Inspired by colour : Indigo, Peach & Silver

Firstly an apology. I've been feeling pretty yuk for the last 24 hours and so my intentions to continue with NYC postings have gone awry today.  Times like this call for a post I've been sitting on for a while, so here it is, a moodboard that covers my favourite passions - colour and nature. 

Pick up an interiors or fashion magazine lately and it's blue in a multitude of deep shades that jumps straight out of the page.  My regular copy of ElleDecor came through the letterbox recently and I was stopped in my tracks by this combination of colours below on a pamphlet from US paint company Glidden. 

I get so excited when I see a strong dark colour contrasting with a delicate light colour and in this instance, indigo and peach together is beautiful and unexpected.  The addition of silver connects, bridges the gap between the two extremes of dark mysterious and light angelic hues.  What great companions.

Peach Crayon * Indigo Night * Antique Silver

It seems to be the norm to team a shade of white ceiling with dark walls, but think how alternative and contemporary an interior would be if subtle pale contrasting colours like this pretty peach were used instead. 

I love that the peach has a softening effect and keeps the indigo and silver from seeming too cool and industrial feeling.

Here's Interior Designer Todd Romano's dramatic and successful take on this colour combination in a New York Apartment (See what I did there?).

Have a great weekend folks, hope you have fun.  I'm off Glamping here this weekend with a whole bunch of friends, so I need to dose myself up and get packed and prepared for a 2 1/2 hour car ride into the remote Norfolk countryside.  See you Monday x

 Moodboard images from Pinterest

Print parade

I've felt pretty rubbish this weekend with a blocked nose and a head that feels fit to explode.  But there's nothing better than a dose of sunshine and colour to fight off the germs and make me feel perky again.

Bold colour and print combinations can be seen everywhere at the moment, from catwalks to interiors - floral prints, paisley prints, animal prints, geometric prints.

The Queen of bold colourful, bodacious print is UK fashion designer Mary Katrantzou. There's no mistake, she shows us how to do it properly.  I'd love one of her frocks, the nearest I got to rocking this look in adult life was last Summer, with a fruit emblazoned 50's tea dress from Wallis.

How about working print into an interior though?  Mixing patterns with bold multi-colours and throwing in some textures to make a lively interior is adventurous, but I wonder how easy it is to live with on a daily basis?

The go-to interior designer for this type of scheme is of course, Tricia Guild.  If I need some print and pattern inspiration from nature via far flung destinations, her Inspiration book is the first thing I pick up. And, if you are ever in London, you must visit her flagship store Designers Guild on Kings Road, it's beautiful.

 And here are some interiors displaying varying degrees of print.  My personal favourite is the second interior which is Sibella Court's New York pad.  Forget the floral print wallpaper and lampshade though, just check out that amazing metal ceiling.

1 * 2 * 3 * 4

Why purple makes me blue

I struggle with the colour purple when it comes to interiors.  It seems to be a hard one to get right.  In principle it's a wonderful, rich colour - great when it comes to flowers and minerals and may be fashion for example.

Having done a little bit of research on the colour, to try and understand what goes on emotionally and psychologically, I've discovered that because purple is a very rare colour in nature, it can be considered artificial.  Nature is very important and inspires me so that explanation makes some sense.  The folks at color-wheel-pro.com say dark purple evokes gloom and sad feelings and can cause frustration, so based on this explanation it's perhaps understandable that I don't feel 'at one' with it.

I wonder whether it's because of the vast options in tones, shades and hues.  The pale powdery lavenders and pretty feminine lilacs are undeniably simple to use within a scheme and are easier to live with. Done well, deep indigos and violets offer a moody dramatic version although difficult to pull off. Farrow & Ball's Pelt or Brinjal are smart handsome colours that I'd really like to see, being F&B you'd expect them to do well in a scheme.

I spent a couple of hours looking through my interiors magazines and the internet to find an inspiring purple interior that would dispel my views and found nothing.  But.... I know that I've thought about this many times before and upon review of my Pinterest boards, I found it, a purple interior I pinned recently that I absolutely love.

Credit - Lauren Sodolak

 Why do I love it?  Because it is a risky and unusual vivid purple that's then seemingly overshadowed by a mass of gorgeous glowing gold, eclectic furniture and accessories. A combination of shapes, colours, styles and textures.  Sounds so wrong, yet when it's all pieced together, it's absolutely right.

So, that's the answer.  Take a purple and mix it in equal measures with a colour that can stand beautifully on it's own alongside it, then chuck in some eclectic accessories... I'm off to experiment.