Patrician DesignPatrician Design
  • About
    • About PATRICIAN DESIGN
    • In The News
    • Design Resources
    • Testimonials
  • Projects
    • Commercial
    • Residential
    • Exterior
    • Custom
  • Boutique/Gallery
    • What’s NEW!
    • About The Shop
    • Greeting Cards
    • Original Art
    • Handcrafted Jewelry
    • Designs for Living
    • Bath and Body
  • Contact
  • Patti Says…

Color. The Spices and Ingredients of Design

Posted On February 10, 2019 By pattisays In Albuquerque, New Mexico, ambiance, art and food, art of cooking, artistic expression, artistic talent, artists, chairs, color and temperature re: interior design, color forecasting, Color schemes, color trends, colors, context of interior design, cooking and design, creative process, creativity, custom design interior design, decorative arts, design, design challenges, design details, design process, design scenes, design solutions, design tips, design trends, designer fabrics, designing with a purpose, drama of color, drapery treatments, fabrics, floral arrangement, floral designs, flowers in design, food and interior design, good design, hiring an interior designer, home, home improvements, how to select colors, interior atmosphere, interior design, interior design preferences, interior design trends, interior enhancements, joy, kitchen design, lifestyle, paint colors, personal expression, personal taste, planning a remodel, red, retail remodeling, sectional sofas, selecting colors, sofas, southwestern design, Subscribers, textiles, textures, timeless colors, trends, upholstery, white interiors, window dressings /  

Colors for fashion, interiors or a composing a bouquet are like the many ingredients, spices and herbs selected for great food. Creating dishes with fine flavors and visual appeal, by selecting the right combination, is good culinary design. So we see the spices and ingredients of design everywhere!

Assembling the colors, textures and shapes in a bouquet…

The art is in gathering the right combinations, textures, colors, flavors,…ok – maybe edible bouquets…Well, we’re not tasting the interiors – but some are scrumptious! Ooh – good enough to eat! And the fashion – yes, we’ve seen edible fabrics…generally not attempted in draperies – but who knows? The sky is the limit in design!!!


A few years ago, Kingston University Fashion Student, Emily Crane began pioneering a new strain of edible couture created from gelatin and seaweed! Brilliant and beautiful!!

Inasmuch as edible couture and creating fabrics from edible materials is fascinating, I digress…the actual point of my story is to recognize the common denominators between gathering materials for all forms of art – the assemblages result in the creative finished products. In this instance, interiors and their color schemes which bear likenesses to beautiful foods!

Color is the most apparent ingredient of most artistic design endeavors. It is the most obvious and first to catch your eye. Assembling an interior is usually grounded by a desired color. The foundation of a room begins with deciding a direction with color. This might seem to be contrary to the concept that form follows function – but I believe that the designing for the two are often concurrent events. The vision occurs while the function is simultaneously examined. Most people visualize in color.

I often write about color. It is an ongoing fascination to discover who prefers what color(s) and why. It offers the beginning of the visualization of a concept. As the framework is discussed – such as programming a kitchen. Inevitably, in the early stages, colors and materials are discussed. They might change. They might not end up as first imagined, but color aids in the visualization and process of  design.

Look around your world and consider color. Why did you choose your interior colors? When selecting a color for the surfaces, fabrics and finish materials what would you do differently and why. Taking care not to merely react to trends, what colors will bring you joy? Trends often tempt. They are enticing and new, but they move along…It takes thorough examination to determine if a trend is truly applicable or merely a passing temptation. The validation of design is the approval of the occupants or function for whom/which it serves. Not just the feature of a new trend.

So have a little fun seeing these interiors paired with edible color schemes as dishes are correlated to interior schemes.


The spices and ingredients selected to create the flavor bursts might be hot green jalapenos, serranos, tart limes, dried red chiles balanced by the soft and warm yellow of corn tortillas.

What interior might look like a spicy platter of festivity? Perhaps bold wall colors sprinkled with myriad decorative accessories and functional art.

Spicy colors in this festive kitchen.

Imagine creating a creamy white-sauce mushroom pasta with velvety texture and soft finish. The ingredients you would reach for would be the cream, pasta, white pepper and perhaps a touch a sherry. Sautéing the mushrooms in butter for a luscious golden brown.

Invitingly divine.

An interior that captures a similar feel derived from the same palette of colors…


Mimicking the creamy mushroom palette, rich wood, copper and steel tones contrast against the creamy whites in this interior featuring one of our favorite furniture and fabric lines – Duralee/Robert Allen!
Duralee/Robert Allen has many collections providing the perfect fabrics and furnishings for so many deliciously diverse interior projects!

From creamy, soft and warm to cool and refreshing…


Cool sushi plates featuring the pink and orange tones of tender fresh fish, cilantro sprig greens, and so white rice!

An interior possessing similar colors – the perfect ingredients to create a stunning design!


Durlaee encompasses many fine collections. Here the Clarke & Clarke Oriental Garden fabrics are gathered together to present a fresh scene reminiscent of our colorfully fresh sushi plate!

Ready for reds?


A berry lovely dish with creamy whites…Our delectable raspberry tart presented on a lace-embossed white pottery piece accented with finely sliced toasted almonds sets the stage for the next interior color scheme…

Once again we are featuring Duralee’s Clarke & Clarke statement called Zanzibar a brilliant raspberry and red ethnic statement inspired by the exotic and vibrant world of Tanzania, Africa. Discovering the creativity of colors and fabrics in distant places offers a mélange of ingredients with which to create an exciting interior design!

 Mix it up. Gather the ingredients that will bring you joy and result in a deliciously creative interior!!! Come see and feel these fabulous fabrics and furnishings from Duralee/Robert Allen in our comprehensive design resource library at PATRICIAN DESIGN! Call us and we will send samples!

Share on TwitterTweet
Share on Pinterest Share
Send email Mail
Tags:
Duralee
Time to Remodel - Finding a Theme
Animating Interiors - for Fun!

Recent Posts

  • DOWNSIZING: Part Two of Three February 21, 2025
  • DOWNSIZING: Part One of Three November 5, 2024
  • Colors and the Creamy Attraction of Latte August 29, 2024
  • Designing, Styling and Why – Finding Personal Style April 30, 2023
  • Fabrics – Texture, color, pattern, design & style – The Art of Transformation August 7, 2022

Archives

Categories

Patrician Design

Recent Blog Posts

  • DOWNSIZING: Part Two of Three February 21, 2025
  • DOWNSIZING: Part One of Three November 5, 2024
  • Colors and the Creamy Attraction of Latte August 29, 2024
  • Designing, Styling and Why – Finding Personal Style April 30, 2023
  • Fabrics – Texture, color, pattern, design & style – The Art of Transformation August 7, 2022

Get in Touch!

Come Visit Us!

216 GOLD AVENUE
ALBUQUERQUE, NM 87102

MON-FRI: 9 AM – 5 PM
SAT-SUN: 9 AM – 2 PM

(505) 242-7646
shop@patriciandesign.com

© 2025 Patrician Design. All Rights Reserved.