Happy Exclusive Plum Year!

I’m not the kind of person who follows trends. When it comes to fashion and music and home decorating, I march to the beat of my own drummer. But purple is one trend that I’m all over! Pantone recently announced that Radiant Orchid is their 2014 colour of the year. And soon after after, Sherwin Williams announced that its colour for 2014 is Exclusive Plum.

“This dusky, filtered violet is refined without being stuffy, elegant yet easy, and layered with romantic potential.”

Jackie Jordan, Sherwin-Williams director of color marketing.

It just so happened that I had been thinking of repainting the ocean-inspired gallery wall in our hallway purple. The perfect spot to try out Exclusive Plum! What was charcoal grey…

…is now pretty in purple :-)

Oh yeah, feelin’ the purple love! In fact, I was so in love with the colour, I needed more of it! But where… no way was I painting the whole hallway. I did that a few years ago and just about peed myself painting the front entry on wobbly scaffolding with only the chandelier to grab onto if I went down. Nope, not happening. Hmmmmm… there’s no reason why I couldn’t paint one end of the hallway purple…

And now all dramatic and sexy in Exclusive Plum :-)

I love how the purple works with the dark brown doors and the flooring and the colour at the other end of the hallway. And it’s totally satisfied my need to have more purple in my life :-)

What’s your colour of the year for 2014?

Ravishing Radiant Orchid

Pantone’s Colour of the Year for 2014 is Radiant Orchid.

“While the 2013 color of the year, PANTONE 17-5641 Emerald, served as a symbol of growth, renewal and prosperity, Radiant Orchid reaches across the color wheel to intrigue the eye and spark the imagination. An invitation to innovation, Radiant Orchid encourages expanded creativity and originality, which is increasingly valued in today’s society.”

“An enchanting harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid inspires confidence and emanates great joy, love and health. It is a captivating purple, one that draws you in with its beguiling charm.”

You know me, I love my purple! In fact, I happen to be wearing this sweater as I type this…

And as soon as I saw it, I thought of my favourite colourful designer, Jamie Drake.

Image via New York Social Diary (Table is painted BM Mulberry 2075-20)

He was way ahead of the forecast with these rooms!

 
Images via Drake Design Associates

Eileen Kathryn Boyd has also used this gorgeous colour…

 

And another one of my favourite designers, Amanda Nisbet…

Do you like Radiant Orchid? Would you use it in your home? Yes on both counts here!

A colourful fairy land kitchen

Last Friday, I met up with Heather {Hi Heather!} from the blog Setting for Four at Starbucks/Chapters. While I tried to look cool and inconspicuous waiting for Heather, I nonchalantly flipped through a few magazines {which are conveniently located right next to Starbucks}. When I came across this kitchen, all my pretend coolness slipped away, because I’m pretty sure my mouth dropped open and  my eyes popped out of my head…

Being the last person on earth without an iPhone and nothing to write on in my purse, I tried to remember something about the kitchen so I could Google it when I got home. Not a chance of remembering the designer’s name –  Elina Katsioula-Beall – but I did remember DeWitt Designer Kitchens and something about it being a fairy kitchen. That was enough to find out more about this awesome colourful kitchen that won the 2012 National Kitchen & Bath Association award for Green Design.

The home owners were inspired by the work of Mexican architect Luis Barragán, who is renowned for using colour to augment space and light in his designs. They wanted to create a fantasy fairy-like garden for their two daughters – the green cabinets and bright pink countertops are meant to evoke fuchsia flower beds. And the eco-friendly flooring fits nicely with the nature theme.

A little bit of pretty turquoise around the corner – not really diggin’ the creepy figure on the counter, though!

Also designed by Elina Katsioula-Beall, this colourful bathroom won the 2012 National Kitchen and Bath Association award for small bathrooms:

 

It should come as no surprise that both these room can be found in this colourful house in Santa Monica, California:

Images via Custom Home Online, KBB Online, Fort Bend Lifestyles & Homes, Decor Girl

I’d love to know what you think – are the colours in and on this house too much or too cool?

On another note… thanks for all your sweet comments about Malcolm :-) He’s doing well in his new home and it looks like he and his new doggie brother are going to be best buds :-) I may have a little something{s} furry to share with you on Monday… ;-)

Happy weekend!

For more information on this kitchen, see Trends.
Kitchen photographs by Suki Medencevic

Fun colour experiments

Here are some fun colour experiments that help demonstrate how our brains perceive colour. Look at the image below with the two squares. They’re two different colours, right?

Now put your finger across the line where the two grey squares meet. Or look at the image below with the black bar.

The squares are the exact same shade of grey, even though the one on the top looks darker. Our brains are programmed to interpret shadows a certain way. In this case, it thinks the top square is brightly lit grey and the bottom square is poorly lit white in a shadow.

Stare at the black cross in the image below – do you see a green dot moving around the circle?

Now try following the green dot as it moves around the circle. It’s gone, isn’t it? That’s because the green dot isn’t really there – it’s an afterimage. Your brain is seeing green (magenta’s complementary colour) in the empty space as the dots flash around the circle. Here’s another example – stare at the red circle for 30 seconds, and then look to the blank space next to it.Do you see a turquoise circle? Except the turquoise circle isn’t actually there! Your brain is imposing the turquoise circle on the blank space.

And one more colour experiment. Read the colour names below out and say the colour of the font out loud. For example, the first colour font is RED.

RED

BLUE

PURPLE

GREEN

ORANGE

PINK

YELLOW

Now try it again – remember, you’re saying the colour of the font, not the word.

RED

BLUE

PURPLE

GREEN

ORANGE

PINK

YELLOW

Was it harder the second time? Did you get any of the font colours wrong? Part of your brain tries to identify the color while another part of your brain reads the word. This regional brain conflict can produce errors in perception.

These are just a few examples of how our brains perceive colour. Do you have a favourite colour game or optical illusion? Let me know, I’d love to check it out :-)