days kitchens can be accommodating to any aesthetic and style preference.  If you are a minimalist you can hide pretty much everything and anything.  In fact, you can even hide the cabinets and oven!  Color is another thing that does not have to be left out of the kitchen.  Get as bright, bold, light or neutral as you want.  Also have fun with bringing in treasured objects as the space does not have to be utilized only for kitchenware.

Give your kitchen some individuality and let it speak about you.  It wants a voice and style as much as you want it to be functional.  Make sure to be grateful for this space and modern technology for being a place for inspiration and creativity rather than just soot, heat, and tedious food prep. :)

Red.  The color of seduction, heat, wine, energy, the muleta (in bullfighting), vitality, confidence, action, lips, courage, love, and the forbidden fruit – the apple.  From these associations the color red is an intense hue that can be craved by many people and overwhelm others.  If used with awareness red can be a positively powerful color to filtrate into your life or it can be the opposite.

Red carries more heat than any other color (and longest wavelength of light) and is therefore a stimulant.  Even though it brings energy and can induce motivation and excitement, it’s temperature still makes it comforting and when balanced appropriately in a space can really ground an individual (hence, it’s also the color connected with the Root, or lowest, Chakra).

Red is a very popular interior color choice, especially in the dining room, for good reason.  Red connotes energy and discussion which can be a desired effect upon entertaining guests after a meal.  Though, be careful as too much intense red can also make people want to run away right after eating. Red’s energy is usually not recommended for the bedroom as it can cause issues sleeping.

To use red in your space effectively, you first need to be consciously clear on how you personally react to the color.  From there find what function and purpose the spaces in your home serve.  Then you can decide if the color should be an accent piece or if it would suit you best having a strong presence.

Red’s counterpart is green.  I personally love using red and green in my home but please be careful as you don’t want your home feeling like Christmas in the middle of summer.  I also enjoy putting together a scheme of various red hues from pink to true red to burgundy.  More traditional looks use red, butter yellow and blue together.  For a sexy, mysterious, and modern take pair red with shiny black and touches of gold.

The tiny bit of red in this space really makes it pop!

I’ve been a bit crazy about yellow and aqua lately.  I have been craving it like I crave homemade mac ‘n cheese.  I have been staring at yellow and aqua color swatches so much you would think I’m trying to download a secret message that gives the answer to the purpose of life.

I have not had any desire to wear these colors together (unless pink and black were added into the mix) but I have been dying to decorate a room – preferably a bathroom – with these two hues.  I have also played around with putting a bright and vivid red into the mix.  Talk about “hello brightness”!  Brightness is my friend.

I started to analyze my attraction to these colors and realized the combo lends itself to being exactly what I’m craving to be in life right now.  The yellow is very cheerful, fun, not serious, and inviting. The aqua speaks to me as being calm, focused, and gentle.  The two together makes me feel at ease.  Wistful.  Inspired.  Creative.  Gosh, it’s such a summer-y combination, isn’t it?  I love it.

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I wish I could say my all-time favorite color is something exotic, mysterious, and uncommon.  Alas, my heart beats most fondly for America’s (and most of the world’s) most beloved color of the rainbow – blue.  I do go through periodical spurts where I’ll be crazy in lust with an uncommon color such as my current digs of bold purple and hot pink.  Though, blue is always there in the background calming, loving, and never changing; and I always go back to it – kind of how an owner keeps forgiving the puppy that never learns how to hold her bladder until outside.  Or maybe not.

What is it about blue that makes people love it?  Something to think about is that the top two favorite colors of the world – red and blue – happen to be both the warmest and coolest of temperatures on the color scale.  Hmmm, I wonder if you’re into the warm shades you’re most likely to love red best and if into the cool hues blue becomes number one?

If there’s nothing to that idea then there’s plenty of other reasons why blue is such a hit.  I’ve already mentioned blue’s calm and cool demeanor.  Think of the sky and sea – infinite visual-scapes that brings one’s attention to blissful, hopeful and wondering dreams.  It’s a color found everywhere in nature yet rarely on any living substance that is deadly, poisonous and/or harmful.  If looking only at our biological disposal to blue we have little reason to be put off, weary, or edgy towards the hue.

Even though light blues can play a role as a sedative, if you get a darker shade of it, you’ll find it carries a lot of weight as being important, valuable, trusted and confident.  Hence the reason it’s the most popular shade for corporate company colors, and the suits and ties of Presidential candidates.

Blue is about as popular to bring into your home scheme as it is popular to be a Scandinavian with blue eyes.  There are so many values blue can be from baby blue to turquoise to cyan to midnight.  Be careful with blues in the kitchen as it’s a natural appetizer suppressant.  It’s great in the bedroom to help you sleep unless you are prone to the “blues” (depression in case my quotes weren’t obvious) and it’s a wonderful accent color anywhere.  Even though orange and blue are compliments and should go great together I just can never do it because I’m a Chicago Bear’s hater and it brings up too many unstable emotions for me.  Other combination’s that I do favor are blue and purple, blue and yellow, and I think blue and green is the most nourishing color duo.

I could probably write a thesis on the color blue, but I won’t.  I just hope it brings even a dash of the contentment and happiness to you as it does to me.

Yes, I am still on a purple kick.  As for putting gray and lavender together I’m not quite sure what caused the inspiration, but I’m feeling it.  Maybe it’s because I’ve been feeling a bit gloomy and the colder weather is reminding me of gray.   Combining  it with my current digs of purple, but a shade softer, seemed fitting.  Don’t worry, this does not mean having a gray and lavender room, or any amount of gray for that matter, leads to gloominess and depression.  In fact, when you’re around these two hues you’ll only want to chillax!

Gray is cool and comes from a mix of black and white – colorless colors.  It is also the representative color for many metals – hence giving another “cool” element to it in terms of actual physical temperature rather than just visual temperature.  It’s a very popular background color as it can tone down or liven up a space, depending on the colors and textiles that are added to it’s scheme.

Lavender is calming but more energetic than blue.  It’s feminine and at times even delicate – like the many flowers representing this hue.  It’s romantic like pink but not in the makes-me-want-to-throw-up kind of way.  This soft color is also related to spirituality and healing.

The coolness of gray with the soft feminine touch of lavender can create a stunning space a touch of sharpness.  If you want a more masculine look then go with darker grays, think charcoal, and put smaller pops of lavender color here and there.  If you want to warm up this duo bring in warm browns – it will ground the coolness.  If you want some warmth and more pop then I’d opt for a deep red, going on the burgundy side.

Even if this isn’t a combo you would ever use, you have to admit that it’s at least nice to look at, right?