Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Passion for Purple
Can I just state on the record how excited I am that purple is starting to creep it's way back in style (both in fashion and in home decor)? I've long been a fan of purple, in all its many forms (though particularly in its richer, jewel-tones of plum and aubergine), and it's been frustrating trying to incorporate the color into the decor of our new house as there are precious few options in the hue. But, as I see more and more purple popping up in interiors magazines, I feel confident that is in the process of changing and that in a year or so purple will be as prevalent as yellow and turquoise are today.
When I saw this gorgeous guest room designed by Jamie Drake and featured in the most recent Traditional Home (see HERE to check out the entire house) I was instantly in love. I absolutely adore how Jamie so beautifully incorporated several shades of purple. The fact that the purples don't precisely match makes the room all the more appealing to me and works particularly well with the Moroccan touches (that trio of lanterns above the bed and the mirror featured in the reading nook above are particularly eye catching). I also like the lavender grass cloth, which brings so much texture and visual interest in the room. Drake papered the low, slanted ceilings as well, which is a great way to help visually erase those awkward angles.
This bedroom was featured on the cover of Sixx Design's recently published book Downtown Chic (which is a great read by the way) and for good reason: it's gorgeous. I love the gorgeous fabric used on both the bed and curtains, especially juxtaposted against that rug.
While purple isn't the dominant color in this room, it's certainly the pop of color needed to really turn up the volume in this otherwise neutral room. Again, there's a vaguely Moroccan feel to this space and I think the color works really well with the rich golds and browns the style often incorporates. Moreover, the intricate patterns and fretwork that are hallmarks of Moroccan style are a natural pairing to purple as purple only serves to heighten the sense of luxury, drama and richness that this look is famous for.
I love this office designed by LA designer Kishani Perera. Again, lavender walls act almost as a neutral with bolder iterations of purple working as accents. The chartreuse is a nice balance to the purple. As yellow-green is the opposite of purple (or red-blue) on the color wheel, the pairing is particularly attractive and a fresh, modern take on the traditional purple-yellow.
Just a pretty, pretty room. The modern art helps take the sweetness off while the giant arrangement of cherry blossoms lends a less structured, more organic feel to the traditional room.
Again with the Moroccan vibe and chartreuse pairing (okay so the headboard reads as a little more of an apple green, but still!). I love the deep, rich aubergine of the walls; the cocooning effect of dark walls in a bedroom can be incredibly calming and it's a great backdrop for the brighter headboard (and it's incredible shape!).
Chartreuse and purple strike again, this time in the very capable hands of Amanda Nisbet. My favorite feature in the room is the bolder plum band right underneath the crown molding. Nisbet repeats the crispness of this trim in the trim on the white linens. Such a great accent on the space and a great alternative if you don't want to wash the walls in a dark color. I also like how Amanda has hung the art straight up to the ceiling and around the headboard, which is incorporated into the arrangement as art in and of itself.
The wall colors in this bedroom are masterful -- and easily replicated by painting the same color in three different shades. To maximize ceiling heights, paint the darkest color on bottom and the lightest on the ceiling. Since the walls should be the stars here, Kishani rightly kept the rest of the room relatively neutral, with fresh white bedding and white furniture and accessories. The pale lavender rug echoes the pale lavender on the ceiling and helps create a pleasing symmetry.
Again, a predominately neutral space with purple accents. In reality, the only purple items are the modified wing back chair and the lamp shade, with the rest of the room awash in whites, gray and beiges.
Love, love, love this office. The walls are so gorgeous and, while I usually prefer white molding, the nearly tone-on-tone lilacs are spot-on as a greater contrast would have made this way too busy. The zebra rug is a great addition here, too, as it ups the glam factor and adds a jolt of pattern that's a nice contrast to the grid created by the molding.
So what about you? Do you have purple in your home? If not, would you consider incorporating some into your design?
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25 comments:
I am not an all over color girl but I have to admit that all of the grey in our home has a purple cast. In fact, we have a very very very dark grey wall that we intentionally added more purple to because it was looking drab. And I kinda love it! Love the last image, too! Marija
oh sweetness. i adore this post. i love them all!!! purple, my beloved color is so fantastic with gold...great post! it gave me the oohs and ahhs.
:)
I'm slowing coming around to purple. I don't have any in my home right now but have considered painting the guest room in a light lavender gray. I do love the Katie Ridder dining room.
Oh, purple challenges me...I like it in small doses, but my eye has a hard time with too much of it. However, I'm thrilled for you!! Glad you are finding more options allowing you to bring it into your home, and who knows, you just may convince me!
Janell
I am thinking about a lavender area rug in my living room and am getting closer and closer! Today I posted about a lavender cowhide tossed onto my Easter table under the purple wisteria...purple is the color of mystery, it can be cool, it can be warm, it's the color of shadows and looks great with citron, orange..
Nice post, missy!
xx
Kit
Averill, what an incredibly fabulous post! Purple has always been one of my very favorite colors - bright, deep jewel-toned purple to soft lilacs....I love them all. In our last house, we did our guest room and adjoining bath in lilacs - it was oh-so-pretty! I wish I had pictures! In our current home, we have NONE! The curtains, etc are all stored away in the garage...maybe in the future I'll re-do the Foo's room in purples! I bet she would love that. Though her current (new) yellow room is pretty fab too!Fabulous post - just love the photos and link to that Jaime Drake spread!
I love purple - not for the main areas of my house, but for bedrooms. There is a bedroom at Mrs. Howard (which is in my 'shop' post) that has a soft lilac wall, and it is amazing how versatile it is - they change the room decor all of the time, and yet the lilac stays and looks great with it all.
While I might shy away from painting the walls in a shade of purple, I adore the accents. The purple chair is fabulous.
I love all these images and the descriptions of what you found appealing! I never thought of myself as "liking" purple, but I must!
Purple has been in my designs before and I am trying to incorporate it now into my office re-do!
I'm not a purple gal, but I do agree that it can look stunning at times. Great inspiration pics!
Great post! I just love purple. I wish I had more rooms in my house so that I could add some purple elements. My old house was larger (moving from the midwest to southern california = smaller house) and I had purple walls and other elements in the guest bedroom. I loved that room. It was so alive.
I love, love these images, and all shades of purple and lavender! Lovely....
Karena
Art by Karena
I LOVE purple. I'm trying to convince my husband to go with a dark purple for our new bedroom.
I love all the Moroccan touches, and the Amanda Nisbet bedroom - so pretty. The only purple item in my house is a shallow glass bowl on my nightstand that holds my chapstick and earrings that I remove at night. It doesn't really go with the room, but it was a gift from a friend and so pretty that I keep it around.
I love purple its my favorite color, for years this was considered very unsophisticated...so glad that purple is coming into its own! LOVE it, and loved this post!
In my book Katie Ridder does no wrong. That dining room of hers I would love to recreate. The striped wall/room from CH&H, incredible. I would of never, ever thought I'd go for any shade of purple but my mind has been altered. These rooms give much to aspire to. Balanced with plenty of neutrals they are not the "Barney" rooms that one would imagine. Hope you get off work early to soak up the remainder of this glorious day Averill!
These are great examples! Love Nisbet, Drake and the ones from CH&H.
xo,
cristin
While I'm not totally on board with the purple comeback just yet, these are really beautiful images--especially love that office! You always find the best pictures.
Gorgeous rooms! You did a great job with these. Especially love the Amanda Nisbet and Jamie Drake ones (but there are many fab ones here!). I also loved Veranda's cover a few months back which featured purple. My favorite combo is purple and a goldish brown (which I had thought was the color of the grasscloth in the first picture, but I guess it's my laptop?). Love the calming neutral and pop of color. And after, purple is the color of royalty, yes!?
I'm so loving purple right now - and all shades of it. I don't think I'm brave enough to paint a wall but in any other form, I'm all for it!
No purple right now, but wouldn't turn away any of these applications. I probably gravitate more towards a violet-tinged gray. Absolutely adore the Moroccan tendencies with this color - just. ADORE!
The only time I've done purple in my own home is for my daughter's bedroom when she was a teen-ager. I do like that lighter shade in your first picture.
Thanks for your sweet comment on my topiary mess post!
I'm not at all into purple, but I love all the rooms you found.
Fantastic post! Purple is such a lovely, warm color...I especially love it with gold and fresh white. Such great rooms for inspiration -- many will be going straight into my inspirational file.
:)
Lovely images, you did a great job in sampling these! I love pyrsple, it's clean and calming yet royal color and suit nicely with gold & greens. Nice work!
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