It is impossible to be unhappy with pink. From soft ballet pink through to screaming shocking ‘look at me’ fuchsia pink and everything in between, pink is the colour of joy. As Dianna Vreeland once said, “Pink is the navy of India”…
I was looking at the collage of things that I randomly stuck on the wall recently, and I realised that just about everything had a bit of pink in it.
I had never considered that I was particularly fond of fuchsia pink, but after casting my eye over the house – it actually appears I am. I adore all clean bright colours – orange, red, turquoise, purple, yellow particularly – but it might just be that pink has silently, without me knowing it, become my favourite.
It is impossible to be unhappy with pink. From soft ballet pink through to screaming shocking ‘look at me’ fuchsia pink and everything in between, pink is the colour of joy. A quote was mentioned to me recently that I just adored. The fashion doyenne Dianna Vreeland once said, “Pink is the navy of India”.
We forget that pink is loved the world over, we are just lucky it is creeping its joyous way into our homes. So, this month is dedicated to pink. Enjoy.
I get sent all sorts of things to review, and from time to time something amazing finds its way into my mailbox. And this particular thing came all the way from Denmark. This is one of those sorts of things were you go – that is so simple – why hasn’t someone thought of it before? It is a Magnetic Cloth Rail. It’s somewhere to hang your cloth to wipe the bench, so it dries – and has somewhere to live. We all know that paper towels are not the greenest of products; better to have a cloth and wash it. I always hated the perennial cloth hanging over the taps or the edge of the sink. It is easy to attach (I did it myself in 30 secs) and comes in pink (of course), white, pearl, purple and stainless steel finish. They retail for $49 for the colours, and $59 for the s/s finish. The cloth comes in a pack of two at $13 and comes in lime, purple and black. It is available from The Homestore in Milford, but contact Barb at barb.beaumont@yahoo.com for other stockists in NZ. Practical and eye catching.
I am just finishing an article on candles as I am very partial to the good use of candlelight. You always look more beautiful in candlelight, and somehow a room is enhanced when well lit. Occasionally the candelabra itself becomes a thing of beauty, such as this divine pink one from MOAD (Ministry Of Art and Design). They have taken the discarded and with a vibrant coat of paint have given it new life and purpose. This two-armed candelabra above is $95 and the gorgeous wee toast rack below is $45. They are stocked at Essenze in Parnell, or contact Ciel PR on 093681981 for stockists.
I have a friend who has a gloriously modern house. Lots of white walls, high stud and dark floors. She has a little bit of a passion for bright pink. And I love that she has added it into this very modern space and it has brought the quirky with it. The MOAD objects from above where photographed in her home (Thanks Fionnagh) -and she bought the cushion, and she graciously allowed me to photograph it in situ.
The cushion’s elegant antique print is given a new energy when printed onto soft pink linen. The cushion is $170 and can be ordered from Madder and Rouge in either Auckland or Wellington. www.madderandrouge.co.nz
I think I have possibly been saving the best bit for last. I adore Florence Broadhurst, though I have only discovered her in the last 10 years or so. I first saw her work in fabrics when they were first stocked at Design Source in Parnell here in Auckland. I knew a tiny bit about her history, and discovered her wallpapers a bit more recently. As wallpapers have made a return to our interiors over the last 10 years, so has the vast, colourful and flamboyant range become better known. The collection itself – which was made up of the silk screens used for printing, was nearly destroyed after the death of Florence Broadhurst. Her death was as intriguing as her life, with her savage murder in her Melbourne showroom, and her death remains unsolved to this day.
The collection was salvaged by Signature Prints some 10 years ago. Some 500 screens still exist, though according to Broadhurst herself, there were 800. No one is exactly sure of the truth. It is all part of the many fabrications Broadhurst spun about her own life. All is bared in Helen O’Neill’s book Florence Broadhurst Her Secret and Extraordinary Lives.
She was a wonderful spinner of tales, and re-invented herself many times as the need arose. She was a vaudeville singer, a French-named couturier (untrue), a successful English landscape painter (again made-up), friends with the then Queen Mother (AGAIN not true) and then finally a wallpaper designer. All of which she seemed to just fall into. She married twice, though was never was she legally married to the second, she just liked to pretend the first one didn’t exist.
By the time she was designing wallpapers and fabrics, which was well into her 60’s and 70’s, she had limited eyesight. This might explain the bold, bright prints that she loved so much. She pioneered flamboyant colour at a time when Australia was not really known for such things.
My favourite is the glorious sunny yellow Cockatoo. You can see a sample of it in the current Your House and Garden in stylist Leeann Yare’s home. It is in her son’s room.
The book is a fabulous combination of incredible storytelling (though Florence herself provides the most amazing material with her own life), and a homage to the designs themselves with page after glossy page of the wallpapers themselves, and rooms in which they have been used.
What is not to love about the book! The wallpapers and fabrics are available for order from www.designsource.co.nz. You can request and screen in any of the hundreds of pantone colours available. So it gets to be unique just to you if you wish. Florence Broadhurst – Her Secret and Extraordinary Lives by Helen O’Neill is distributed by Random House, and published by Hardy Grant. It is $95 and available now. I just adore the cover…it is truly the perfect coffee table book, with the heart of the thrilling novel.
By Anya Brighouse, 1 July 2011.
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