Nature’s Color Wisdom: Lessons on Pink From the Great Outdoors
From the serenity of a pink morning sky over the ocean to
market-fresh rhubarb and French breakfast radishes, there’s a pink for
every mood and personality. It’s true that pink can sometimes get a bad rap — cotton candy and princess ponies, anyone? — but there’s so much to the color. Here we’ll let nature guide us through great ways to use this vibrant, interesting and richly varied hue.
Pink in nature. Ranging
from the softest pink-tinged morning cloud to the bursting near-red of a
ripe raspberry, pink is one of the most varied colors in the natural
world. Think of bundles of pink tulips and roses in the florist’s stall
and pink turnips, radishes and radicchio at the farm stand.
Pink and lavender. Adjacent on the color wheel, pink and lavender have a way of appearing together in nature —
and the combo works just as well in the home. Just look how these
accessories in a range of pink and lavender hues complement one another.
You can gather inspiration from the variegated petals of a fuchsia
flower or the wild ramble of pink and purple flowers in an English
cottage garden.
Shocking pink. Bright, clear pink is a color you likely either love or hate. If you love it, embrace it. That said, bright pink rarely occurs in huge swaths in nature — even Mother Earth seems to know this vibrant hue works best in smaller doses.
But if we don’t listen to our
mothers, why would we listen to Mother Nature? If you’re feeling brave,
paint an accent wall or an entire small room in this powerful hue. Or,
if you just want to get your feet wet, try bringing a few shocking-pink
accessories into an otherwise white space to liven things up.
The colors of sunrise and sunset.
A healthy dose of blue balances warm, glowing sunrise and sunset pinks.
Soft, pinkish tangerine with strawberry ice pink and a soft blue would
make a soothing sunrise-inspired combination. Put several shades of pink
and tangerine with a deeper blue for a more dramatic look reminiscent
of sunset. Imagine bringing the colors in this photo into your home.
Seashell pinks. These soft
pinks read as almost neutral. The pink found on the outside or inside
of shells blends seamlessly with the browns, beiges and grays of the
other seashells, stones, sand and creatures on the ocean floor.
Seashell pink is an extremely
forgiving and easy-to-use color. It’s flattering to skin tones as a wall
color, and it comes to life in the warm glow of lamplight. Soft
seashell pinks also look lovely as accents when paired with sand, linen,
white and café au lait.
The color palette of this elegant bedroom could have been pulled directly from a handful of pretty shells. Notice the sand-hued upholstered headboards, soft shell-pink walls, crisp white coverlets and warm pink gourd lamp.
Flower-inspired color pairings. For
something bolder, look closely at nearly any pink flower and you will
find a color scheme ripe for the picking. Pink in a flower may fade into
yellow, lavender, green or a deeper pink. Develop that in your living
space and something spectacular is sure to blossom.
It might look a bit like this living room. A
pair of pink cushions on the couch and two rich yellow armchairs
provide a dose of fresh color in an otherwise neutral space. Think of
the bright colors here as the rose, and the background of the room as
the rest of the garden, fading into the backdrop to allow the rose to be
the star of the show.
