Into White

I've never really understood the tradition of banishing white clothing after Labour Day. There are a number of explanations for this peculiar bit of fashion etiquette, but it's not a rule I adhere to. (In fact, I love wearing white during winter.) To flagrantly escape the trappings of holiday conformity, I thought I'd present to you the joys of surrounding oneself in white at home.

Trends surrounding the use of white in interior design ebb and flow in favour. The push towards colour in modern decorating is one I whole-heartedly support - but not at the expense of an indulgence in the greatest non-colour of all: white.

White can be glorious indoors, virtuous in its purity and simplicity. It is the ultimate enhancer of space and light, effortlessly reflecting airiness and brightness in even the darkest rooms. It is fresh and invigorating, an excellent backdrop to hits of vibrant colour and one of the simplest ways to achieve style. Be sure to always consider texture when using white to prevent a feeling of barrenness in your rooms. The addition of wood (even white wood) will warm the room, as will textured fabrics and accessories, such as pillows and throws. The effect can be clean and modern, or rustic, depending on your style. Below are some images I've gathered to highlight the wonders of white indoors.

Going Dutch (Or Spanish): Orange and Red Rooms

In the name of the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals this weekend, I thought I'd offer a slightly more design-conscious celebration of the game than ear-shattering vuvuzelas, wild cheers and bar-room brawling. The two teams participating in the finals this year are the Dutch and the Spanish so I'm using the colours of their uniforms as an excuse to celebrate these hues through interior design. How's that for team spirit?

People shy away from bold, warm colours in rooms mainly because of their intensity and the perceived notion that they are difficult to work with in interior design. Finding furniture and drapery to match a room saturated in rich, warm tones can be a challenge - but the rewards can be striking. As with any vivid colour the key to using hot tones indoors is to stand up to their vibrancy with courage and conviction, using the colour either as a base for the entire room or choosing to use it as an accent colour to a more neutral backdrop. Either way, your options are many; you can make the colour as intense or as subdued as you wish, as you'll see in the Martha Stewart Living illustrations below. Which shade are you routing for?

DUTCH: ORANGE

Orange is a favourite colour of mine. I love its sense of playfulness. Using it indoors is not something I have tried, except in accent pieces. I splurged once and bought a beautiful Indian silk pillow in the most bold shade of orange you can imagine. It was embellished with a beautifully ornate design that was stitched using a neutral cotton twine. I also have a whimsical pair of dish towels from Anthropologie featuring a whacky orange design with appliquéd parrots and green pom-poms on the fringe. It sounds outrageous, but they look fantastic as pops of personality in an otherwise white kitchen. Expect the personality of a room with orange to be light and peaceful with a whimsical edge. Using it in formal spaces will soften the seriousness with a playful hit. Below are some examples of how to use orange effectively indoors.

This traditional English-style foyer, painted pumpkin orange, offers a warm welcome to all who enter. Paired with plenty of whites -- the wainscoting, ceiling, risers, trim, and balusters -- the walls feel crisp, particularly when outlined with brown grosgrain ribbon (which is adhered with craft glue). The warm browns of the wood harmonize well with orange, animating and restraining it.

The dove gray of a bookcase tames the vibrant orange shelves and interior; the armchair's dusty-orange velvet upholstery is toned down by a cream-and-pale-green side table. It's easy to add orange shades with a flower arrangement like this clutch of coral roses

An iron garden table is painted an irrepressible orange -- perfect for waking up at the breakfast table with orange juice, cantaloupe, and marmalade. Window seats are made cozy with cushions covered in mocha-colored canvas and piping in another fresh orange. Café curtains with a subtle orange stripe add a horizontal element.

In this living room, Philippe Starck chairs sit next to a weathered celadon cabinet. The pale-orange walls unite this unexpected pair.

Here is whimsy at its finest. An array of elaborately floral cushions in shades of orange mingle on a daybed on a sunny porch. The effect is fun and eclectic with a definite nod to nostalgia.

A sunset's colors look best in the bedroom, where burnt oranges and warm yellows make this room warm and enveloping.

A hot orange in carefully modulated doses visually organizes disparate elements in this formal living room. A pillow, a console, a coffee table, and picture mats all wear the same vivid hue. Chinese porcelain -- the lamp and two lidded jars -- adds accents in a similarly intense shade. The sofa sports stripes of peach and orange; the Sultanabad carpet with strong orange elements is handwoven.If you're feeling any trepidation, you can start off on a small scale by customizing a neutral room with a few coordinated accessories: a spicy-orange bedspread, terra-cotta Roman shades, and a curry-colored lampshade.

SPANISH: RED

There's a reason why bulls charge those taunting red sheets wielded by matadors. Traditionally associated with passion, heat, love and anger, red is the most extreme colour of them all. Use red in rooms conducive to spirited conversation and activity: living rooms, dining rooms and entry halls. Avoid using red in bedrooms where peace of mind and rest are the focus. As with orange, red can be used intensely or sparsely, depending on the mood you are aiming to achieve. Pops of red in neutral spaces are punctuation points: use it in flowers, cushions, trim and decorative accent pieces to create focal points. (Red will never fade into the background!) As a unifying colour, the bolder the better; dive in and fearlessly use red on the walls or the floors for a very dramatic effect. Below are some examples of red indoors.

When Martha first purchased her home in Bedford, she experimented with red in the Colonial house on the property, transforming the rooms into lush examples of bold colour executed perfectly. In the formal living room, a black lacquered Chinese screen, an Indian carved-teakwood table, and a pair of modest beige armchairs counterpoint the red-hued walls, upholstery, and carpet. The fireplace-wall paneling and the curtains are embellished with reddish faux-bois effects: The pine paneling was coated with a deep-red glaze and then grained with a reddish-black paint to mimic a luxurious, dark wood; the curtain fabric was silk-screened. Antique red Turkish Oushak carpets, such as this one, are rare. The arrangement of snapdragons incorporates the spectrum of reds used in the house. (Martha has since transformed the rooms again and the red is no more.)

A coppery-red arrangement of astilbe and celosia warms a cool-gray hallway in Martha's home. Above the flowers, a Directoire-style girandole holds a white porcelain model of a mandarin figure. A Chinese ceramic garden seat in a deep sang de boeuf red stands under the table.

Orange Fitzhugh-pattern Chinese-export porcelain, originally from Skylands, inspired Martha's dining-room color sceheme. The painted walls match the deepest tone on the china. A quince-colored velvet tablecloth and sunset-hued fabric on the folding screen highlight the richness and depth of gold-tinged reds.

A Chinese-style red painted bureau in Martha's living room has a faux-marble top. Black tole candlestick lamps, a set of lacquered stacking boxes, and a grouping of eighteenth-century English prints depicting Asian-inspired scenes continue the chinoiserie theme.

A 1930s Chinese Chippendale-style fish tank (one of Martha's collectibles) showcases a red mini-orchid. Even the covers of the books on the shelves -- a collection of Loeb classic, a series of works in Latin translated into English -- contribute to the color scheme.

This homeowner brings nature's elements indoors and turns them into pure decorating gold: The stools, for instance, are tree stumps from a nearby field that she coated with a latex primer and five layers of fire-engine-red porch-enamel paint. The Manila clamshell light, red coral pillow, and bamboo-inspired glass-topped table are all outdoorsy touches.

This kitchen, which has windows on four sides, is further enlivened with glossy red paint on the window frames, some of the cabinetry, and a staircase that leads to a guest bedroom. Black-and-white linoleum tiles pull together furnishings and fixtures from a range of eras, including bobbin-turned English Regency chairs with rush seats grouped around a nineteenth-century Continental trestle table.

An ornate, vividly colored fabric, such as this Turkey red damask tablecloth, instantly adds warmth and a sense of refinement.

With the help of these candle and flower centerpieces, the whole table will shine. For each one, use candle wax to attach a small floral frog to the center of a shallow bowl. Push a taper into the floral frog to secure. Pour water into the bowl. Clip amaryllis blooms (or other large flowers) from their stems, and arrange them in the bowl around the candle.

Making Colour Pop

I need colour in my life. I could never live in an entirely white or beige (or black) space. Integrating colour into one's living environment, however, is trickier than it looks. In the May issue of Martha Stewart Living there is a wonderful article about 'superneutrals' - those natural, subtle neutrals that still provide a kick of interest with their unusual hues. Mixing them in exciting ways, as the editors point out, is how you achieve successful colour harmony.

Below I've supplied a different look, from the pages of House & Home magazine, Canada's leading decorating publication. The look incorporates bold, vibrant colours in their purest forms - no quiet pastels here. The effect is powerful because the colours used are both restrained and highlighted by the sparse setting and the clean, white surfaces they interact with.
In this house, white is the base (the canvas) against which all of the colours play. The giant, floral paintings on the wall are by the home's owner, Bobbie Burger. Bobbie and her husband wanted a clean, gallery-like space and achieved the look with an Eames Elliptical coffee table, bent-plywood chairs stained a deep red and Fat Lava pottery. The walls are painted a light shell and the hardwood floors are wide-plank.

Having a neutral base upon which to build colour is one way to achieve a balance. The furniture and walls all seamlessly blend to create a harmonious but textured palette, allowing the vibrancy of the cushions and the views outdoors to really pop. The desaturated elements of the room's foundations further enhance the saturation of the colours that accent it. The same is true in Bobbie's kitchen, where one of her striking canvases hangs. Stainless-steel appliances juxtapose beautifully with the rustic wood table, accented by fresh fruit, flowers and a bright yellow stool.If you're looking for fun and fresh accents, such as these throw pillows, Anthropologie is a great destination. Often featuring embroidery, wool fringe and glorious mixtures of colours, they are ideal punch points in otherwise neutral rooms.Palette perfection is in the mix. To mix up colours effectively, use colours that have the same intensity, and balance the sweet with the sour. In Bobbie's house, cool lemon tones have a colling effect on the sweetness of deep cherry.

Displaying Plates

When a friend emailed me for ideas on displaying a rather large collection of vintage plates she inherited from a relative, she had only one rule: "I don't want to stand them up in an old granny hutch." Fine. Try hanging them!

Hanging plates is a traditional way of displaying decorative dinnerware or serveware and has been seen in many cultures, from European to Asian. Centuries ago, elaborate displays of plates in a home was a sign of wealth and high social status. Hanging plates these days, however, can make a bold statement in a simple way. Whether your tastes are traditional or modern, you can bring an interesting twist to a room through plate display. It is also an effective, and often inexpensive, way to fill large expanses of blank wall space in an interior, adding texture, dimension, pattern and colour.

Plate hanging is not just for the kitchen or dining room, either. As shown in the images below, displays of plates in unexpected rooms, such as hallways, living rooms (even bedrooms) can lend a lot of impact. Before beginning, gather the plates you want to hang and be sure to draw a diagram of how you want the plates to look. To be extra safe, trace the plates onto a roll of brown craft paper and cut them out, then arrange the paper cutouts onto the wall to see what the end result might look like. (The pictures were taken from Southern Accents, Country Living, House Beautiful, Living Etc., and Martha Stewart Living.)

This is a very traditional display of English transferware, with emphasis on symmetry and balance. The monochromatic tone of the plates blends beautifully with the neutrals in the room. The look is semi-formal English Country.

An assortment of plates in varrying shapes and sizes emphasizes the height of the wall in this hallway, adding to the dramatic dimensions of the space.If you've got it, flaunt it! This blue-and-white Chinese porcelain looks extravagant displayed on a King George II style display mirror in a master bedroom. Its tone contrasts beautifully with the pale yellows in the room, adding impact and giving the wall a definite symmetry and focus.

These inexpensive plates bring a bold touch of pattern and colour to a dark teal wall, their bright green hue giving the room a bit of punch. When mixed with framed pictures and three-dimensional wall-hangings the plates act as artwork, as good as any botanical print.

A mix of round blue plates and square tiles arranged in a symmetrical display over a fireplace adds a subtle touch of formality to this otherwise casual country living room. The blend of shapes and patterns adds interest.A wall-mounted wooden dish rack plays host to a collection of solid green and white plates. The spare use of pattern, the mix of sizes and shapes, and the one lone blue plate give the vignette a calming, minimalist feel with a quirky edge. Bring a three dimensional look to the display of hanging plates by mounting them on blocks of wood. Cut small blocks of wood in varrying depths (so that a multi-level effect is attained) and then screw blocks of wood into the wall. Glue the plates on so that an overlapping look is created. Use only inexpensive, decorative plates for this since you are unlikely to unstick them from their wood blocks. Above, the shapes and patterns are mixed, which adds to the 3D effect, but the palette is monochromatic.The same three-dimensional technique was used here, but the patterns, colours and sizes are wildly different, giving a bright, vibrant collage effect.If wall space is limited and you must use a hutch to display your plates, try painting the inside a bold hue. Arrange the plates in artful stacks to show off their patterns. Here, one pattern is used but you could mix and match, separating various types by shelf or by similarities in tone or style: all teacups on one shelf, all plates on another, etc.