The Design seeker colour focus: Greenery

I find colours generally come in huge tides on Pinterest and just as I might be coming around to the colour because its every other image I see, it’s disappeared. Pantone’s annual Colour of the Year stays prominent a lot longer because they’re the colour gurus with kudos (even if I find their reasonings behind some colours incredibly verbose and sometimes obscure).

Pantone's shade of 2017 as we all know by now is Greenery, which blends lime and apple green. I like lime and apple green especially in holiday locations and bright airy flats and definitely in fashion, but I confess to putting up a bit of resistance to Greenery in interiors. I tried to get my head around Pantone's theory (above) that if my living room walls were zingy green, a sense of emotional grounding might be created in our frenetic social media and political world..... Hmmm....

There is a 'however' coming and I have taken to it now I know the tips & tricks to mastering Greenery.

The first tip is to look at the natural light in your space before you create your scheme with Greenery. If you have a light, open space, I can't recommend a monochrome palette of greenery with either white or off-white/palest pastels, more. The contrast is refreshing and zingy, a little bit like when you pop your cucumber in your Hendricks ;-) The combination of natural light and expanses of neutral tones is a lovely, calming look, but strategically layer bright shades of green as well as foliage and you will add the fresh contemporary edge, which will transform the room from mmm, lovely to oooh wow. 

On the other side of the coin is using Greenery where you don't lots of natural light or if you like a moodier palette. Here is where I think Greenery really comes into its own as the dynamic pop in a way that in the past fushcia and red was used and now are the too obvious choice. Greenery has a richness and zing to it that lights up beautifully with slate, navy, teal and moody shades. Rather than a startling contrast colour (e.g. red, yellow, white etc), Greenery adds colour and focus without throwing the palette up in the air! 

Greenery is a trans-seasonal shade that and adds vibrancy and life to any decor so if you thought that it was best suited to holiday pads as I wrongly did, don't worry about upholstering large pieces. I actually think Greenery looks best on individual pieces where it can stand out proudly. I have seen these pictures of this green velvet sofa and it's to die for. I'm a fan of colour blocking rather than scattering a few colours here and there, and Greenery is certainly a colour to go loud and proud with.

 

Essentially Greenery symolises the outdoors so there are 3 brilliant ways you can work this colour into your home to great effect. One is working the forest combination of green palette into a room. Unlike archetypal dark interiors, which can be dramatic, brooding and it is difficult to build up layers because navy, charcoal and the like absorb light and are quite 2-dimensional; tones of dark green have depth, richness and light. Think of a woodland and the way all the tones blurb naturally from lime and olive through greenery to bottle and the deepest greens.

The last and most obvious way is go big on the grass pot plants, get a Birds of Paradise plant or cluster huge banana leaves in a vase. Scale is key.

PINK

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Gucci is imminently launching an inspired, decorative home ware line!

Drum roll please…. in less than 2 weeks Gucci’s first home ware line - Gucci Décor, will be landing in the shops. I don’t understand why there hasn’t been a fanfair for this unveiling, for any fashion and interiors aficionados like myself will be absolutely smitten. I’ve been privy to the new collection and it is utterly joyful, bursting with the contemporary spirit of Alessandro Michel, the label's creative director. 

Alessandro Michele has made his love of interiors abundantly clear during his tenure at Gucci and so this homeware collection is no suprise. I noticed a sneak peak of this collection at his Resort 2017 show held inside the Cloisters at Westminster Abbey in London (the first time any fashion house has been granted access to do so). I found it incredible that the images that flooded the fashion industry’s Instagram feeds from this historic show were the hand-embroidered cushions placed on each seat!

 The collection includes tasseled pillows, plates, upholstered chairs, wallpaper (in silk, vinyl and paper), silk screens and other furnishings all featuring the designer’s now signature design motifs—tigers, snakes and Gucci Garden florals. 

There are also scented candles, metal trays, and small porcelain pieces by Richard Ginori, a Florentine porcelain-maker established in 1735. With more than 30 eclectic pieces, the prices range from $190 (for candles and incense trays) to $30,000 for beautifully printed silk screens. 

Here are my favourite porcelains:

The collection will not have a dedicated space in stores, instead being integrated with clothes and accessories, "the idea is not to prescribe a particular decorative look, but to provide elements that allow for living spaces to be customised," the house said.

I like this playful but also modest approach of styling out your interior with a couple of awesome pieces, which is all you’d need to show off Michele’s current romanticism style that I absolutely love. My shopping list includes these pieces:

Bringing the Hey day to the here and now

Hollywood Regency, which is the style of Hollywood in its heyday of the 20’s to the 50’s, has a truly sumptuous and unashamedly glamorous appeal. Its an aesthetic rather than a trend that resurges every few years and I absolutely love the key pieces from this super glam era. You only have to show me some of the pieces from the above pictures and I swoon. 

I wouldn’t necessarily design an all out Hollywood Regency themed interior, (unless of course it was for an LA-based bar, which would in fact be awesome) just as any dominant interior style can be overbearing on its own, but loosely decorating in this aesthetic adds decadence, sophistication and old world magic. The kitchen below and that dining room table, I mean.....

The appeal of Hollywood Regency to me is mixing old with new and infusing contemporary schemes with a regency twist. The style works so well with so many other interior styles that it can be an injection in terms of its hallmark colour palette, furniture and fixtures, the prints and so many other components that make up Hollywood Regency.

Some of the key components to look out for include: bold geometric prints and large stripes, dramatic black and white schemes, bold colours like fuschia and yellow, Chinoiserie, lacquer and mirrored furniture, tactile textures, and pronounced gold and silver detailing. All the images here point to what I mean.

If you are colour confident, the strong and contrasting colours and finishes of Hollywood regency create really sophisticated and stunning results. The key is to notice that the palette is always restricted so the look is actually very tailored and glamorous.

I love the prints from this era which illustrate some beautiful geometric prints as well as wider stripes, neo classical prints and leafy patterns. Art Deco & Art Noveau where all the range in this period.

Accessorising is fun way to introduce Hollywood regency so flourish with abandon like the movie stars of the golden age did with a heavy emphasis on cocktail shakers and bar ware and channel gold, perspex and bold patterns to convey a look of opulence and OTT style.

The dressing table is one of the key pieces of furniture from the days when the Hollywood actresses would get ready. These fur seats are really popular at the moment and are such a fun, frivilous piece. You might start to notice the detailing of the period including lucite, gold and brass handles. 

POWDER ROOMS

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Picking plums

Click here for the link to the left image and click here for the link to the image on the right :)

I am heralding one of the key colours to dominate the world of interiors in 2018 as PLUM. It’s a shade we all know and love, but is rare to interiors for no good reason. Plum is stunning: strong and warming. It was coming....I watched with glee as blush turned to putty, morphing through jewel red into the earthy tones like terracotta and I can tell you now for sure: it will rocket forward with plum. 

I’ve been rather overdosed this past year with not instantly loveable colours like Greenery and some of the paler pinks were too 80’s for me. But plum I love: it has the warmth of red, the drama of purple, the moodiness of black and the decadence of claret.

I know I push for being colour confident, but I honestly believe that ‘going big’ allows that colour to really show off its innate mood and qualities properly. A token dab of plum is lovely, but go for a wall or a big piece and this rich and inviting shade will come to life.

Click here for the image on the left and here for the image on the right :)

From the above pictures, you get a true sense of plum reigning on its own. Now I'm not backing down from plum but the line between bordeaux and marsala is very thin in the light and I found most images cropped up in all three word searches. So if you are looking for inspiration, just bear it in mind. Plum has a blue-black to it that that marsala and wine colours lack and are more red so plum is actually my preference because it has a heediness and darkness to it. 

With every colour you can work a palette to suit your style and bring in accent colours that perhaps you already have. Plum is a strong shade so if you love interiors exuding mood and drama, matt and textural fabrics, dynamic pieces and playing with light, then go for other intense shades and watch the room come to life. I think it looks outrageously fab in a split complimentary or rectangular scheme combining analogous colours including brown and terracotta with complimentary colours like teal, blue and emerald green.  

Click here for the link to the top left image; here for the top right image; here for the above left and here for above right.

 These above are stunning & dramatic interiors and plum looks beautiful with statement finishes and materials including gold, marble and velvet. However plum has lots of other gentler and lighter palettes that will create a romantic, bohemian and sensual style. Tones like cream, lilac, blush and lighter tones of teal and brown work beautifully with plum. Here is some inspo of plum with white:

Click here for the link to the image on the left; here for the central image and here for the image on the right :)

If you have any thoughts or feedback about plum, let me know :-)

POWDER ROOMS

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GREEN MOODBOARD

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Why I love terrazzo

INTERIOR STYLING MOODBOARD

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KITCHENS

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SUNDAY MOMENTS

Good night 😴😴 💤 dreaming of sleeping in this #midcentury Inspired #lucite & #brass four poster courtesy of @anthropologie super dreamie no?? #thedesignseeker #designlife #interiorinspo #interiordesign

A post shared by Suzie Mc Adam (@suziemcadam) on Mar 19, 2017 at 4:23pm PDT

DE GOURNAY

Super inspired by the @gucci #campaign featuring @degournay #wallpaper can't wait to see this one installed for an upcoming project #thedesignseeker #palettes

A post shared by Suzie Mc Adam (@suziemcadam) on Apr 15, 2016 at 6:52am PDT

FRDAY FEELING

Turned 30 today! 😳 Dont really know where all the years went! But excited to be celebrating tomorrow 🎂🎂🍾🍾🍾 here's to a champagne filled weekend! X #champagne #bday #thedesignseeker #perrierjouet

A post shared by Suzie Mc Adam (@suziemcadam) on Sep 22, 2016 at 8:19am PDT

THE DARK SIDE

Oh how I 💖a charcoal paint 🎨 Every interior needs a dark element for contrast & depth and a whole wall is the perfect oomph in my book! And then furnish with flamboyancy, playing with scale of furniture and prints & layering strong colours and luxe materials 🎨 These fab chairs are perfect case in point from @designersguild #thedesignseeker #darkwalls #moodyscheme #darkinteriors #statementinteriors #scheming #interiorinspo #interiordesigner #interiordesigndublin #designlife #luxeliving #designinspiration #library image via @livingetcuk

A post shared by Suzie Mc Adam (@suziemcadam) on Mar 23, 2017 at 9:43am PDT

WALLPAPER DELIGHT

I saw this wallpaper at a design show over a year ago and fell in love with the soft paint strokes & colour palette 😍😍, and next week it's going to be installed at an amazing project! Can't wait to see it up. It's oddly satisfying when all these ideas you've had wondering around your mind become a reality! #thedesignseeker #interiordesign #interiorinspo #walldecor

A post shared by Suzie Mc Adam (@suziemcadam) on Mar 24, 2017 at 2:20am PDT

MARBLE MOODBOARD

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HOME OFFICE / STUDIO

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PINK AND PLANTS

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BLUE MONDAYS

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