Choosing Color Schemes: Colors and Physiological Response
June 5, 2007
Because colors have tremendous emotional impact, understanding how color affects human beings can help you create a harmonious, joyful home. But studies have also shown that color elicits physiological responses, as well. For instance, the color red stimulates the body by raising the breathing rate, blood pressure, and heart rate, while light blue and dark green have the opposite effect.
Other Physiological Color Responses
Imagine you’re driving by a green field of grass, punctuated by yellow wild flowers. you’ll notice the yellow flowers more than the green grass, because yellow is the first color our eyes notice. Painting walls a pale yellow mimics a sun-filled space and creates a soothing feeling for the room’s occupants. White lace or sheer curtains, tinted with a tiny amount of pale yellow dye, will make a home feel sunny and cheerful.
However, bright yellows can cause feelings of turmoil and hostility. Therefore, bright yellows should be used sparingly, especially in high-anxiety centers such as kitchens. Also, naturally bright rooms that have been painted bright yellow may over-stimulate some people, contributing to angry feelings. However, that very same dazzling yellow room may be just the perfect place on an overcast day in a cold climate.
Delavays Blueberry (Vaccinium delavayi)
June 4, 2007
Whether we know it or not, most of us are familiar with the genus Vaccinium as it has among its members several current or potential commercial crops, such as blueberry, cranberry, bilberry and huckleberry. Vaccinium delavayi, however, is strictly ornamental and very unlikely to be our next export success.
The name vaccinium is an ancient one taken directly from the Latin vernacular: it was used to refer to Vaccinium myrtillus, the delightfully named whortleberry. Vaccinium delavayi takes its specific name, like so many Chinese plants, from the French Jesuit missionary Abbé Jean Marie Delavay (1838-95), who discovered the plant and introduced it to cultivation. He was also responsible for such well-known plants as Abies delavayi, Magnolia delavayi and Osmanthus delavayi reaching our gardens.
Vaccinium delavayi, a native of Burma and south-west China, is a hardy evergreen shrub with small, rounded leaves that are tough and leathery. In spring it produces clusters of small, bell-shaped to almost globular, white flowers that open from pink buds. The flowers are very much in the style of Pieris, Gaultheria, Andromeda and several other closely related genera in the erica family.
Home Remodeling: Colors and Temperature Perception
June 4, 2007
Colors contain underlying psychological meanings and evoke particular feelings when we see them. All of us have preconceived notions, learned from childhood memories and family customs concerning colors.
Since our entire world is actually colorless, we only see color through light. Colors are simply wavelengths of light that we see. Color perceptions, however, change from culture to culture.
Whenever you want to enliven a space, to provide a great background for yourself and your loved ones, or to enhance a desired emotional atmosphere, you should turn first to the use of color. Every color has some sort of influence on our emotions, either by contributing to an inherent physiological emotional response or by triggering a personal response, based on a person’s past experience and memories. Learning how colors work allows you to enhance the preferred emotional support needed in every area of your home.
But remember: the interior and exterior designs of your home are not fashion statements. Therefore, you’ll want to disregard current color trends, whatever they may be, and choose colors that are based upon your own emotional needs. Above all, never forget that color design is supposed to be fun, so get creative, be bold in your color choices, and live without fear. Understanding how color makes people, especially with regard to temperature, will give you confidence in your choices and help you avoid costly mistakes.
Three Types of Lighting for Room Remodeling
June 3, 2007
When remodeling a room, choosing the correct lighting is one of the most important considerations. Proper lighting sets the atmosphere of the room, creates a particular mood, or provides accent to an architectural style. Lighting also accentuates the good aspects of a room or disguises a room’s shortcomings.
There are three main types of lighting, general, task, and accent. Each has its own specific uses, depending on a room’s needs.
General Lighting
General lighting is sometimes called ambient lighting, and is the foundation of any room’s lighting scheme. It is what provides the overall illumination of a room, enabling the occupants to be able to walk around the room easily and safely.
There are many types of general lighting, such as chandeliers, wall or ceiling fixtures, and recessed or track lighting.
Task Lighting
Task lighting allows a room’s occupants to perform specific activities such as writing, reading, dressing, or cooking, depending upon the room being addressed. There are a number of possibilities when it comes to task lighting, such as pendant lights, portable lamps, as well as recessed or track lighting.
The important consideration for task lighting is that it must be bright enough to prevent eyestrain without causing glare or distracting shadows.
Window Dressing from the Outside Looking In
June 2, 2007
Window coverings are important to the overall look and feel of a room, of course, but when designing window treatments, don’t forget to take into consideration what your overall design will look like from the outside of your home.
As a general rule, window coverings should all be of a similar coloring, which will significantly improve the look of your home’s exterior. For instance, a house with a blue-curtained window on one side and one with yellow curtains on the other won’t look harmonious from a curbside viewpoint.
Your window dressing colors should also harmonize with the home’s outside color scheme. For instance, white-lined draperies are generally too light for dark?painted exteriors, while small printed designs, such as white on white, can be effective for adding greater interest to the outside view of a plain house.
Draperies lined with light pale yellow make a house glow at night. If that’s your desired effect, even sheer white or lace panels can be tinted with a pale yellow dye. If you use a patterned material, lining patterned window coverings with a heavy lining fabric stops the pattern from shining through at night when the lights are on.
Edgeworthia Chrysantha
June 1, 2007
Although it is a member of the Thymelaeaceae, the family that includes the daphnes, it would be hard to imagine a plant less like a daphne at first glance. However, if you are familiar with the deciduous Daphne genkwa, there is some hint of resemblance there.
The genus comprises three very similar species from China and Japan. It is named after Michael Pakenham Edgeworth (1812-81), a part-time botanist, plant collector and employee of the East India Company.
The plant grown in our gardens and sold in garden centres is commonly labelled E. papyrifera, which is actually a different species. There is some confusion over this, even among botanists. Apparently E. papyrifera has white flowers, not the yellow of E. chrysantha, though some botanists regard them variations of one species.
Edgeworthia chrysantha is a heavily-wooded deciduous shrub. It grows to around 1.2-1.8 m high by 1.5 m wide. Its 12.5-17.5 cm long, pointed oval leaves are soft green with prominent midribs and felted when young.
The foliage is attractive, especially when young, but this is a plant grown for its flowers. They are bright yellow aging to creamy white, tubular and about 1 cm long. Individually they are nothing much, but they are densely packed in 8 cm diameter globose heads. The are very fragrant and open until late winter from buds that have been obvious from late autumn.
