Color Buzz

The Royal Ascot

By Michèle Coppin

Started by Queen Anne in 1711, the Royal Ascot is the premier social event of British horse racing. It takes place every year at the end of June and the five days of the "Royal Meeting" provide one of the most unique and colorful occasions on the sporting calendar. Besides going to witness top class horse racing, the crowds also come to see the Queen and other members of the royal family – the Queen always taking center stage.

But the real spectacle of the Royal Ascot is the festive "Ladies Day" parade, as the Royal Ascot brings out the best and most elaborate fashions.

All spectators are expected to dress up, while members of the audience in the "Royal Enclosure" are required to wear formal attire, with hats for the ladies and top hats for the gentlemen (lucky for us Yankees, overseas visitors are welcome to wear the national dress of their country).

The hat competition is fierce, ranging from the bizarre to the beautiful. The more outrageous the hat, the better, in this “heady” celebration of color and creativity.

This year was no exception:

The Queen looks cheerful and elegant in yellow while Prince Philippe is dashing in his top hat.

Checkmate!

Cucumber and watercress sandwiches - very British indeed.

Cheerful Effects of Yellow

By Michèle Coppin

Vincent Van Gogh once said, "How wonderful yellow is. It stands for the sun." For Vincent, yellow represented happiness, love and hope. Many of his paintings have an abundance of yellow. He was fascinated with color and its effects, often experimenting with different ranges of tone, like in his famous Sunflower painting.

  

Completed in 1887, this painting was eventually sold in 1987 at an auction at Christie's in London for a record $39,921,750!

Indeed, yellow is cheerful, warm and uplifting, which is why I love this yellow house:

In a drab city street, this yellow stands as a celebration to light, an ode to color, a testimony to the owner’s cheerful composition, and happiness. It also seems to be contagious, as the neighbors’ color choice for their curtains and window flower boxes are becoming more daring.

They have also painted their tiny courtyard yellow, decorating it with Mexican tiles and plants.

Wedding Colors Part II

By Michèle Coppin

In Monday’s post I explored the role that color played in weddings throughout the ages. As I mentioned, in the last few years, colors for weddings tended to lean towards soft shades of pinks, greens and lilacs. Although soft pastel color schemes are always in fashion, experts agree that bright, bold colors and even exotic combinations are the new trend.

Here are the hottest wedding colors for 2009:

Red and Orange: vibrant, fun and exotic.

Red and Pink: exiting combination mixing romance and passion.

Red and Yellow: Modern and hip

Orange: Elegant and radiant with shades of peach and ivory.

[Courtesy of Kim Fuller Photography]

Yellow and Turquoise: Summery and tropical.

 
Green and Yellow: Fresh and young.

Green and Lavender: Soft and sensual



Brown and Pink: Elegant and sensual  - one of 2009's hottest combinations.



I also questioned wedding photographer Kim Fuller for some additional insight. She noted:
 
"Purple is in! The jewel tones seem to be back in fashion this year for bridesmaid dresses. It makes for great photos, especially when you add a bold-colored flower to really make the color pop. Brown and pewter are still popular for the Fall, with a touch of orange or pink as an accent.  Both color palettes go well with most skin types, which is nice."



For more photos and ideas, please check out Kim Fuller Photography’s website.

Wedding Colors Part I

By Michèle Coppin

White has long been accepted as the traditional color of the wedding dress, but wedding gowns were not always white. Roman brides favored yellow, and in the Middle Ages in Europe, brides wore red and grooms wore bright and colored outfits.

Middle Eastern brides wore a blue ribbon tied to their gowns since blue symbolized purity in their culture. The tradition of ribbon trims extended to Europe in the mid 1500's, when love knots, which symbolize the wedding knot, were tied to the bride's dress. The ribbons were multicolored with a different meaning for each color. Some represented virtue and good fortune, and others fertility. The color green represented fidelity. 

Colored wedding gowns were very common. There is an old poem about how the color of the gown will influence the bride’s future:

Married in White, you will have chosen all right. Married in Grey, you will go far away. Married in Black, you will wish yourself back. Married in Red, you will wish yourself dead. Married in Blue, you will always be true. Married in Pearl, you'll live in a whirl. Married in Green, ashamed to be seen. Married in Yellow, ashamed of the fellow. Married in Brown, you'll live out of town. Married in Pink, your spirits will sink.

It was Queen Victoria who made white fashionable in 1840 when she married Prince Albert of Saxe in a gleaming white gown, setting the tone for generations. White then became the color that denoted purity and virginity.

Gowns this season however reflect the long tradition of color. With touches of pastels or splashes of vibrant color, brides can make their own fashion statements while linking their wedding to centuries of celebration of love and color (and don’t forget to give the groom some color too). Check out Wednesday’s post to read more about popular wedding colors this season!

Emeralds of May

By Megan Leblond

 

The emerald is the birthstone for those lucky enough to be born in the month of May. The bright green color is a result of vanadium and chromium, two elements found in the earth’s crust. The rare meeting of these two minerals makes quality emeralds even more expensive than diamonds and among the most precious gemstones in the world.

Jewelers developed the ‘Emerald Cut’ so the stone could be appreciated for its fantastic green color! How fascinating, but not surprising to a Color Buzz writer.

The most famous collector of emeralds was Cleopatra. She was said to give special visitors a large emerald carved with her image. The leaders were buried with the stones to symbolize verdure and eternal youth, and Egyptian emeralds exhumed by pharos between 3,000 B.C. and 1,500 B.C. in a location known today as Cleopatra’s Mines.

Today, Colombia, Coscuez, Muzo and Chivor produce some of the world’s best emeralds. I adore the blue-green tones of Zambian emeralds. One of the most famous emeralds is the Mackay, designed by Cartier and given by Clarence Mackay to his wife Anna Case, the prima donna of The New York Metropolitan Opera from 1909-1920.       

                       

Check out these fantastic star stones. Named ‘Trapiche,’ these emeralds showcase a crystal pattern reminiscent of the wheels used to grind sugarcane. These are among the most sought after emeralds.

If you happen to agree with Pliny who said that a green emeralds’ color provides restorative strength to the body and mind, why not consider the beautiful hue for your home? Here are some Valspar colors reminiscent of the varying colors of emeralds.

Enjoy! And Happy May!
                   

 Simply Green 6002-8C      Vegas Green 6009-7     Tropical Rainforest 6002-10C

Of Bees and Honey

We at Beehive Studios are very fond of bees and honey. Bees are the most important pollinating insects and are even known as symbols of immortality. Their social structures and work skills have fascinated mankind for centuries, making them the emblem of industry and the inspiration for our blog. They also inspired Napoleon, who included the honeybee on his personal crest.



Beekeeping is also one of the oldest forms of animal husbandry, as bees were kept in beehives since antiquity. Indeed, Greek honey is delicious and quite famous.



Golden, sweet honey has always been held in high regard. The Bible refers to heaven as the "Land of Milk and Honey." In ancient times, honey was considered the food of the gods and the symbol of wealth and happiness. In the Middle Ages, honey was fermented and made into mead, one of the oldest alcoholic beverages.

Prairie Home Colors

By Michele Coppin

For years, I have been fascinated by a little place in the great Northern Tundra called Lake Wobegon. Every week, I tune into "A Prairie Home Companion" on NPR to hear Garrison Keillor tell stories about this magical hometown where "all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the children are above average.”

I would like to know which colors inspire these characters.

To find the answer to this question, I traveled to the great state of Minnesota to find out. Minneapolis is a bustling modern city complete with lovely museums, the University of Minnesota, the famous Guthrie Theater and many parks and lakes.

When I arrived, the city was sheathed in frozen snow. I wondered around the downtown area and through the beautiful neighborhoods surrounding Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun to get a feel for the predominant colors local homeowners prefer.
 
It seems Minnesotans are inspired by the "Great Outdoors," when it comes to paint choices indoors and out. I found an elegant array of earth-tone palettes, all reflective of the nature within the city.

Pine green hue, reminiscent of the Great North Woods.

Straw yellow hue, reminiscent of the tall lake shore grass.

Water and sky white hues, reminiscent of the icy waters of the Great Lakes.

I then visited the famous Minneapolis International Market Square where more than 60 showrooms showcase furnishings, fabrics, paints, accessories and more. This excursion gave me a sense of what colors are popular in Minnesota interior design. Similar to what I saw on the outside, I discovered many earth-tones in the displays. Neutrals are very practical because they pair well with bolder colors. Many neutral tones are associated with natural materials, such as stone, wood, straw, sand or more artificial materials such as metal, glass and concrete. Neutrals can be cozy or elegant, and serve as a good background for combining different decorative styles. For example:

 

Java EB  36-2, Limestone EB 36-3 and Shore EB 12-3

Winter Wheat EB 46-3 and Almond Oil EB 46-4

Even though I discovered that Lake Wobegon is a fictional location in Minnesota, I was able to get a sense of what colors the Prairie Home Companion characters would have liked. I was also able to meet the nicest Midwesterners, who are all so friendly and easy going. I experienced their gentleness and love of nature, which is beautifully reflected in their choice of colors; subdued, elegant, laid-back and comfortable.

Finding Your Color Voice in Color Combinations

By Megan Leblond

                                     

Having trouble deciding on a color combination for your home? Sometimes we over-think such decisions. If you find yourself agonizing over paint chips at the store, try a different approach. I suggest tricking your mind into finding its way naturally. Take some of the pressure off of your specific color selection and visit a fabric or upholstery store to find combinations in the various patterns that speak to you. Switching gears and giving yourself a fun way to approach colors can help reveal colors in combinations that you could live with. Once you have a few fabrics selected, ask for clips to bring home to add to your paint chips, and see what starts to work best.

I recently visited Aura Fabrics, a fabric and upholstery in Effort, Pennsylvania. I perused the aisles and waited for my eyes to latch onto something fabulous. I was particularly drawn to purple, gold and brown fabrics, as well as some lime-green and yellow combinations with hints of red. I was able to find two distinct color combinations that I really liked without trying.

                 

I asked Ursula, a fashion designer from the Philadelphia Textiles School and owner of the store, how she helps clients with color choices. She said that many of her customers are usually drawn to one particular color to start, maybe the color of a couch or window treatments already in the home. With this starting point in mind, Ursula works with the client to find a fabric that will work well with the existing walls, drapery, and flooring of the home. 

I asked Ursula if she has noticed any current trends. She noted that she find clients are carrying a color combination throughout the home, because of more open design plans in newer architecture. However, she prefers to style a home so that each room can have its “own life.”

                   

I totally agree! We looked at the color combinations I had selected and decided that the greens and yellows were energizing and the purples and golds lent themselves to a more dramatic and elegant look. When choosing color combinations, be sure to keep in mind the tone of the room you are redecorating. This can also help guide your choices.

Hopefully this fun field trip will bring you closer to your color choice, and you might arrange for some wonderful pillows or upholstery to bring the room together. If you have any color combination questions, please let us know. We would love to see any successful final projects too!

The Winter Blues

By Michele Coppin

Winter blues are beautiful. Just think about the water, sky, ice, shadows, and snow. Shades of blue can be mysterious or crisp. I find most blues to be a true source of inspiration.

        

Many people consider blue as their favorite color. Blue is often the color new mothers choose when they are expecting a boy and it is often the color preferred by men (although some may argue!). Reminiscent of the sky and water, representing freshness and purity, blue creates feelings of calmness, serenity, peace, tranquility, safety and order—qualities we need in these tumultuous times. It is a spiritual color that stimulates the imagination, inspires our dreams and helps us focus during meditation.

Russian painter W. Kandinsky was once quoted as saying, "The inclination of blue to depth is so strong that its inner appeal is stronger when its shade is deeper. The darker the shade of the blue color, the stronger is its call to the infinite, the stronger the yearning for purity and finally the transcendental."

Indeed, blue encourages self-knowledge and inner search. Blue is also an invitation to travel, a call to adventure. Because it is the color of the vast oceans, blue suggests voyages, discoveries and distant horizons.
 
Blue can be a cheerful color, but it is usually regarded as calm and relaxing, creating a sensation of clarity and spaciousness. In Feng Shui, blue is the symbol of tranquility of the mind. The color encourages positive thinking and is often used to decorate offices because blue promotes productivity and concentration.

Blue is a good choice for bedrooms because its serene, soothing nature facilitates sleep. Because blue is often associated with water, hygiene, freshness and cleanliness, blue is also a favorite in bathrooms. I enhanced my blue bathroom with a combination of blue and white Mexican tiles:

                    

The only room where I would not recommend using blue paint is the kitchen. There are very few, if any, foods that are blue and the color does not stimulate our hunger. Because blue is not the most appetizing color, it is recommended only as an accent in kitchens.

There are many colors that pair well with blue, but as a general rule, you can’t go wrong with white or gray.

Pale blue goes well with yellow and creamy beiges.

                                 

                           Celestial Blue 4003-5C   Champagne Tickle 3001-2C

Teal and turquoise go well with browns and earth tones and pinks.

                                  

                           La Fonda Teal 5007-8B     Berry Brandy 1005-9B 

Navy blue goes well with red, strong pinks and white. 

                                           

                        Atlantic Schooner 4004-6C   Fabulous Red 1011-2

Purple-blue go well with greens.

                                      

                  Oatlands Velvet Night 4001-8B   Meadow Wind 6005-7B

For more on the history of blue, I recommend checking out Michel Pastoureau's gorgeous book "Blue, the History of a Color.” 

 

In Living Color

By Michele Coppin

New York is always buzzing with color. Following the old adage of life imitating art, wild and cheerful colors spill onto the streets from the Fauves exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the German expressionist exhibit at the Neue Galerie on Fifth Avenue.

The Fauves, meaning “Wild Beasts” in French, were a short lived and loose grouping of early century modern artists whose work emphasized painterly qualities and strong colors. One of its founders, French painter Henri Matisse, celebrated color with contrasting and bright color schemes.

     
                            

 Similarly, German expressionists like Ernst Ludwig Kirchner used powerful, sometimes violent color combinations as means of expression.

                             

These eccentric color palettes are currently walking all over town. New Yorkers are spotted sporting strong contrasting colors, reveling in multicolored ensembles and polychromatic fashions. The New York Times “On the Street” photographer, Bill Cunningham, illustrates this trend in his recent slide show from the Style pages. Mr. Cunningham points out that in this ailing economy, the best tonic is adding "pick me up" colors to our lives; colors that are bright and strong, fun and unapologetic.

                                     

So, if you are feeling down, maybe a bright scarf, different colored socks or shocking red lipstick might just be what the doctor ordered. That is at least what this Beehive girl recommends!