Cream: The kinder colour for that darker room
To get cream, the kind interior colour, you add white to yellow, says David Framera, a distributor of sadolin paints in Nakasero. Cream ranges from delicate to deeper buttery shades of old ivory and clotted cream.
By Harriet Birungi
To get cream, the kind interior colour, you add white to yellow, says David Framera, a distributor of sadolin paints in Nakasero. Cream ranges from delicate to deeper buttery shades of old ivory and clotted cream.
Framera, who also guides clients on choice of paints and mixes for those who desire certain shades, says when it comes to furnishings, cream walls are kinder than stark white. And cream also has a softening effect on harshly bright modern furnishings, making it the kinder colour for the house interior.
Cream was a top colour with the famous 18th century architects, who recognised its ability to enhance a room’s brightness with diffused light. It was blended well with gold, providing the perfect backdrop for rich mahogany furniture.
To appreciate the colour, which was the choice of the time, the Victorians used creamy lace to trim everything from table cloths to mantel pieces. However, after this era, cream suffered a decline and it took the 1920s and 1930s to revive it as a major decorating colour. And ever since, it has dominated many interiors of houses.
Because of its many shades, Framera says today’s all-cream interiors need dramatic handling if they are not to become bland and insipid. To achieve this, he says you need a mixture of textured cream fabrics, sculptured carpet, sponged and rag-rolled paints for the best effect. And if you are to have it well-accented, he advises using accents of soft pinks, blues and black.
As a kinder colour, cream flatters both light and dark woods and blends particularly well with plain ash shaker-style furniture. Painting walls with cream rather than white prevents the room from looking stark and helps to give an almost country cottage atmosphere.
Cream has a soft, filtered, almost romantic quality that feels eternally sunny as it is bright. You can also harmonise it by using creamy lace and embroidered fabrics for definition.
For low ceiling rooms, it is the colour to use on the floor. Cream floors reflect light. These can be carpets or creamy tiles in polished marble. This way, they will create an illusion of a high ceiling.
It is perfect to regard cream as a colour in its own right. Choose crisp white woodwork and fabrics to stop the colour from looking as though it is a white discoloured by age.
Cream conjures up visions of raw silk, unbleached wool and linen. It also has chameleon qualities. It reflects surrounding colours and quietens down harsh tones.
Also, cream has a backdrop for a variety of colours to match many in a room. But should you have objects or areas that you want to look larger and more important, use red. Red looks warm and inviting.
To get cream, the kind interior colour, you add white to yellow, says David Framera, a distributor of sadolin paints in Nakasero. Cream ranges from delicate to deeper buttery shades of old ivory and clotted cream.
Framera, who also guides clients on choice of paints and mixes for those who desire certain shades, says when it comes to furnishings, cream walls are kinder than stark white. And cream also has a softening effect on harshly bright modern furnishings, making it the kinder colour for the house interior.
Cream was a top colour with the famous 18th century architects, who recognised its ability to enhance a room’s brightness with diffused light. It was blended well with gold, providing the perfect backdrop for rich mahogany furniture.
To appreciate the colour, which was the choice of the time, the Victorians used creamy lace to trim everything from table cloths to mantel pieces. However, after this era, cream suffered a decline and it took the 1920s and 1930s to revive it as a major decorating colour. And ever since, it has dominated many interiors of houses.
Because of its many shades, Framera says today’s all-cream interiors need dramatic handling if they are not to become bland and insipid. To achieve this, he says you need a mixture of textured cream fabrics, sculptured carpet, sponged and rag-rolled paints for the best effect. And if you are to have it well-accented, he advises using accents of soft pinks, blues and black.
As a kinder colour, cream flatters both light and dark woods and blends particularly well with plain ash shaker-style furniture. Painting walls with cream rather than white prevents the room from looking stark and helps to give an almost country cottage atmosphere.
Cream has a soft, filtered, almost romantic quality that feels eternally sunny as it is bright. You can also harmonise it by using creamy lace and embroidered fabrics for definition.
For low ceiling rooms, it is the colour to use on the floor. Cream floors reflect light. These can be carpets or creamy tiles in polished marble. This way, they will create an illusion of a high ceiling.
It is perfect to regard cream as a colour in its own right. Choose crisp white woodwork and fabrics to stop the colour from looking as though it is a white discoloured by age.
Cream conjures up visions of raw silk, unbleached wool and linen. It also has chameleon qualities. It reflects surrounding colours and quietens down harsh tones.
Also, cream has a backdrop for a variety of colours to match many in a room. But should you have objects or areas that you want to look larger and more important, use red. Red looks warm and inviting.