The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Copper is one of the most beautiful and quirky of metallics
Design fanatics are in their element with one of the most beautiful and quirky of metallics, says Jacqueline Wake Young
In Temple Bar in Dublin there’s a hotel called The Fleet. In that hotel there is a bar off the lobby which has as its centrepiece a grand copper coffee machine. In the dreams of design fanatics reside such beautiful, functional items as this gleaming appliance. When the light catches its polished surfaces it bathes the objects around it in a warm glow – including any patrons who happen to be seated at the bar (although admittedly there could be more than one reason for this).
Its copper hue is picked up in the accent colours around it, such as in the orangetoned cushions on the squashy sofas in the lobby.
But copper is not merely a colour, it is an element, meaning it cannot be broken down into any other substance and is one of the building blocks of the universe. There is a certain power in that.
Copper demands attention. If that hotel coffee machine was silver or brass, it might be just as pretty, but almost certainly not as memorable.
There is a quirkiness to copper and as a design choice, it’s the road less travelled. Those who choose copper as their neutral are likely the same people who opt for rose gold iPhones over the other metallics.
Being a pinky-orange colour, copper may give the impression of being difficult to work with, but that’s what makes it so exciting.
And the truth is, it gets along fine with greys, dark wood and earthy tones – while copper and petrol blue can be a match made in heaven.