Color Buzz

Dressing According to our Environment

By Michele Coppin

It’s fairly obvious that weather often dictates how we dress in a given environment (shorts in the summer, coats in the winter). However, I have observed that our clothes go even further to reflect our environment in color and design.

Take for example, people who live in the country. They are surrounded by the geometry of fields and the changing colors of crops. We often tend to see more earth tones and plaids.                                  

People living by the sea, in constant view of the horizon, are known to sport horizontal stripes and variations of blue.                                          

                  

And city dwellers, whose environment is broken up by the light and shadows of the buildings can typically be found in more blacks and whites.          

                     

Take a look as you venture around your neighborhood!

Creating a Color Scrapbook

By Michele Coppin

You may have seen my blog about the first assignment for my color theory class already. The second assignment is to create a “Color Scrapbook,” collecting appealing bits and pieces of color such as candy wrappers, photos, leaves, pebbles, fabrics…anything that grabs your attention.

As the collection grows, color preferences become visible. A style and palette develops. Students use their findings in collages, creating beautiful abstract compositions with color as the subject.

These precious little references also make decorating much easier, and can help you discover and develop your own personal palette. I encourage you to try it at home!

Here are some examples from my scrapbook: soft, serene variations of blue for a soothing, relaxing atmosphere.

                                                                               

The Colors of Food

By Michele Coppin

The color of fruits and vegetables can be as beautiful as the color of flowers. The color combinations and variations are endless as they grow, ripen and mature.  Fruits and vegetables have actually been inspiring artists for centuries. “Food portraits” are known as “still lifes.”

Jan Van Huysum, Still Life with Fruit
Oil on copper, 1720
Rijhsmuseum, Amsterdam

These delicious palettes herald the presence of nutrients. Color indicates the ingredients we need for good health. For example:

REDS are packed with vitamins (A C), protect your heart, maintain good blood pressure, and help to protect against some cancers.

GREENS are packed with vitamins (A,C,B,K), provide a source of iron, and boost your immune system.

YELLOW and ORANGE are packed with vitamins (C and B) that keep you eyes strong, boost your immune system and promote glowing skin.

WHITE, such as cheese and yogurt, is packed with calcium.

Some of my favorites in both appearance and taste are asparagus, baby artichokes, fresh garlic, cheese and bread. A glass of red wine would complement this tableau nicely…

Greens speak of youth, nature, fresh starts and cool mornings. Purples, dark reds and burgundy suggest the end of summer, setting sun, heat, and royalty. These opposites however make a very elegant color combination.

 

                                                   
Tropical foliage 6002 – 6C                               Garden Fresh 6008 – 7C

                                                

Hotel St Francis Sangre de Christo 1010 – 6    Accent Frosty Berry 1003 – 1B

 

What do colors symbolize?

By Michele Coppin

Historically, mankind has given symbolic value to colors. As societies developed, colors came to represent different concepts and served multiple functions. They emphasized certain meanings within an image, indicated status, expressed identity, etc. Of course, these meanings are very different depending on the culture they belong to.

Here are some examples of the meanings of various colors from Western European societies.

White: From the birth of the new moon, often associated with birth, purity, cleanliness. Brides wear white to symbolize innocence and purity.

Black: Mourning, death, earth, seriousness, submission. Priests wear black to signify submission to God.

Red: the most emotional color, red signifies passion and love. Hearts are always red, but red also symbolizes blood, fighting and ardor.

Yellow: Warmth, sun, happiness, gold. Yellow also symbolizes cowardice, betrayal and hatred.

Orange: Warmth, wealth.

Green: Calming and refreshing, it is the color of spring and youth. (Walt Disney dressed Peter Pan in green. As the little boy who wouldn’t grow up, the eternal youth wears a tunic reminiscent of foliage. Green also symbolizes envy. 

Blue: The color of the sky and the ocean. Blue symbolizes sincerity, loyalty, peacefulness and tranquility. Blue also connotes melancholy, sadness and isolation. Picasso’s “Blue Period” began shortly after he moved from Barcelona to Paris. He was poor, depressed and cold. From 1900 to 1904, he primarily painted thin, elongated figures in variations of blue. When his work began to sell and his spirits lifted, his palette shifted to Pink.   

The Tragedy, 1903
Picasso
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

Purple: The color of royalty. Purple connotes luxury, wealth, power and dignity.

In Antiquity, purple was derived from a rare sea snail so expensive (even more than gold), it became a symbol of royalty as only the very wealthy could afford it.

The Byzantine emperor Justinian I appears clad in a purple cape in this 6^th century mosaic from the San Vitale Basilica in  Ravenna, Italy.

A New Palette for Existing Home Décor

When incorporating a palette into existing home décor, homeowners should take a look at what is already there. Are you ready for a full-out change or are you going to take it step by step? What is your ultimate destination for the feel of their home? Warm and welcoming? Cool and sophisticated? Rich and Vibrant? A little bit of each? Pick where you want to be at the end of the transformation. If your home is already warm, going towards Valspar’s Globetrotting and Botanical Releaf may be an easy palette to move into. If you want to take it in a more modern sophisticated direction, go to the Nuance palette and chose warmer colors from that collection. Same idea applies to the Artisan palette; look at the colors in the collection and choose the ones that works with what already exists in your home. Unless, of course, you’re starting from scratch, then take the palettes you love and go for it.

                                           Globetrotting Paint Chips

                                     Botanical Releaf Paint Chips
 

Exterior Color

         

When painting the exterior of your house, you should always consider the color surrounding your home. Do you have nature around you? Then, you might want to consider two different directions:

      1) To blend in with the surroundings. One great color that harmonizes with most landscapes is Valspar Dakota Trail. It has enough green and brown in it to harmonize with the great outdoors.

      2) The opposite direction is to use a red like Eddie Bower’s Cabin Red. This will set your home beautifully against its setting.

When picking a trim color, keep in mind the size of your home. Larger homes should have a lower contrast between trim and main color. You do this so the home won’t feel chopped up. For smaller homes, especially cottage style homes, you can have more fun because the trim-to-main-surface ratio is smaller. If you want a small house to look larger though, keep trim and main color closely related.

                                              
                                            Dakota Trail 6008-3B

Using My Natural Surroundings as Inspiration

This blog was written by Beehive Studios designer Michele Coppin
       

My home is soft and inviting. I live near the sea in a gray, soothing climate where the sand, the sea and the sky are variations of the same color, blending during storms, reflections of one another on rare occasions when the sun shines. My home reflects my environment. I love strong colors and always find myself drawn to the lush and extravagant colors of tropical flora, but not to live with. Rather my palette is calm and gentle – sandy beige (Valspar’s French Pastry / Clarified Butter), soft white (Cream Delight), very pale yellow (Coconut Scent), and light blue (Dew Drop) with touches of more vivid colors in my Persian rugs and red pillows. It’s really very beautiful and serene. Has nature inspired your interior design?

Is This Right For Me?

The most important question homeowners need to keep asking about color and technique trends is “Is this right for me?”  Always start a project with what you love in mind.  What colors do you gravitate towards?  How much texture do you like?  Then, start testing the trends to see if they work for you.  It’s always good to let trends inspire you and possibly take you in directions you would not have otherwise considered, but ultimately, you need to have a home that speaks to you, not what the trends dictate.

There are ways to work each color trend into any décor and/or architecture.  Look at the color collection and see what works for your home.   Homes with steel and raw materials work well with the Nuance palette.  The cool minimalist colors look great with surfaces that have their own depth and sheen. Cottage style and Victorian homes would look so sweet in the Artisan palette.  Valspar’s Botanical Releaf palette seems to work with most homes because of the influence from nature.  Globetrotting is a great color palette for interiors, especially rooms where you want to transcend the ordinary.  Rooms such as dining rooms, bedrooms and baths lend themselves to rich vibrant colors.

Try a color like Valspar Naked Clay, with a warm grey green like Stone Manor as an accent and Woodrow Wilson Putty as a trim.

                              
Naked Clay 1008-10A      Stone Manor 6006-2A  Woodrow Wilson Putty 6006-1A

Green Flowers Do Exist

This blog entry was written by Beehive Studios designer Veronique Habermann

                     

For a long time, I have been under the impression that there is no such thing as a green flower. I proved myself wrong today by simply peering out my window. Look at this picture of the tree in bloom. Green flowers! Granted this green has a lot of yellow in it, but it’s green nonetheless. It’s funny how color always surprises you.

In Celebration of Asian Heritage Month

Color is alive and rich throughout Asia. From the deep intense saffron robes of Buddhist monks to the soft nature driven colors of Japan. China is so closely identified with red, but there are also the whites and blues from the culture’s ancient porcelain. In southern Asia, the color really heats up with the gorgeous silks dyed in colors that put the rainbow to shame. Japan has drawn from the colors of the elements to create a sophisticated traditional palette, but in the past several decades, they’ve been serving up a fun and raucous color extravaganza through their pop culture. The colors were traditionally derived from spices, flowers, shells, minerals, and plants and animals of the region. The possibilities of incorporating an Asian-theme are truly endless! Have you done it?