Thursday 19 October 2017

Colour through the decades : 40,000BP - 1800's

The art of painting began back in the pre-historic era about 40,000 years ago. Human beings are known to have painted their surrounding  i.e their caves for purposes of aesthetics and communicatioin. Paint was generally made out of local elements found naturally such as coloured earth and soot. These were mixed with organic materials such as animal blood and fatty oils to form a liquid compound. The paints therefore comprised of earth tones which leaned towards black when mixed with soot and redish when mixed with blood.

 Illustration 01: Hand stencils estimated between 35,000-40,000 BP

 Colour palette generated from prehistoric art
Application
Brown palettes sometimes refered to as earthtones became a trend in 2015 interior design. The palette included extensive use of ivory, terra cotta and dark brown. This colours can be used with both light and dark woods.  The palette brings a feeling of warmth and calm to a space. 


2000 years ago, painting became common practice. The Egyptians invented their own paint made by mixing oil or fat with lead, earth, animal blood, ground glass or semiprecious stones in an industrial process. Use of grass introduced a green tone to the palette. Their palette mainly consisted of red, blue and yellow which we now refer to as primary colours. Other paint colours that they invented were white, black and green (made by mixing blue and yellow). These paint colours together with furnishings were adversly used in the living spaces of the pharaohs. 

Illustration 02: The Funerary - Ancient Egyptian art

 Colour palette generated from Egyptian art
Application
Heritage colours are bright and colourful and comprise of blues, greens and browns. In the modern day application, sash green makes the perfect tone that is contemporary and calm. This colour can be paired with accents of yellow and sand.

 PS
 Accessorising the Egyptian look and feel can be fun!! Emeralds and gold make the perfect combination.


Monday 9 October 2017

The Tiny House

The tiny house movement is an architectural and social movement advocating for simple living. It began around 2002 when the cost of living had completely skyrocketed making people drown in debt trying to pay off mortgage loans. This had led people to live hand to mouth and work for up to 20 years paying 1/3 to 1/2 of their salary inorder to pay out debt. Previously, the idea of the bigger the house, the wealthier you seemed was highly celebrated. This was part of consumerism that encouraged aquisition of more to be more economically desirable.

Does the idea of having a bigger space warrant happiness and comfort? I dont think so.

The bigger the house, the more expensive the cost of purchase or the more expensive the cost of rent.  This leads to the need to have more things in order to fill up the space. This further leads to a higher maitanance cost and so on. 

How can we counter this? by simple living.


a) A simple lounge area

Simple to some degree can mean minimal. The essential elements in a lounge area are a seat/couch, a table/ stool and a source of entertainment e.g a T.V, sound system, book cabinet, Tablet/notebook/laptop etc. Decor pieces only improve the the look and feel of a space but are really not functional. Carefully measure the size of your space and purchase furniture that fits. Modern light form furniture may be a good option as it makes the house feel light. Having less reduces clutter and hence providing more space. An addition of an element like a house plant brings life into the lounge area. In a tiny house, options such as an inbuilt counter on the couch can reduce the need for a table.  

b) A simple bedroom



 The essentials of a bedroom are purely the bed, a bedside table, a dresser and a wardrobe. The size of bed should be dependent on the size of space. Closed cabinet furniture are always advisable in the bedroom. The reason for this is because most of the time, we do not get time to clean up after especially in the morning when we are on our way out. Closed cabinets are forgiving as one can throw everything in and quickly keep the bedroom neat. In a tiny house, storage drawers can be provided under the bed reducing the need for a wardrobe. A bedside table can also double up as storage for oils and perfure reducing the need for a dresser. 

c) A simple bathroom  


A functional bathroom requires a wash hand basin, a W.C and a shower element i.e head,arm or both all with running water. A separate spout is usefull in the bathroom as sometimes acts as the main water source when cleaning especially in a house without a laundry area. The bathroom needs to be kept simple to make it easy to clean and walk around in a tiny house.

As i was reading more about the tiny house, i came across Ana whites video on open concept modern tiny house and i thought it was brilliant. Watch the video below.


Tips learnt from Ana white :

1. Make use of vertical space.

2. Make items that can be folded away or tucked away when not in use.
3. Use furniture that is multi-use.

Monday 2 October 2017

The Magic of plants.

When i was younger, i enjoyed planting flowers and trees with my dad as it was one of my favourite bonding time. I did it all for the fun of it. Slowly, i began loving the transformation that was brought by the new trees in our compound. I loved the look of the different colours and types of flowers, the shading by the mature trees and the general fresh air brought by all the plants. Both indoor and outdoor plants have a positive influence on the general appeal of a place. If well selected, plants and flowers can drastically change the feel of a space.

 Diag 01: Indoor potted plants


How can i use plants to improve the ambience of my home?

a) The Bathroom

Earth, water and plants are elements that have been known to bring life into a space. Being a wet area, the bathroom mostly has tile as a finish in most walls if not all due to the practicality of cleaning and resistance to moisture. Tiles make a bathroom feel "hard". A bathroom is intended to be a calm area where one feels relaxed . Adequate lighting and space are necessary for a functional bathroom. Addition of a plant completes the space, makes it soft and dependent on the type of plant or flower, provides a sweet smelling fragrance.



b) The Kitchen

The kitchen is always reffered to the heart of the home. The reason for this is because, this is where the meals in the home are prepared. At every given time, the mums are always in the kitchen preparing the main meals, snack for the kids, bitings when hosting or even cleaning up after. With all the time they spend here, the kitchen needs to have fresh clean air, a stress reducing ambience and a nature connecting element. How else to do this other than to bring in plants and flowers.




c) The front porch

The entrance is the face of the home. How a home looks at the entrance determines so much what is to be expected on the inside. An entrance is as important as the entryway. Plants are a great way to improve the entrance of a home. Not only do they provide a perfect decor, they also provide a lifetime supply of flowers. The choice of the plants or flowers may be dependent on the general design scheme,  the size of plant and planters one would want, the ease of maintainance or even the types available within the area.
 

PS
Have you thought about using edible plants as opposed to flower budding plants? Keep checking for my post on Edible gardens to be published soon.