SEEING RED

One of the tried-and-true primaries, red is a colour that people either love or hate. I have to admit that I am indifferent to it—at least when it comes to interiors. Make no mistake, I understand the drama of red and the need for red; it’s just that I generally have a ‘meh moment’ whenever I encounter it. 

To be fair, there are many reds I like, but they tend not to be that classic fire engine red that everyone gets so wound up about. I generally prefer the ones that are more bastardized—the skeleton-in-the-closet reds that are just slightly off. You’ll notice a few hues down that I similarly characterize my preference for certain blues and yellows; my need for the primaries to be, well, less primary. It may stem from a bad experience I had with them in pre-school. Or I may just be a terrible person—it’s hard to say. Nonetheless, here are three variations on “black sheep” reds that make this old carcass of mine feel something akin to passion…

Blue-reds: Oddly, despite my aversion to its closest kin, cerise (or cherry, en anglais) ranks among my top five favourite colours. I remember when I was in university a house around the corner from where I lived in Victoria’s Oak Bay had a cerise front door with a diamond-shaped window of amber and blue leaded glass, done in the classic harlequin pattern. Devastating. I was late for class often because I would go out of my way to look at that door—in the fog, in the rain, in full sunshine, in leaf-dappled autumn light. If they ever change the marriage laws to a drastic extent I will propose to—and wed—that door. But I digress. Favourite blue-reds of mine are: Farrow & Ball’s Rectory Red; Venus Envy from C2; and Crushed Velvet and Pomegranate, both from Benjamin Moore. Big box pick: Behr’s Strawberry Daiquiri

 

Red-reds: OK, so there’s a gun to my head and I have to pick three; these are the ones that will save my life: delicious in dining rooms, dignified on front doors and delightful on the inside of closets. Two favourites from Benjamin Moore include Caliente and Vermilion, but let’s not forget Farrow & Ball’s Incarnadine or C2’s devastating, jazzily named Bang. Big box pick: Licorice Stick from Behr.

 

Orange-reds: seriously, if the right orange-red asked “Who’s your daddy?” I would blush hotly and swoon. I adore this colour—and was in seventh heaven when a client of mine (a very traditional doctor, no less) agreed to let me paint her living room/dining room in a hot-cha-cha rendition from C2 called “Mojo”. Needless to say it resulted in quite an enchanting love triangle: me, the good doctor, and Mojo.

Less harsh and more flattering than red-red (which can make you look like you’ve just had bargain dermabrasion if the reflection is just so), this hue offers the most wonderful, healthy glow to all who bask within range. Frontrunners include: C2’s Persimmon and the aforementioned Mojo; Bonaparte and Rustique from Benjamin Moore; and Farrow & Ball’s Blazer, which is as natty as it sounds. Big box pick: Old Glory by CIL.

 

ÀPRES LE DÉLUGE, MOI...

Just under three weeks ago, the city I call home was thrown into chaos when two rivers breached their banks and caused unprecedented flooding. More than 75,000 people were evacuated to higher ground and a significant number lost their homes and many of their possessions. Despite the fact that the citizens of Calgary stepped forward to help clean up in the aftermath, many lives will have to start anew—some, unfortunately, without insurance.

Although I was evacuated from my own home it remained untouched by flood waters and life returned pretty much to normal after a week. In fact, the only thing I had to do to get back on track was clean and re-stock my fridge. Despite being able to help in some small way by clearing debris out of homes in the affected areas, I still feel like more needs to be done.

To this end, I am offering a 25% reduction in contract hourly fees for anyone who experienced significant flood damage to their primary home and must rebuild. The scope of this can range from assisting with colour and material selections for your restoration provider to complete furniture replacement or full-fledged renovations.

While I cannot guarantee the availability of my contractors and their trades—based on the volume of work already underway—I will do my utmost to connect new clients with reliable, quality workers. I am also happy to work in conjunction with your own trades, should you already have them in place.

In this vein, I am also creating three comprehensive “design-in-a-box” options for those who do want to work with their own labourers but take the guesswork out of the selection process. After all, there will be enough information to process with insurance claims, restoration companies, personal finances and the like without adding something as relatively frivolous as colour choices into the mix.

These designs will include scale-able materials available through a wide variety of suppliers, complete with product numbers, colour codes and similarly useful information.  All will feature flood-friendly (not flood-proof) materials that are either salvageable or economically replaced should an event such as this ever (fingers crossed it doesn’t) occur again.

Based on my knowledge of the affected areas, I have chosen to focus on three themes: traditional, contemporary and retro.  The last one is of particular interest to me, as I grew up in the era of rumpus rooms and miss the days when we truly had a place to unwind and let kids be kids.

While the past cannot be undone, it’s my sincere hope that the aforementioned measures can be of some use as Calgary rebuilds to become the vibrant, neighbourly city I know and love. As our civic motto proclaims: Onward! For more information, please contact me via e-mail; david@barbariandesign.ca or telephone: 403-808-5630.

THE MOST IMPORTANT GUY IN MY LIFE

I remember as if it were yesterday—no mean feat after four decades. I was in grade one and the sparks flew immediately. Now, before you get the wrong idea let me clarify: there was no hanky-panky between me and my first grade teacher (a woman, to be even more clear). No, the object of my enduring affection was one Roy G. Biv, otherwise known as the colours of the rainbow. Redorangeyellow Green. Blueindigoviolet. A stunner if there ever was one and beautifully nuanced in character; it was impossible for me not to fall in love.

You’ll notice that I have not made mention of his estranged cousin Beige who, while nuanced, is not nearly as much fun at a party. We’ll get there eventually but for now let’s go with the good stuff. Colour, like humour, taste, attraction and self-image, is subjective—and if you can get around that then I’m going to take you for a spin on the wheel, pointing out my favourite hues along the way.

Despite the vividness  of the subject matter, this could prove to be a rather dull errand so I will attempt to bring things home—literally—by focusing my attention on some of my favourite paint colours. I will attempt to represent a range of price points where possible but should point out up front that I’m a bit of a paint snob. One of my long-standing clients also refers to me as the Colour Nazi, a moniker I neither deny nor dislike, but that is not the same thing.

That said, I fully appreciate that not everyone is into colour, so will space out the posts with other material as much as possible. I also recognize that this entry has gone on far too long (“Just tell us which colour to paint the goddamned living room!”) so will leave it at that for now. Julie Andrews would be upset with me if I didn’t start at the beginning (a very good place to start) so we’ll commence with Red. But first…