Matching dark blues (navy or denim) is a breeze which makes the Cottage Leisure Lifestyle mix so flexible. Compared to the formal Marine treatment, a more rustic cottage treatment uses extensive fresh white paint and linens, layered with gradients of lighter blue, adding either a bright splash (often red) or compatible pastel variations. The overall effect is softer and more relaxed.
The notion of the “cottage” has shifted significantly: from an idealized rural setting (Alfred Quinton, 1912) to a seasonal, water-side leisure getaway.
Many renowned interior designer, like Tracey Rapisardi, have captured the essence of the simpler seaside escape.
Adding natural elements such as wood, rope, or rough fabrics enhances the connection to Nature, beyond the ocean or a lake. The Canadian magazine, Cottage Life, references a growing interest in handmade wooden elements, in its delightful video “For the Love of Wood“. Of particular note, is the interviewers observation that this wood counter culture “revolution” is attracting a very diverse following.
Variations on the Cottage theme parallel other categorical styles. The well-respected Traditional Homes publishers offers regional Cottage Life mixes, with midcentury modern or vintage elements juxtaposed with rustic décor. Parallels also exist across informal and formal treatment, for example, with the Canadian “Muskoka” chair close in form to the American “Adirondack” counter-part.
Before reading this commentary, one must consider social geography. What might be taken as an “emerging trend” in our circumstances, could be a deep-rooted traditional in another. This is certainly the case for Feng Shui.
In Western Canada, one strong demographic trend is the continuing immigration from Asia. With urban concentration, interior design choices are likely to be influenced by alternative philosophies and lifestyles. This influence is both exciting and challenging for artists who want to consider new or customized subjects and their placement.
Generally, new residents may transplant preferences but otherwise embrace differences in their new setting along with established themes and artistic styles. It will be interesting to study the extent to which new residents choose to explore regional themes, such as coastal vegetation and wildlife, seascapes and inter-island vistas. Otherwise, some preferences may persist, such as for flowers, furnishings and materials available worldwide. Some transplanted preferences may have traditional symbolism and limited variations that will continue to influence colour choices for many generations.
In the urban BC Lower Mainland, the influence of Chinese principles of Yin/Yang and Feng Shui has already been noted by developers, staging design specialists, and savvy decorating professionals.
Feng Shui is derived from Yin/Yang colour differentiation, working with geo-magnetic, situational and architectural influences upon energy flow. The basic discipline of Feng Shui for home decorating include the use of a pa kau 8-sided figure; this figure is matched up with compass points and explains how to organize colours.
insert Feng Shui pa kau image
Colour symbolism in Feng Shui differs from Western interpretation, with its connection to five common elements (metal, earth, water, wood and fire) and related distinctions between Yin and Yang. The colours of blue, black, purple, pink, green and white are associated with Yin and are seen to promote healing and secure relaxation. The colours of yellow, orange, red, brown gold, tan/beige, maroon and mauve/lavender relate to Yang energy, as vital for improved energy (Chi) for concentration and organization.
Rework Trends will continue to research the principles of Feng Shui and look at the influence of this very interesting philosophy. (Button: More to Come)
We can recognize endurance by identifying classic colour combinations and styles which repeatedly surface in media and retail outlets. One of the most prevalent styles has been the crisp contrast nautical theme (navy and white). This classic theme is differentiated in formality from a more relaxed Cottage Leisure lifestyle with lighter gradients of blue gracing a fresh predominance of white.
The brand Nautica (left below) often uses navy and lighter shades of blue, often paired with red. A simple sailboat motif reflects the Nautica brand’s association with leisure and the more affluent, yachting set.
Marine fashion for the home and cottage has endured but an interesting case emerged for navy and white uniform apparel. The “sailor dress” (above right) was introduced by Peter Thomson in the early 20th Century. At the outset, this style was popular for women and children alike, during a time when club association and standardized dress for schools had appeal. By the mid-20th Century, the billowing dress style was promoted, for comfort and discretion, for maternity wear; but thereafter, a negative connotation emerged for modern women who didn’t want to be forced to dress like children.
One can consider the Western colour symbolism that underlies this style. Crisp white often signifies clarity, purity and formality. Blue signifies relaxation as well as the continuity or expansion through its connection with the ocean or lakes. In an increasingly warm world, this style is likely to become even more popular as it conveys coolness.
Reading media more broadly, one cannot be unaware of other countries’ traditions of Blue and White variants (Other Worldly Marine). Greece continues to lure tourists with its signature cityscape of tiered medium blue and white, overlooking the ocean. In France, a Parisian style often features Blue and White for its table settings and accents, mixing comfortable with vintage antiques. The Dutch traditional of Delft Blue pottery mixes well with a tidy, detailed collection. One can reflect further on how the use of blue in these broader circumstances relates to religious and other significance, conveying anything from rebirth to baptism.
My Rework Trends journey started when I discovered the colour institute, Pantone, had formally declared Living Coral as the Colour of the Year. I was aware of the sharp decline of the world’s coral population under global warming and began thinking that colour association might help promote awareness.
Reading Style At Home, my assumption was reinforced. Apparently, the living coral choice was intended to “raise awareness of environmental concerns, much like Pantone’s 2017 Colour of the Year, Greenery”.
Pantone Executive Director, Leatrice Eiseman, reflects on how “Living Coral reinforces how colors can embody our collective experience and reflect what is taking place in our global culture at a moment in time”. A further need for reflection is due. Apparently, this colour was also chosen to help counteract the “onslaught of digital technology and social media increasingly embedding into daily life,” and the fact that “we are seeking authentic and immersive experiences that enable connection and intimacy.”*
With consumers craving human interaction and social connection, the humanizing and heartening qualities displayed by the convivial Pantone Living Coral hit a responsive chord
Leatrice Eiseman, Pantone Colour Institute
Footnote: * Style at Home, Colour, on-line, accessed 28/09/2019: at https://www.styleathome.com/decorating-design/colour/article/pantone-s-2019-color-of-the-year-makes-so-much-sense
I began looking for this trendy colour everywhere: in fashion and decorating magazines, in retail stores, on the street .. in all manner of products varying from metal and plastics, to natural (cotton, linen) to synthetics (polyester, nylon), in coated and uncoated variations, in glossy or matte finish. I was looking for any association at all with the natural world and its situation.
I had been aware of Pantone’s long-term colour authority leadership. The company had its roots in the 1950s, when primary colours became common in plastics and manufacturing everywhere, most noticeably (for me) in baby toys. As a baby-boomer child of 1955, my early experience saw colours and culture first imposed top-down, with all things new and bright promoted during a Mad Men post-war period of sharply increased consumerism.
A counter-culture shift occurred in the early 1960s. Its origins were multi-faceted but marked by Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring (1962), which led a new ecological awareness. Primary colours were less evident in all things household and seemed relegated to psychedelic imagery. The demographics drove a bottom-up cultural movement; it idealized a closer relationship to Nature, with fashion and décor shifting to earthy, often subdued tones more compatible with indoor plants and natural products.
Clever manufacturing choices were made with ads soon promoting jeans and T-shirts as universal uniforms (along with Coke), unisex economies of scale, and a new individualism. Most striking was the reverence for indigo blue denim or better yet, faded denim. Emerging from predominantly blue collar use, Levi Strauss 501 “shrink to fit” jeans became a counter-culture symbol of more enduring, purposeful consumerism. Before stone-washing was invented, older jeans became individualized, cherished accessories over time. Long forgotten was their association with the war (when jeans were then declared an essential commodity) and clear association with recurrent rebellious periods (i.e. prior immortalized by James Dean).
That baseline, with industry leader Pantone selecting Living Coral for our modern material choices, along this backstory on colour association observed during cultural shifts, will lead me to more investigation. More to come…
