Catching up

Yes, I am still here! I miss our blog dialogue here on Hue.

Life has been busy with a toddler, to say the least. I call this photo, "Playing with rolled oats is super fun, mom!" (mine is the red-headed one)

I thought I'd show you a sneak peak of a fun recent project.

I worked with a family to give their beautiful Victorian an interior facelift for a more bright, airy, modern feeling. Dark stained trim and moulding were painted white, for starters. With a lack of natural light, the space felt too old, dark and closed in.

 

Here is a before shot of the foyer, with a variety of painted sample boards.  Notice how we didn't paint swatches directly on the walls? There is no sense in selecting a color based on how it relates to a background that won't exist once you repaint. 

We see colors in relationship to whatever color is next to it. The technical term is called simultaneous contrast. The appearance of any one color is modified by the presence of other colors. For example, place dark colors next to light colors and the dark colors will appear darker and the light colors will appear lighter.
The center gray square is the same in both the right and the left.

Okay, back to pictures.

Here is the "after" shot of the same hallway. Huge difference, right? We did an warm, cheery accent wall in the foyer to greet people as they arrive. 

 

Before shot: On the other side of the hallway is the staircase, flanked by an impressively intricate banister.

We continued the mocha color below the chair rail from the accent wall, and used a soft grayish taupe for above the railing all the way upstairs to the second floor hallway. Because the hallway zig-zagged it's way through the foyer, up a staircase, and around the second floor landing, care had to be taken in selecting a subdued palette that would function in so many different spaces. Cut-off points like the end of a wall, or a break in the trim were not available, so color mileage was key.

A challenge with this project was incredibly varied lighting conditions throughout the spaces. Using Benjamin Moore's new full spectrum paint, Color Stories, the paint swatches looked dramatically different when held up to various locations around the foyer and hallway. In the end, after trying 5 or 6 different combinations and options, we ultimately returned to the first choice. Sometimes you just have to check out your options!

Have any of you experimented with full spectrum paint? How has it changed the way you view paint?

Latest Stir article live: Colors of Cirque Du Soleil

My latest article with Stir magazine is up!

 

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This time, I delve into the colorful world of Cirque du Soleil. The show Totem is coming to San Francisco soon- is it any good? I try not to miss a single show when they come to town.

What's your favorite show? What were the colors like?

Magazine issue dedicated to global color

I am popping in to share with you an awesome magazine (available as print subscription), Hand/Eye. I'm constantly peppered by press releases in my inbox, mostly snooze-worthy notices about bathroom sinks or concrete products. I know some of you get very excited about the above, but I've got a fairly one-track mind; it's gotta have -something- to do with color. Here was one that really caught my attention!

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Founder and editor Keith Recker explains his inspiration for this issue, "[I have] conviction that color is a profound cultural phenomenon – a sort of illustrated layering of both poetry and prose about the needs and aspirations of us complex human beings. HAND/EYE’s 06/Global Color issue is look at the shifting landscape of color around the world today...All of the stories in 06/Global Color give us insight into the symbolic import of color across diverse cultures. And in some cases, we get a glimpse of how our view of specific colors is changing right before our eyes."

Topics covered in 06/Global Color include: the dark side of sunny yellow; red as protection, purity, dignity and honor; and indigo the color of love. Each carefully researched article touches upon a different color, delving into it's significance, be it cultural, historical, or otherwise.

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"for all of yellow’s belligerence, it collapses when faced with a drop of black to tone it. The radiance flickers out and leaves a hesitant husk in its wake. Yellow’s dirty little secret is that it’s a pussy of a color." So naughty. So true.

I chuckled at this quote, too:

"No offense to ecru, ivory, chalk, alabaster, or the fairest of them all, Snow White, but the nuances in differing shades of everyone’s favorite non-color are completely lost on us. The only white thing in our apartment is the milk in the fridge. "(source)

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Global color covers Ghana, Macedonia, South Asia, Cambodia, Australia, Morocco, Guatemala, India, Brazil, and more. It's an fascinating glimpse into the complexity of color and it's cultural significance.

Each issue of Hand/Eye is different. The next will be PERU and focusing on the textiles, craft, history, and colors deep within this beautiful country. You can purchase a subscription to Hand/Eye magazine, or you can also sign up to receive four weekly ezine articles at no cost.

A Must read!

Chromaphobia

In response to my last post about the challenge in selecting a rug for my baby Nina's nursery, reader Kim wrote,

"Overwhelmed! I cope by picking one that is -- don't hate me Rachel -- black and sand (for my deck) and then resolve to use colorful pillows and cushions for pops of color. In my defense, I am not a designer, as you know."

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Here is Kim's rug.

I love the idea of outdoor rooms, so bravo to Kim for exploring this under-used space. But this also got me thinking. Why is it that people are so chroma phobic? I can understand if someone's taste runs towards the understated. Perhaps if they felt saturated hues were garish. But what about those who love bright vibrant hues, but shy away from them anyways?

There's even a book, aptly titled Chromophobia, (I am presently reading), investigating its origins. The author argues that our fear of color  is essentially "a fear of corruption or contamination through color - lurk[ing] within much Western cultural and intellectual thought. This is apparent in the many and varied attempts to purge color, either by making it the property of some "foreign body" - the oriental, the feminine, the infantile, the vulgar, or the pathological - or by relegating it to the realm of the superficial, the supplementary, the inessential, or the cosmetic."(source)

So, the question begs, with all the bright colors of outdoor life (flowers, greenery, colorful umbrellas, tableware, etc. why go blah?

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Koko Company has a wild selection of modern, funky outdoor rugs. If you can't go wild outdoors, where can you take risks?

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Dash and Albert has an outdoor line, too.

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Looking for more earthy tones? A more "ethnic" look(for lack of a better term)? Pottery Barn has some nice selections

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As I just happen to know that reader Kim's outdoor area is covered, she could even go with something funky like these trompe l'oeil floor mats from Urban Outfitters. I love the playful turning of "rug" on it's head. Woven polyester, and machine washable to boot.

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or my new favorite rug company, with their indoor, outdoor rugs- so cute!

Here's a company dedicated exclusively to outdoor rugs (thank you Apartment Therapy for the link)

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Looking to really go eco friendly? Mad Mats are made from high-grade recycled polypropylene from sources such as water bottles, plastic milk and soda bottles and and other kinds of packaging.

So, why the fear of using saturated, vibrant color?

The Evolution of Design Blogs

I recently read a rather heated discussion over on the Garden Web forum about the evolution of design blogs. Readers were bemoaning how many bloggers have stopped posting lovely eye-candy and juicy tid-bits about design projects. And yes, you might have heard crickets chirping over here as well. Motherhood, with it's rigorous schedule, has forced me to re-examining how I want to utilize the communication tool that is this blog, Hue.

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Many bloggers have evolved in the direction of money-making posts, or updates about his or her personal life. Discussion forum readers were expressing their displeasure with these recent turn of events. "Why is everything changing?" they want to know. Lately, bloggers seem to be less interested in sharing another fabulous photos of some gorgeous interior, and more interested in sharing their latest endeavors. Many are branching out professionally by teaching seminars, or developing product lines.

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Others are raising families, or blazing new trails, and want to share those milestones with readers.

Personally, I think evolution is healthy, to be encouraged. Without growth, we stagnate. As professionals figuring out the terrain that is online content, we have to push boundaries and try new avenues. Sure, pretty pictures are fun to browse through, but from a development standpoint, doesn't get you very far. Blogs are personal sites, edited and curated by individuals. So naturally, these sites should and will reflect it's owner.

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Newspapers and magazines are struggling to remain in business because competition for free content is stiff. People are no longer interested in paying for subscriptions when they can get the information for free online. But this can't continue forever, and solid, accurate data is a commodity we'll never stop needing. The wild west of online content has got to smooth out eventually, and when publications start charging for content again, my sense is that readership will simply fall in line, accepting that once again, you must pay for credible information.

What are your thoughts? I know several fellow bloggers who have put blogs on hold to re-examine goals. Where do you think the world of blogs is heading?

Can white boxes support color?

Everywhere I look these days, I see examples of white spaces hosting brightly colored furniture and accessories. I know, I know, you probably think this is the beginning of yet another anti-white walls rant. But honestly, I just want to open this topic up for discussion.

Here are some examples. Do you think they work?

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Skype's new office digs in Stockholm. The architecture firm was charged with "expressing the Skype brand’s playful spirit and its mission to connect the world in the working environment." So, how does that compute that the furnishings do not relate to their environment, instead, float within it?

Here's another example from my latest wonderful new find, The Cool Hunter, based out of Australia.  Here, the attention is drawn inward to the brightly colored clothing display cubes. I do like how the angular shapes repeat in the glass block windows and architectural elements within the room.

What do you think about white boxes? Yay or nay?

Upcycling cork colorfully on Earth Day

Okay, okay, so Earth Day was in April. I totally dropped the ball on that one. Somehow, this post sat in my inbox, all scheduled to post, but never launched.  Puzzling. Ah well, it's still fun to take a look back...

I give you,  Anthropologie's fabulous cork installations.

Back in April, I happened to be down at my local shop, and ran into the visual merchandiser who was hard at work, glue gun in hand, gluing cork, after cork, after cork onto these enormous chicken-wire wrapped globes.

I thought it looked so cool, being able to see how the piece was constructed. But evidently, the project was just so huge, they had to be put together in place. I snapped a few shots of the pieces in progress.

 images by Rachel Perls

"We’re setting out right from the beginning with a goal: to support cork, to support the environment, and to do it right. In partnering with the CFCA we have been able to strategize a way to borrow, collect, and donate cork while being as environmental as possible...

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The project started with a gift to Anthropologie from the CFCA and Kendall-Jackson of around 2.5 million used corks. In addition, our store teams have been collecting cork stoppers from the staff, the community, and the customers for over a month now. Through the support of so many we have collected between 4-5 million corks."(source)

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I did some poking around online, and discovered that each cork end had to be painted/stained a specific hue to coordinate with each piece. Man, the amount of time this must have take is mind-boggling.

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The cork installations were inspired by sculptor Tara Donovan, who takes massive quantities of everyday items like tape, plastic cups, buttons, etc—and “assembles them in different ways, providing the viewer with a compelling, perceptually transformative experience.”(source)

Colonizing, I'd call it. Just beautiful...

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These were some other stores' creative use of the corks. 

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Aren't the textures and patterns created by the subtle variation in color just gorgeous?  Hats off to the artists in charge of putting these enormous, time consuming, gorgeous pieces together. Way to go Anthro.

A sad farewell to an artist

Last month, on July 5, 2011,  Cy Twombly passed away. He was a great artist and contributed beautiful works of art to our world.

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"In a career that slyly subverted Abstract Expressionism, toyed briefly with Minimalism, seemed barely to acknowledge Pop Art and anticipated some of the concerns of Conceptualism, Mr. Twombly was a divisive artist almost from the start."(source)

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Markus Linnenbrink

I originally saw this artist's work featured in an Apartment Therapy post about staying in cool hotels.

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I noticed the drippy striped walls and went hunting for more details. The hotel featuring these uber cool walls is the Arte Luise Kunsthotle in Berlin.  Each of the 48 rooms was designed by an artist, most from Berlin, who has "created scenarios that go beyond their work in the studio and reflect on the time, place, and situation of the traveler. The entire room is taken into consideration, usually including the furniture and other decorations."(source)

Markus's work is in high demand; he is represented across the world from San Francisco to Korea.

His characteristic "oozing and streaked hues of vivid colour"

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His epoxy resin on panels are so whimsical, I just want to reach out and touch them.

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Cartoon colors

I thought this was kinda cute: a color wheel that presents the full spectrum of cartoon character hues.
You can hover your mouse of each character to learn more deets about them on slate.com

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Did they miss anyone?

How Fireworks Produce Color

This article was first published last July, 2010, but after colleague Kelly retweeted it today, I thought, "great idea! Let's bring it back for this year."

With 4th of July just around the corner, we're all intent upon nailing down the best spot for the most impressive fireworks display. (FYI- I have heard Boston's show is amazing)

But how do we get all those amazing colors in every burst of light?

A little background...Visible light of different wavelengths is detected by our eyes as a range of colors. Of the light that we can see, violet has the shortest wavelength and red has the longest.

Wavelengths of light corresponding to different colors

Fireworks generate light and color due to the physical and chemical attributes of specific compounds. When these compounds are heated and combusted they give out energy, some of which may coincide with the wavelengths in the visual region of the spectrum.

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The mixture of specific chemicals can produce different colored fire. 

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To make fireworks colorful, metal salts are added to the basic oxidant fuel mix concoction. For example, if you put a piece of copper into a fire you see it glow with a blue flame.

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The amount of energy released, which varies from element to element, is characterized by a particular wavelength of light.

• Strontium or carbonate salts (longest wavelength and lower energies) = red flame
• Copper oxychloride (much shorter wavelength and higher energies) = blue flame
• Barium nitrate = green flame
• sodium salts = yellow flame
  
• charcoal or other forms of carbon = orange flame
  

With those metal salts, pyrotechnicians have a whole spectrum of colors at their disposal. If no salts were added, the fireworks would simply reflect all the colors in the visible spectrum. In other words, white.

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Pyro-technicians say the sign of a very good firework-maker is a really good strong blue. The reason blue is so challenging is because copper compounds can be unstable at high temperature.

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Where are we headed with fireworks colors; are turquoise and fuchsia fireworks in our future? Dr. John Conkling, professor of chemistry and a past executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, gives us some idea.

"We can usually make a pretty deep red, a nice green, a reasonable blue. Now, if you start to combine the red and the blue, you get violet, lilac, purple. There's interest in being able to make lime-green, a beautiful orange, and so on. That takes a real careful mixing of color technology. We keep getting better and better. As research continues, we're still making advancements...I see no reason why there should be much limitation on the colors we see. It's just a question of R&D (research and development) effort as well as demand.

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 It's usually driven from the entertainment side. A theme park may want a very specific effect for a show they're doing, and they'll say "Give me lime-green." Once a company starts to develop a lime-green, they start thinking, well, we have this new color, let's find some other customers who would like to have it as well." (source)

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Test your fireworks knowledge with this fun set of quizzes. First review the chart, then see how many types you can accurately label.

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Want to learn more about the anatomy of a firework? Great site for the low-down on the sky-high kabooms.  I know I know, cheesy. But I couldn't help myself...

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