As a member of an eight-person blended household, including six children (three still living at home), plus three dogs, rarely an hour passes during which SOMETHING or SOMEONE doesn’t stray from normal protocol, often unleashing an unanticipated chain-of-events. At this point, a scenario that was once a miniscule “snowball” suddenly morphs into a mammoth-sized proverbial avalanche. Now, as many of you can probably attest (and relate to!), families require flexibility…. IF, that is, you do not plan to lose your pea-pickin’ mind trying to control every detail. And despite my SLIGHT natural instinct to micromanage (yes, I am now able to admit this to myself, although this confession shall remain forever concealed from my dear family!), I do (after MANY years of practice!) handle most “issues” within my home and business with a fair amount of grace and collectiveness (To my staff: YOU MAY NOW HALT YOUR SNICKERING!). Nonetheless, there are still OCCAAAAAAASIONAL moments during which an overload of chaotic events tips the balance of my sanity scale, causing me to lose any remnant of composure… And well, in a nutshell, “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”. At this point, it is advisable to respect the scope and power of a place called… Dunt, dunt, dunnnnn….“The Red Zone”.
“The Red Zone” is akin to “Freakoutville,” a place that everyone should strive to avoid, for the sake of themselves, as well as for the benefit of anyone within their striking distance. An accurate depiction of this scene incorporates a devil-horned, crimson-faced explosion of a woman running wildly around with her hair on fire. That is pretty darn close to the reality of it, too. Just to clarify, though, I am certainly NOT indicating in any way that I have visited “The Red Zone” in recent days…. Of course not. Being the calm, cool, and collected Southern Belle that I am, losing my head like that would be a HIGHLY unlikely possibility. Psh! However, as a “witness” to such an incident, it randomly occurred to me that all the descriptive words (i.e., fire, anger, crimson-faced, explosion, the DEVIL…) associated with this slightly, um, frightening, frame-of-mind are also directly linked to the color RED! Well, now isn’t that interesting…..
…. More interesting still is that nearly all of the opposite extremes of this negative imagery are ALSO linked with the same dominant color! As Valentine’s Day approaches, the icons we see around us all symbolize its overriding premise… LOVE. Common examples include adoring hearts, tender kisses, endless romance, and fiery lips… all painted in commanding shades of RED! Certainly, it is no coincidence that our most influential emotions – love, hate, and anger – can ALL be best characterized by a singular color. In my summation, red embodies the essence of unbridled power as experienced through our most primal passions, both good and evil. As such, the utilization of this dramatic color, when designing a room, should receive the benefit of an added pause. Its overabundance, in certain scenarios, OR its inappropriate placement, can truly create an atmosphere of unrest and/or confusion in the space. Breaking things down to the most simple of Southern Belle terms…. RED IS A DRAMMMMAAAA QUEEN! Therefore, the path of least resistance is often to approach her with a definitive plan and/or in moderation.
Pictured below are two fabulous examples of romantic bedroom designs, both showcasing spectacular, yet controlled, usages of powerful red.
Paris Las Vegas "Red Room"
In future blogs this week, I will share some tips for choosing the correct shade of red for your space, as well as successful techniques for experimenting with this powerful color in your home.
Created by Nisi Berryman
P.S. HAVE YOU STARTED WRITING YOUR “FAVO-RED” THINGS LYRICS YET? DON’T FORGET TO SUBMIT THEM BY THE END OF THE WEEK FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A PRIZE COMPLIMENTS OF KNOTTING HILL INTERIORS.
