Train of Thought : A Case For Colour
From our February 2025 Newsletter
Photo from the Molto Bello: Icons of Modern Italian Design exhibition at Heide Moma, featuring the Halo Light by Mandalaki Studio. Fun fact - in a previous practice, we had an amazing client who installed this in her home.
It’s well known that colour can positively influence your mood, so why is it that the colour palette of Australian interiors can often lean towards the anaemic?
While there are some interiors practices boldly making moves and influencing the Australian interiors landscape, there is still a background of stayed muted colours dominating the Australian built environment.
In our practice we work hard to try to get colour right, and we see it as important to infuse colour throughout our projects in a curated, meaningful way. By meaningful, we intend that colour comes from a place of reference and we’re conscious of colour’s power to imbue memory, that colour decisions are driven by an intention rather than haphazard desires.
While there are some interiors practices boldly making moves and influencing the Australian interiors landscape, there is still a background of stayed muted colours dominating the Australian built environment.
In our practice we work hard to try to get colour right, and we see it as important to infuse colour throughout our projects in a curated, meaningful way. By meaningful, we intend that colour comes from a place of reference and we’re conscious of colour’s power to imbue memory, that colour decisions are driven by an intention rather than haphazard desires.
Paint colour mockups produced on site, testing colours for our Rockfort kitchen door fronts |
The oft cited concern that choosing colour and straying too far from the realm of white, particularly ‘lexicon half’, impacts on ‘resale value’ and real estate agent driven design thinking, should be left in the past. Developers are driven by predictability which doesn’t necessarily capture market needs and wants.
Kitchen vignette from our Rockfort project |
We’ve been greatly influenced by our time practicing in London where colour isn’t something that is feared, leading to a range of interiors, from rich and joyful to evocative and moody that contrast with the often dreary grey weather. Which leads us to wonder, is it the weather here that is shaping the colour selection? When the atmosphere is grey, infusing the everyday with joy through colour becomes even more necessary and potent. We see something similar manifest in the concept of ‘hygge’ in Scandinavian countries, though not a colour-centric concept, there are overlapping ideals with the British use of colour.
The blue stairway of Frame House, which Michelle was project architect for whilst working for Bureau de Change Architects in London, photo by Gilbert McCarragher
The unique Australian light, with its ability to create strong contrasts and defined shadows year-round, is something many artists and designers have grappled with (think Max Dupain). Perhaps colour needs to be stronger to survive in this light. There is a history of rich materials and colours, deep rust reds, local quarried stones bringing the colours of the earth, poured terrazzos, masonry, terracotta tiling and timber linings, a depth of materiality with deeper tones that are perhaps a grounded answer to joyful colour. This thread gets unfortunately lost in contemporary this-will-do designs.
In today’s Australian architectural landscape, we often see a gravity towards a defined palette of materials - native timbers, off-form concrete and tin, paired with a lot of whites and perhaps a coloured tile if you’re lucky.
We are hopeful for a future where colour finds a home amongst these honest, robust materials – a flower patiently waiting for the rains to bloom.
-Michelle & Stephen