Color Crush: Orange

With this amazing fall that we are having it is no surprise that I am inspired by these warm, buttery, cozy oranges all around.  As with any color, there are a million different hues to describe the oranges we see changing in the leaves.  There is amber, apricot, bronze, burnt sienna, cantaloupe, carrot, cinnabar, copper, creamsicle, flame, ginger, gold, grenadine, papaya, peach, pumpkin, rust, saffron, sunset, sweet potato, tangerine, terra cotta, vermillion….and the list can go on!  Bringing this gloriously happy color into your home can be done subtly and not-so-subtly!  You can pop it on your front door (try a great Hermes orange), find vintage leather in a poppy orange, drapes (or tape on a leading edge if a whole panel of orange scares you!).  Orange is a color that looks amazing when on velvets and mohairs.  Look at this custom bolster I did for a client that we made extra special by putting some pale blue and pewter Greek Key tape around the ends).

Orange looks amazing in large rooms on the walls and as accents in smaller spaces. White moldings can modernize orange and brass and woods can give it a an antiquity feeling. 

Color pairing that look great with orange:

Mossy Green

Chad Eisner Designs

Blue

Cole and Son Gondola Wallpaper (via senojDESIGN)

Sponge Ware Dinner Plate by Canvas

Brown

Rug via senojDESIGN

Yellow

This yellow and orange vase is gorgeous!  Via Esque Studio

 

Here are some great interiors using orange:

 

 

 

(all via Lonny Mag)

Some of my favorite oranges:

Blood Orange: Sydney Harbor Paint, Corlsbud Canyon: Benjamin Moore, Orangery: Farrow & Ball, Orange Sky: Benjamin Moore, Pumpkin: California Paints, Soft Marigold: Benjamin Moore, Summer Squash: Portola Paints

 

Great little items to bring in orange:

Coffee Table: senojDESIGN, Side Table: Jonathan Adler, Pillow: senojDESIGN, vase: Jonathan Adler, Tray: Burke Décor, Pillow: senojDESIGN.

 

Some interesting facts about orange:

No word truly rhymes with it.

Alexander the great used to wash his hair in saffron to keep it a shiny orange color.  The spice at the time was so rare that it was more expensive than gold.

Orange symbolizes happiness and love in China and Japan.

Safety Orange is saturated so that it pop’s against the blue sky.

The darker the orange of a carrot or sweet potato the more beta carotene.

They say that people that love orange are creative and expressive people.

It is the national color of the Netherlands.