First, a programming note: Real life (particularly my need to earn filthy lucre) is forcing me to cut back to posting just once a week. So without further ado, this week’s post…
A kitchen painted by mural artist Richard O’Gorman.
Now that the Barbie hype has disappeared (rather like those tiny Barbie shoes used to after a few outfit changes), let’s rethink pink. Why? For one thing, it’s almost universally flattering. I cannot think of a skin tone that doesn’t look a bit more radiant when offset by pink. A pale pink ceiling, for instance, is a wonderful alternative to white: Everyone in the room will look bright and refreshed.
Then there’s the profusion of pinks to play with, from barely-there to can’t-miss-it. If you think you hate pink, it’s more likely you just haven’t met your ideal shade yet.
A friend of mine swears she loathes pink. Our friends who threw her baby shower when she was expecting her daughter all knew that, so she was gifted with onesies and blankets and such in every hue except pink. (Her husband’s co-workers, on the other hand, did not know that when they threw a surprise shower. My friend let her daughter eat the messiest foods and scrabble about in dirt whilst wearing all those gifted pink dresses.) Yet when I created a mood board for her living room several years later, I built it around a velvet salmon-pink tuxedo sofa, which she swooned over. She insisted it wasn’t pink but rather coral. “So, an orangey pink, then?” I said. She pretended not to hear.
So in honour of my friend, let’s look at how versatile pink can be.
This is a former living room of Meg from Meggie H. Interiors. It’s very traditional—yet the hot-pink lacquer of the cocktail table keeps the room from resembling a period piece. The heavily textured rug and the dark brown wood furniture ensure that the pink walls and upholstery, along with the floral curtains, don’t skew overtly feminine.
This room by Alexandra Kaehler Design is more traditionally feminine—but gender stereotypes are meaningless in the face of this luscious chinoiserie wallpaper. Pattern is otherwise kept to a minimum, because why even try to compete with those walls, and that stunning fireplace, for that matter? Again, a natural-fiber rug helps to ground (heh heh) the space firmly in the 21st century. Photo by Aimee Mazzenga.
I must show my pink-hating friend this breakfast nook, because I’m sure she’ll love it. Helena Riches of Posh Space Interiors sets off the rhythmic green wallpaper and tweedy green linen upholstery with baby-pink pendants and chairs painted in a pink deepened with a hint of brown. Pink (well, red) and green are complementary colours, so pairing them brings a certain energy to a room, even when the shades are muted like these.
Another room that juxtaposes pink and green, this time to sultry, sophisticated effect. Giancarlo Valle designed this room for model Martha Hunt. I defy anyone to declare it too girly. Photo by Stephen Kent Johnson.
Pink plays nicely with blue too. Case in point: the guest room of Jodie Hazlewood, the interiors maven behind The House Upstairs. The walls (painted in Farrow & Ball’s Nancy’s Blushes) set off both the soft blue of the settee and the bold blue of the side table. The settee’s magenta piping is an ideal finishing touch, no?
My favourite pinks are bold and saturated, rather like the chairs in this room designed by RRP. They’re the perfect pop in this otherwise understated, neutral room… fine, most people wouldn’t consider the table, with its curved metallic legs, understated. But I’m not most people, and I think the brushed finish of the legs whispers rather than shouts—beautifully, I might add. Photo by Scott Frances.
When and where I was growing up, a pink bathroom suite was the height of sophistication. This loo, by Crosby Studios, was not what the families on our estate had in mind, however. I adore the black outlines; they make the room resemble a two-dimensional cartoon.
As a child I was taught that pink and orange clash. Cass Danson’s sitting room proves they don’t. Despite the colors being on the quieter side (except for those brilliant orange table legs), the room has a happy vibe thanks in part to the relaxed, even whimsical shapes. That’s her original artwork, btw; she also sells delightful wall decals.
Go ahead, start small. Just a bit of pink, like the trio of pillows in this room by Alessia Corpino Design, is all it takes to refresh a space.