I vividly remember the 1977 Silver Jubilee as a small child: the excitement, the street parties, making hats and decorating my favourite skirt with red, white and blue crepe paper. There’s currently a hankering for past comforts and British nostalgia…. tea parties, baking and bunting are most certainly the vintage flavour of the moment. Today a new tenant asked me if it was ok for her to use a couple of tacks to hang up her bunting in the flat – fab!
Interiors UK 2012 was full of vintage style and Union Jacks (more of that on a later blog) but also had a very regal feel with all hues of purple filling the halls. It was either a conscious decision by designers, furniture makers and manufacturers to opt for a majestic look or a subconscious zeitgeist nod.
Why purple? Phonecian or Tyrian purple was a highly prized and very expensive dye taken from from sea snails – 9000 molluscs per gram! It was highly valued as unusually it didn’t fade in sunlight or weathering but increased in intensity. Gradually it became associated with status, with the ruling classes in Roman, Greek and Persian society choosing the colour. If you’re wondering whether Queen Elizabeth II would approve of all the purple at Interiors, wonder no more……..
So just how majestic was Interiors UK 2012?
Even the flowers were purple!
When the fabulous House of Hackney have a purple mandolin playing squirrel on their fabrics, you know it’s THE colour to be seen with 😉
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