Ripe, juicy, lickable crayon colors abound this spring. We've been busy little bees acquiring wicker and old tubs and other garden elements to paint them up in succulent crayon colors. Delectable lemon. Luscious lime. Ambrosial pink. Heavenly turquois. Every morning we put our pretty wares on show in front of the store and the colors are virtual traffic stoppers. Or so said the woman who screeched to a halt one Sunday afternoon directly in front of the store!
The color continues once through the door of our House... the front room pops with classic and candy colors. From the Tord Boontje Until Dawn curtain in green and white, to the vintage yellow hobnail vase set on the rattan table top, the ChiChi house is alive with color. And that might be why it makes it our favourite place to be. We can't help but feel infused with energy and, well, just plain happy, when we walk in the door.
That a bland looking, but solid, piece of furniture becomes our canvas is but one of the things we love about what we do. Bringing old things back to life, and back into service as a result, really is a joyful process. Some pieces cry out to be treated with a specific color. Others require some thoughtful consideration on our part. Some are experimented with and sent back to the drawing board and others are resounding successes. Some "experimental" design ideas are waiting in the wings for the right piece to arrive. All in all, we're finding we're loving the dramatic change bright hues create in a piece - the deep lilac hall table currently residing in the ChiChi room is a gleaming example of how something neglected and unwanted can be modernized and adored again.
All the colors we are using today, and seeing on the design front, are influenced, in large part, by the color palletes used by savvy home decor experts in the 50's. One has to walk no further than our Kitsch-en to see it. It's there in the multi-hued vintage Pyrex and Fire King mixing bowls of all shapes and sizes. The retro chrome table with yellow top positvely pops with the vintage red chairs and stools it has been paired with. A plethora of pretty pink Melamine dishes sits atop the table (serving for six complete with serving pieces and accoutrements!). A pair of "Made in Japan" sweet pink bunny salt and pepper shakers stand alert and tall on hind feet, just waiting to be called into service. Turquoise kitchen ware, from snack dishes to a kitchen scale adorn the countertop. Bright hues of green and yellow and pink and blue are abundant in everything retro - from dish towels to table clothes, from kitchen utensils to vases.
I find, often, that we are not overly afraid to adorn ourselves with colors we love. Be it in clothing or jewelry and accessories, we like to look good. Why then, I sometimes wonder, are we reluctant to infuse color in our homes? We like our homes to look good. They are a source of pride for us, not just a neccessity. Painting is one surefire way to get a big dose of color yet many people I speak with are afraid to try it. Oddly enough, of those I know who worked up the nerve to try it none have ever regretted it.
If a big change in color on a wall is too much to contemplate then start small and work your way up to that big canvas. Brighten up your kitchen with a smattering of multi-hued vintage mixing bowls. Suspend a Boontje Midsummer Light over your dining table. Make your bedroom more dreamy with a bright bedcover or accent pillows. Infuse your living room with color by applying a One-Up Designs wall graphic like Blossoms or Koi. You may grow to love one of the lively colors so much you'll be envisioning it on an entire wall in no time!
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