What Colour for a Salvaged Interior?

Today, I find myself completely immersed in NCS colours as I am at the final stages of colour selection for a restaurant opening later this year. Key to the project is salvaging the fascinating semi- industrial building which is full of beautiful hinges, old bricks, timbers and worn and faded graphics. To keep the spirit of the building intact, the furniture and lighting has been sourced from redundant premises and recycled, stamping a clear message of sustainability and authenticity.

It is therefore crucial not to overpower the project with paint that looks in anyway synthetic. It must be strong and edgy but in no way contrived. As the building is such a large shell which will shortly harbour and protect it’s diners, I decided to look at containers, both man made and in nature to give me a steer.

I will be reporting back on this project as it progresses but please read on for some very good news.

It appears that there are some very exciting developments in the world of vision. As I’ve written about before our ageing eyes changes the way we perceive colour. Building regulations Part M, dictates what colours can be specified for buildings for the elderly as it is assumed that the yellowing of our eye’s lens alters the way we see colour and our ability to differentiate colour contrasts weakens. Particular colour combinations must be specified for door frames and walls to increase the visibility of doorways for elderly residents.

However, I have just received an e mail from  Professor Stanton Newman,
Dean of School of Health Sciences, City University London forwarded by Colour Group GB announcing a lecture tomorrow in London by the distinguished Professor John S Werner from the Department of Ophthalmology & Vision Science at the University of California, Davis.

His lecture, “What the aging eye can teach us about how we see”, will explore the misconception that with ageing colour perception is altered due to filtering by the ageing lens.

Using the one of the most celebrated case studies, the cataract and
paintings of the French Impressionist Claude Monet, Professor Werner
will demonstrate how the visual system continuously renormalises
itself to maintain stabile perception throughout the life span.
Monet’s paintings alongside recent laboratory results (including
high-resolution retinal imaging with adaptive optics).

I very much hope this is the case as working in colour myself, the thought of changing colour perception with age really concerns me. So, possibly some very good news to come out of this lecture. For those living in London, the event is free and is open to the public, details are as follows:

Title: “What the aging eye can teach us about how we see”
Time and Date: 1:15 – 2:15pm, 10th January 2012
Location: Room AG07 College Building, St John Street

Your Personal Paint Palette from a Photo

It’s the fun part of decorating that many people find rather mind boggling – choosing a paint colour. If you regularly read my blog, you will know it’s a subject I frequently write about but today, I have found another way to kick start the inspiration required when selecting colours. Of course there are many things to take into account when choosing colours which I have discussed in detail previously but if it’s a starting point you are looking for, why not try this.

People tend to be naturally attracted to “colour groups”. The groups may be seasonal colours ( see previous post Finding your Dominant Colour Personality), or environments such as woodland, beaches or urban colours. However, why not flick through your photo collection and find an image with appealing colours. It may be tricky picking out individual hues so why not pixelate your image and discover a palette looking right back at you?

I very definitely fall into the “beach” category so this photo of a Isle of Syke beach throws back a palette which is ideal for me.

As nature is an expert in combining colours, you may find this wild flower meadow a good starting point.

Looking for some natural grays? What about this group of Parisian pigeons

Or your favourite piece of contemporary art?

You may find a palette in a surprising place. This serene palette is a photo of graffiti I saw in New York City.

As you can see there are infinite possibilities so have some fun with your own photo album. Why not have your pixelated image enlarged and printed onto a canvas, a unique artwork for your room – the colours will be perfect!

Broken Hues and Tonal Balance

After looking at complimentary harmony, colour value and proportional harmony in previous posts,  it’s definitely time to have a look at tonal harmony. As with the other principles, the aim of tonal harmony is to create a balanced palette where the eye can feel relaxed.

Again I would urge you to experiment at home by mixing colours yourself. It is the only way you can truly understand what colour mixing can achieve and you will discover it is very easy to create the colour you were searching for. Consider the task like cooking. If you don’t buy ready meals, don’t buy ready made colours either. Colours are a combination of ingredients just like recipes and you know how to alter a curry to satisfy your palette so why not do the same with colour. I am not suggesting you mix the final paint product yourself (far from it, interior paints are a complex arrangement of binders and pigments) but take your paint colour swatch along to your interior paint supplier and they will colour match it for you.

Start with the three primary colours, red, blue and yellow and begin by mixing them in unequal quantities i.e two parts yellow, one part blue, quarter part red. You have now created a “broken hue”. Most of the colours in nature are broken hues and so it is no surprise that these colours have a pleasing natural, earthy look about them. A broken hue is simply a combination of all the primaries in unequal amounts. If you are mixing an interior paint colour, you will probably find these colours too dark so I would suggest adding white. By doing this you have created a broken tint.

Broken hues

So you have experimented and mixed a colour you are happy with but you need another colour for an adjoining room that will tonally compatible. All you need do is keep the “parent” colour the same. In other words, if your main primary was yellow, make sure your new colour also has a parent colour of yellow but you are free to add varying amounts of other colours to it, just keep remembering both colours should share the same parent. These “child” colours will have a family resemblance which allows them tonal harmony.

For speed of understanding, you can try out combinations with water colour paints but make sure if you are taking your colour swatch to a paint supplier to colour match, take an acrylic paint swatch in order to get an accurate colour match from the spectrometer.

Of course the other way to create tonal harmony is by choosing a monochromatic scheme. In other words, only use one hue but vary it with the addition of only black or white. Monochromatic schemes tend to be very calm and have a quiet sophistication about them but will have less interest than other combinations and will therefore require some “layering” (a subject for a future post).

For inspiration on perfect balance, one look at artist Giorgio Morandi ‘s beautiful paintings and you will forever be seeking tonal balance.