I slipped into the Bauhaus 1919–1933: Workshops for Modernity exhibit at MoMA over the weekend, in need of inspiration and sick of my own work. In part, I was curious as to the color language of this movement and if in fact this was the death of color and the beginning of the all-white interior. Not quite, I think.
I recently asked my friend and fellow colorist Emmett Fiore at Fine Paints of Europe what he had cooking and these are the first photos he sent me. For an inexpensive way to brighten your homes exterior for the holidays, why not try a new treatment around the front door?
Fine Paints of Europe recently announced its new historic color palette packaged as “George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate of Colours.” My eyes popped as I flipped through first pictures, and I suspect this could quickly become a go-to source of daring colors for smart people with traditional homes.
It’s bleak in the print publishing world. Condé Nast shuttered four titles last month including Gourmet, which left me rattled. What I loved more than the recipes was the sumptuousness and the quality of the photography, which unabashedly embraced elegance and design as a whole.
I first saw Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange when I was in high school and found it to be extremely subversive and most enjoyably provocative then — and have seen it in eight-year intervals since. Based on the 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess, it was filmed in 1971 and set in the near future. The decline-of-civilization narrative becomes tamer to these now-weary eyes upon each new viewing, though formally I’m still intrigued by the film’s design, and what elements are used to convey the future.
PAINTS USED Fine Paints of Europe H00110, Farrow & Ball Clunch 2009
Whereas Harold had a purple crayon with which to design and demarcate the world according to his whims, I’m actually doing the opposite — using paper white to line-draw animals over a color I think is perfect for a child’s room, and which had me thinking of this classic book the whole time I was working.
One way to get the raised weave in a simulated silk damask wallpaper is to vary the finishes of your paints. File this under Flowers. The base coat is Clunch from Farrow&Ball in matte — a reliable all-purpose white...
As you may recall, I had Flame-Stitch Fever last spring, and painted zigzags large and small everywhere I went. Well, you can never get sick of a good thing, and I’m continuing along my merry way with a triangle and cork-bottomed ruler firmly in hand.
Good question! Here’s one for the archives, and the answer depends on many things. Do you have children or animals — those twin enemies of beauty/essences of beauty, depending on the day? Is the space a kitchen, bathroom or high-traffic area? Is it a bathroom prone to moldy ceilings? Are you someone whose mood about color changes every six minutes?
This just in over the transom: reader Randall found my Matisse post in archive and sent me his own red studio, eager to share. Thrilled, I wrote back for further info and picked up the correspondence.
I happened across a gallery exhibition of paintings by Milton Avery over the weekend — a favorite of mine in my halcyon days of art school — and I thought a quick discussion of his work would dovetail nicely with Arts, Crafts and Collections month here at Apartment Therapy.
I wish I’d discovered Les Toiles du Soleil at the top of the summer as these delightful colors and patterns just scream "sun and surf." If I had deck chairs — let alone a deck — I’d buy these fabrics by the bolt.
Name: Plum Raison 2082-20, Raisin torte 2083-10
Brand: Benjamin Moore
I discovered Matisse's The Red Studio at the Museum of Modern Art last summer, and found it to be completely captivating. It also got my wheels spinning — why not paint your own studio from toe top to crown in plum red?
It's been said that the human eye can perceive an average of 3 million colors, with some highly sensitive or artistic types able to detect 7 million. Yet, I've noticed over the years that every decorator with whom I've worked gravitates to the same 25 colors repeatedly, which is how specific color palettes, or color languages, are born. Allow me to introduce my own.
Name: Coastal Fog AC-1
Brand: Benjamin Moore
Why would anyone with a color column write so frequently about grey? I think it's important to point out the subtle beauty of a seemingly random neutral as an element within a larger design scheme. When used deliberately it can be an essential component in a smartly colorful room.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
