USING COLOUR
Blowing hot and cold
Colour is one of the most powerful tools of decorating. It is mood
provoking, space making, temperature controlling and has an instant effect.
Playing with colour is almost tribal, all cultures do it on their dwelling
places and their clothes. Different parts of the world use different
colours, according to the kind of daylight.
It is interesting to try out
what colours work in, say, British light or to borrow colour combinations from another country. Caribbean and tropical colours are definitely mood
enhancing, and could brighten up any rainy day.
But there is a reason why
some colours work in certain lights and others don't. Even Benetton sell
different coloured clothes in their American, Italian and Northern European
shops. But as people travel and see more of the world, the more cultural
influences mix. Mediterranean hues evoke memories, Scandinavian freshness
does translate to America and hot African earth colours look well in cooler
places.
Let there be light
But light plays a major part in the effect of a pigment. You can paint a
whole room the same colour and it will seem completely different in direct
sunlight, compared with an area in the shade or in electric light.
One of the
most powerful examples of this play of light I have seen was in Kettles
Yard Gallery in Cambridge. The gallery was once a house and is now given over to house an art collection. The walls were painted white to emphasise the pieces of art on show. I found myself looking at the shadows on the wall
and the colours cast by the exhibits, rather than the exhibits themselves.
These colours ranged from greens to purples to browns. Glass crystals had been hung at the windows, projecting rainbow spectrums around the room. Never
underestimate the subtleness of daylight.
Mind games
Colour has the ability to work off itself, creating a contrasting effect.
We were all taught the use of a colour wheel in our art lessons, being aware
of complementary colours. Colours evoke temperatures too, the blue end of
the spectrum being cold, moving through to the warm reds, yellows and
oranges.
Rooms can be transformed by the effects of this, tricking our minds
to feel a change. A cold north facing room can be revitalised by using
warmer, sunshine colours. There are brilliant colour studies that have been
made that demonstrate the optical illusion creating not only a feel of
temperature but also size. This is created by placing the same size of
squares of colour onto a background of another colour. The effect really
does convince your brain that the squares are different in size. This effect
will occur if a ceiling is painted in a darker colour to that of the rest of
the room, bringing the ceiling down and making the room seem smaller.
Likewise the opposite will happen if it is the same or lighter.
Try, try and try again
You can afford to experiment with colour, after all it's only paint. Try to
use it to enhance your room, rather than because it's in vogue. And if you
don't like it you can start again.
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