4 minute read
Celebrating Spring
Life is too short to live in black and white
Quoting Claude Monet, I could say for myself “colour is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.”
This Spring is rejuvenating in Nature and also in the recent lifting of the constraints on our daily lives, present for the past couple of years. We now turn to the outside, big, wide world – we can start travelling again, planning visits to friends and family, outings, parties, picnics and concerts – even Her Majesty is fine-tuning unprecedented celebrations we can all look forward to. And none of that will be done in half-measures!
Where does that leave us with regards to interiors; our homes, offices and all the places we retreat to when – exhausted, as we have lost the habit of being out so much! – Do we need to recharge? I will tell you: we want JOY. We want colour. We want boldness. Life is made to be lived – in colour, with contrast, textures, shapes and details. In essence, we want our inner trepidation and excitement to spill over into our décor. It is time to go for it and be maximalist!
In all the projects we have undertaken at Galuchat in the last few months, would it be an elegant Victorian terraced house in Islington, a sun-drenched modern villa in Nice or a sprawling rustic chalet in the French Alps, we are creating a distinct transition, from serene neutrals, quiet elegance and restrained refinement – and fear not, these will always have a special place in our hearts and that of our homes, to fierce patterns, wild colours and bold materials. We are creating interiors that bring an irresistible smile to our lips, making us want to eat our jelly beans without sorting them by colour, by the handful!
How can we look at our interiors, with everything they are and everything they are not, and create the same result? Bear with me as we deconstruct an approach, no matter what we are starting with.
Enter my long-standing love affair with colour: it is to interiors what spices are to cooking. We want lots of it, just the right amount. A rich variety, yet complementary. In a maximalist, joy-inducing room, we want to layer colours, in variations and dégradés (from deep scarlet to baby’s bottom pink maybe) but also in complements (red and green, for example) and in contrasts (red and green and bright yellow, why not?), all in balance – by creating a hierarchy between them.
How about tackling the pattern next? Superimposing patterns calls for a couple of principles. When mixing and matching, I find it is good to keep a dominant
theme – say, geometrics – and have that take pride of place, with a few outsiders – florals or animal prints – to throw off the balance. It is also good to play around with scale – a maxi motif next to an intricately detailed design. So that altogether they compose a variation.
Now onto materials and textures… As in all things, and even though maximalism is very much a trend that calls for a ‘more is more’ approach, I find we can and must create order and balance within apparent chaos. And we do that with contrasting and complementing. If most of the room is all plush and furry, bouclés, chenilles and velvets, for example, I would introduce a very polished wood floor, a giant slab of stone for a coffee table top or a luscious leather main sofa.
What next? Once you have created your juxtaposition of colours, patterns, textures and materials, you will want to dress the room. A gallery of photos on your palm leaf wallpaper? A collection of masks on your mantelpiece? Vases and bottles in varying shades and sizes along window sills? Vibrant, exotic, retro yet timeless taxidermy? Intricate latticework of birdcages? Funky patchwork throw?
Now, if you know anything about me, you will be surprised that I have not mentioned lighting yet. And yes, there is always a place for good, nay the best lighting possible and in successful joyful, rich, extravagant, bold rooms all the more. Light will be the finishing touch that will add rhythm to the space, focusing in turn on low or high, floor or wall, curtains or cushions or plant or art.
Sounds tricky? Maximalism, like joy, is all about freedom and there are no set rules to that: embrace your taste, your whims and your fun side. As Oscar Wilde would tell you better than I can: “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.”
MARIE NOELLE
www.galuchatdesign.com
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