From cobalt blue to sunset orange, Barbie pink, and more, paintbox-bright hues are colors more often connected with the spring and summer seasons, while warm, earthy tones (think terracotta, olive green, mustard) are traditionally a go-to for fall and winter, as they’ve long been associated with creating spaces that are cozy and intimate.
I’m asking you to hold that thought because, for this issue, the Detroit Design team decided to shake things up and show you that color — in all its marvelous tones and shades — can be used in any season, as even brights can give a room that snug and comfy feeling we all desire as the temperatures start to dip. Great design isn’t about following the rules; it’s about breaking down the old and creating a new set of style standards for each project you tackle. The designers in this issue had no trouble proving that point.
Just ask Ruth Casper, who transformed her client’s main floor and lower level using a playful mix of pattern-strewn wallcoverings and vibrant hues that seamlessly tied the entire project together (page 64), or consider how Krista Nye Nicholas, of Ramsay Nye, used a multihued palette to create a one-of-a-kind family home in Ann Arbor (page 56). When designer Laura Hilditch of House of Hilditch designed her own family’s home (page 72), she perfectly placed pops of blue throughout to give her otherwise warm and neutral palette a striking yet inviting contrast. Alyson Derry, meanwhile, even found space for some soft hints of color in a classic French Country home she designed in Novi (page 48), as did designer Caitlin Rowley when she transformed a traditional Colonial in Birmingham with green kitchen cabinets, a checkered pool bath, and a darling powder room bathed in Gale Force by Sherwin-Williams (page 40).
And that’s not all. Alex Decker found a way to unite the vibrant and the moody in a wood-paneled Grosse Pointe listening room (page 112) when she framed a lively piece of fabric for its walls. At Assemble Sound, a Detroit-based recording studio, a dramatic teal staircase sings (page 38), while a spectrum of shades are on full display at the new Design Within Reach showroom in Birmingham (page 34), as are the brilliant glass sculptures of the recently extended Dave Chihuly exhibition at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids (page 33). Fleurdetroit reclaimed a client’s land using nature’s natural, radiant hues (page 37) as did the Royal Park Hotel (page 28), whose newly remodeled rooms and communal spaces draw on florals for inspiration.
So with that, the verdict is in: Color — whether bright, dark, cool, pastel, or somewhere in between — is here for fall! Feel free to mix and match, or clash with patterns and prints — but, above all, have fun!
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