The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
WHITE STUFF
A White Christmas is beyond our control, but we can create a little white magic in our homes all year round, says Jacqueline Wake Young
What is it with white? Why is it so glamorous and gorgeous? Is it because it’s so high maintenance that only the most fancy, mess-free people can have it in their homes, thus announcing their fabulousness to the world? The psychology of white is that it symbolises simplicity, freshness and purity – even perfection.
From a practical point of view it creates the illusion of space and light. Given those credentials it’s easy to see why it’s the chosen colour of luxury spas and celebrity cribs the world over.
Designer Leanne Ford, who has been bringing her own brand of white magic to
the HGTV series Restored by the Fords, said: “Even when you see a white space and you have no idea what country, year, or era it was designed, it will still look relevant and modern. Because white is universal. It’s forever.”
In the long run white could be a money saver because while it does require a lot of care (goodbye red wine and coffee) it’s not a trend that will fade. Just remember to layer it up with different textures and off-whites.
White furnishings are exciting but white walls, not so much. Too much white is monotonous and therefore tiring to look at because our eyes crave a break.
The artist Kandinsky said that white “acts on our souls like a great absolute silence... It is a silence that is not dead, but pregnant with possibilities. White has the appeal of the nothingness that is before birth, of the world in the ice age”.
If ever there was a time to start again with a blank canvas and look ahead to new possibilities, that time may be now.