November 09, 2009

Decorating with Colours


Maison Jaoul (finished in 1955), Neuilly (Paris) by Le Corbusier
(photo from a book "Le Corbusier" by Taschen)

If you have a house with many white walls and surfaces and not that much art work to hang, the best way to decorate your house is to paint large surfaces with bold warm colours that are rich in contrast.

Lately I got inspired by my friends new house. She used a Feng Shui colour consultant and ended up with a colourful house that radiates warm and cosy feelings from the very first moment, although the moving boxes were still unpacked. The result is quiet interesting and I have to ask her if I could post some pictures. In some rooms walls were painted with three different colours. Seems too much to me, and many others. Lets wait and see until they have lived in there for a while. But also magic colour tricks made disappear corners and widen small windows.

And since I need to add 3 doors for buil-in closets in my (German) home, I think to use bold colours for the surfaces. At the moment I fancy a kind of lobster red for a single door for my bathroom. And around the corner, in my home office, I fancy some fresh green or blue or yellow for a double door. As the 3 doors are so close to each other (the sliding door to the bathroom is always open) they can create a fun colour contrast. A bit of "Bauhaus" style in my appartment...


I played a bit and matched the above 3 colours (via Farrow & Ball).
This colour combination was often used in the 50ies by architects and designer.


very similar colour match in a loft in Paris via Cote Maison (photo by Philippe Garcia)


"arty" colours of the 50ies (jade, coral and yellow) used in a French appartment via Cote Maison


more interior of maison Raoul (via "Le Corbusier" by TASCHEN)


bedroom in maison Raoul (via flickr)


One more time the Claude and Duval factory by Le Corbusier (via wallpaper) to show the colour combo that keeps me fascinated.





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