Purple brings your walls to life
Aug 14, 2009
OVER the years, we have come to think that light blue and cream are the only colours suitable for walls. Any diversion from this norm is considered weird. But the trend dictates that we should embrace colour right from the way we dress to how we live.
By Harriet Birungi
Over the years, we have come to think that light blue and cream are the only colours suitable for walls. Any diversion from this norm is considered weird. But the trend dictates that we should embrace colour right from the way we dress to how we live.
Using purple as an interior wall paint is slowly catching among adventurous home owners. Purple has long been associated with royalty. A brilliant purple dye made from a special Mediterranean shellfish was reserved for the tyrian purple cloaks of Roman emperors, because it was both costly and difficult to obtain.
And that meant using it sparingly because it was so precious. And as a decorating colour, purple has been out of favour since the 1960s, when it was seen everywhere from mini-skirts to front door rugs and in rare situations on the porch of a house.
It has been little used in interiors over the past, to the extent that it has been termed as one of the forgotten colours. But now, that there is return to use of bright colours, purple is making a come-back.
However, it still requires that one learns more about its use if the best effect is to be achieved. Purple comes from the blue-red part of the colour wheel, which means that you need at least those two colours to get it.
It contains roughly equal quantities of blue and red and more black. So getting items in either colours will provide the perfect combination with purple if you are to use it for your interiors.
However, remember a deep purple is not easy to use as a base for a colour scheme, just as a brilliant yellow and red room is hard to live with on day-to-day basis.
So the more reason you need to handle it well. Purple is, surprisingly, a flattering colour for bed-rooms. Use it on walls or curtain fabrics as it has a reddish cast that gives a pink glow to the eyes when looked at. The pink glow it gives is good for relaxing as it is calm.
Alternatively, use it in the other areas, as a basis of an eye-catching colour scheme. If you want to draw attention to a certain corner usually the design in the ceiling, opt for it.
Purple is also most effective in short-stay areas such as halls, where its impact neither overwhelms the room’s occupants nor prevents peaceful relaxation.
It can also be used in dinning rooms to create the right environment for formal dinner parties. Purple also makes gentle backdrops for any room when used with a special paint effect.
You can team it with walnut furniture, or seats of warm blue fabric or pink curtains and you will enjoy your choice of finishing.
Over the years, we have come to think that light blue and cream are the only colours suitable for walls. Any diversion from this norm is considered weird. But the trend dictates that we should embrace colour right from the way we dress to how we live.
Using purple as an interior wall paint is slowly catching among adventurous home owners. Purple has long been associated with royalty. A brilliant purple dye made from a special Mediterranean shellfish was reserved for the tyrian purple cloaks of Roman emperors, because it was both costly and difficult to obtain.
And that meant using it sparingly because it was so precious. And as a decorating colour, purple has been out of favour since the 1960s, when it was seen everywhere from mini-skirts to front door rugs and in rare situations on the porch of a house.
It has been little used in interiors over the past, to the extent that it has been termed as one of the forgotten colours. But now, that there is return to use of bright colours, purple is making a come-back.
However, it still requires that one learns more about its use if the best effect is to be achieved. Purple comes from the blue-red part of the colour wheel, which means that you need at least those two colours to get it.
It contains roughly equal quantities of blue and red and more black. So getting items in either colours will provide the perfect combination with purple if you are to use it for your interiors.
However, remember a deep purple is not easy to use as a base for a colour scheme, just as a brilliant yellow and red room is hard to live with on day-to-day basis.
So the more reason you need to handle it well. Purple is, surprisingly, a flattering colour for bed-rooms. Use it on walls or curtain fabrics as it has a reddish cast that gives a pink glow to the eyes when looked at. The pink glow it gives is good for relaxing as it is calm.
Alternatively, use it in the other areas, as a basis of an eye-catching colour scheme. If you want to draw attention to a certain corner usually the design in the ceiling, opt for it.
Purple is also most effective in short-stay areas such as halls, where its impact neither overwhelms the room’s occupants nor prevents peaceful relaxation.
It can also be used in dinning rooms to create the right environment for formal dinner parties. Purple also makes gentle backdrops for any room when used with a special paint effect.
You can team it with walnut furniture, or seats of warm blue fabric or pink curtains and you will enjoy your choice of finishing.