I recently searched our website portfolio of Perla Lichi Design installations looking for shades of orange. Comparing our photos to an orange color chart, it was obvious that we rarely use pure bright orange in the interiors we design! Instead, we tone it down or lighten it up to complement each décor.
The different shades, tints and hues of orange or any color for that matter, are selected to blend with, contrast or complement the other colors in the palette we are working with. The boldest stroke of orange that we used in our work was a splash of orange in a modern painting that we hung in a warm contemporary den, where the other furnishings were deep red and blue accessories over beige upholstery.
The same home had a lovely rust mosaic entryway and a rust powder room! This range of deeper, darker oranges like russet or ombre transitions are much safer to incorporate in any room.
PUMPKINS, SQUASH, CARROTS
When you have apricots, mangos, cantalopes, nectarines, papayas peaches, tangerines, buttered squash, carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, orange peppers … and of course the orange is itself, perhaps that is nature speaking. It’s thought that orange coloration can indeed stimulate hunger. Where best to use the brighter orange tones to improve appetites than in home kitchens and restaurants?
And speaking of nature, why not introduce orange into your interiors by using orange flowers, autumn leaves, and other naturally orange items from nature. This is instant gratification for enjoying the positive vibrations of this happy color without the permanence of upholstery or wall paint.
FEATURE WALL
For those more daring souls, however, an orange feature wall is not out of the question. Another attribute of orange is that in its brighter tones, it seems to create a positive feeling of joy and happiness! This adds another positive reason for using orange in places where people get together for socializing.
Orange is a splendid color, in all its flavors. Pale tones of orange such as peach or apricot are lovely when used in bedrooms. Orange furnishings combine well with purples and blues. Brown is another possible complement.
Orange is the result of mixing varying amounts of red and yellow. Autumn leaves present a rich palette of complementary shades of yellow, gold, orange, red and brown that you can borrow ideas from when creating your own palette. Another inspiration is the wonderful orange palette of colorful sunsets, which can exhibit the entire gamut of orange tones, much like our color chart, from deep russet of the earth’s natural tones to bright orange and yellow skies. In 1930 a popular song was written: “Orange Colored Sky©” by Milton DeLugg and Willie Stein. The song emphasizes both the excitement and romantic influence of orange. Here are the opening lyrics of this song, made famous by singers Nat King Cole and more recently Michael Buble:
I was walking along minding my business
When out of the orange colored sky
Flash bam alakazam wonderful you came by.
I was humming a tune drinking in sunshine
When out of that orange colored view
Wam bam alakazam I got a look at you. ©
Perla Lichi is a Florida State licensed professional interior designer. Perla has completed award-winning interior design work throughout the world including in her native Mexico. Contact her at her headquarters in Coral Springs, Florida at 954-726-0688 or visit her website www.perlalichi.com
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