At a Wellness event, I spoke about color and its importance to our lives and general well-being. Whether we are aware of it or not, color plays a huge role in our lives. From the clothes we wear in the morning, to the foods we buy, to the brands we reach for in the pharmacy, color is influencing us.
Read MoreRecently, I did a color consultation for a client who said, “We are not afraid of color”. I was pleasantly surprised to hear this. Interiors of homes in the UAE are usually painted in light neutrals for two distinct reasons. One, geographically, light colors beat the heat and gel with desert hues. Two, psychologically, white, off-whites, cream, beige are low-key and sober.
I toured the villa they were currently staying in and observed their color choice and sense of design. The couple’s personal style was muted, yet the living room wall had a classic rich shade of mauve with a tone of gray to emphasize the tall ceiling and large space. They made good use of beige as well to go with some of the oriental dark wood furniture.
We then walked through the new villa they were going to move to after their summer holiday. It is a beautiful courtyard house close to the beach and the mud exterior with wind towers took me back to the old days. The two-storied house had five bedrooms, living and dining, kitchen, open TV space and a terrace on top.
I was waiting for this moment - to experience my client’s love for color. The icing on the cake was how the couple, like me, would have only Benjamin Moore color in their home. I was joyous and all set to pick my color palette.
In natural daylight, I put up one or two color samples on the walls and trim of each room. I made suggestions that were mindful of their color dislikes.
My client made quick choices. She agreed on the hallway and woodwork colors and that only the bathroom doors would be painted.
The final palette was warm. Pink that was calming, mid-tone lavender with gray that made one feel grounded, shades of beige that were quiet, yellow to brighten, and cheer and blue to bring cool and calm.
The “connecting” color was Sugar Cookie, a creamy off-white with the toasty warmth of freshly baked sugar cookies. It looks a pale, slightly yellow shade that reminds you of soft, smooth butter. It was used for all the ceilings, woodwork and metal window frames.
The exception was the playroom. The walls were cool yet vibrant blue, the trim was white and a less vibrant blue shade was used on the ceiling. One wall was finished with Chalkboard paint in the same color.
Playroom – Ceiling: Turquoise Haze; Trim: white; Walls: BM Cayman Blue
Their daughter who has blue eyes, loves the color blue, so her bedroom was also another shade of blue.
Child’s Bedroom: Ceiling: BM Sugar Cookie; Trim: BM Crystal Springs; Walls: BM Skyscraper
The color scheme in three out of the five bedrooms was the same. The ceilings in the office, guest room and child’s bedroom was painted Sugar Cookie, while the trim color was a shade lighter than the shade of the wall color.
Office : Ceiling: BM Sugar Cookie; Trim: BM Paisley Pink; Walls: BM Paris Romance
The walls in the hallway were San Pedro Morning, a timeless, elegant yellow; ceilings and staircase sidewalls were painted Sugar Cookie to go with the black wrought iron railings.
Top and bottom left : Open TV space; Walls: BM Bayshore Beige | Top right: First Storey Corridor; Walls: BM San Pedro Morning| Bottom right : Stairway: Ceilings, Railings and staircase sidewalls: BM Sugar Cookie
The living and dining room walls were Bar Harbor Beige. An elegant color again. We used it to cover the tray ceiling and give height to the room. A small egg shaped ceiling and trim embedded in the tray ceiling were painted Sugar Cookie.
Top : Living area; Bottom: Dining area; Walls; BM Bar Harbor Beige
The ceilings in the open The TV space and the Master bedroom were treated like the living and dining area.
Master bedroom: Walls: BM Sandlot Gray
The kitchen had tiled walls and floor with a yellow undertone. We painted Sugar cookie on the ochre brown wood cabinets to match the tile color.
Kitchen- BEFORE
Kitchen - AFTER
Overall, the entire palette offset the cream tiled flooring and molding through the house.
The painters plodded for three weeks. During this time, I saw the truest of colors in some of the rooms while other rooms felt warmer depending on their exposure to daylight. At night, the rooms felt less warm.
What mattered most was that the house was now a home; a home that reflected the tranquility and sense of permanence of it surroundings; a home that the family enjoyed living in.
My tribute to Dubai continues. A city espousing tourism for nearly two decades, it brings to life its tradition of hospitality in innovative ways to attract millions of visitors each year. The city’s efforts are unyielding; Dubai remains poised towards providing an extraordinary experience of immense warmth and comfort in the beauty of color and design.
This modern city’s attractions are its shopping malls and hotels. Each mall is a visual feat; a visit to one mall triggers the curiosity to visit the next. Colors are bold, warm and beckoning.
While color and design could be understated in a few malls, one cannot fail to see the opulence.
Whether the city celebrates festive seasons or milestones, its unique character is evident in the glitz of light and color.
There is never a dearth of hotels, restaurants and cafes in Dubai. Checking out a place is an important part of socializing or conducting business; a new joint is like a breath of fresh air. Whether it is the food or the ambience or both, any place holds its own through color and style.
Small, medium or large, huge effort and creativity go into making a place what it is. Every eating or shopping outlet offers a one-of-a-kind experience and one can’t help but marvel at the diversity of color, design and style. Here, the city is full of surprises.
Hatam, a popular Persian restaurant has many outlets in Dubai. The restaurant’s color and design either blends with the quiet ambience of a classic mall, or stands out in a busy food court or has it own presence in the area it is located. In spite of variations in appearance, a common palette of warm red, orange and creamy yellow set in dark wood creates the brand’s recognition.
Again, consistency of color and design may not be typical of many hotel chains as well. Hotels tend to reflect the culture of the region. Take The Oberoi Al Zorah in Ajman’s natural setting. The property has spacious rooms and al fresco restaurants that exude a feeling of warmth and openness of the desert.
This luxurious hotel is elegant in neutral colors, subtle arabesque patterns and simple yet attractive lanterns.
On another note, The Royal Ascot in the heart of the city is eclectic in color and design. The classic exterior in light beige with black wrought iron balconies belies the regal hotel lobby in red and gold.
As the lobby area extends, floral patterns in green and orange emerge on a beige background.
Rooms have calming neutrals and orange with a dash of red. Set in dark brown wood, the palette is gold, orange, and red combined with neutrals attempting to tone the grandeur down.
In the midst, we see an all red wood restaurant. With striped orange seats fitted on oriental chairs and electric blue and red cylindrical lights thrown in, the space creates discordance leaving you feeling uneasy.
Dubai’s hospitality spells big, bold or beautiful. Its ambassadors are always ready to experiment and continue to offer an ending variety for us to pick whatever suits our senses.
Dubai has been my home for 20 years, a city that holds a special place in my heart. It is here that I have achieved a sense of freedom, treasured milestones, and personal successes. There couldn’t be a better reason for me to pay my love and respect to this ever-surprising city through my love for color.
Color is the most basic medium of visual appeal. It transcends into every part of life, in things we eat, play, work or do to just relax with.
Our association with color in more ways than one is innate and is a reflection of our personality, style and even moods. Unwittingly it gives us a certain character and a means to identify with. And just as it defines us, it defines cities as well.
Dubai has travelled a journey of color that befits the city’s growth over time. When it was established as a city in its own right and started shaping up, houses, buildings and mosques wore variations of neutrals or shades of grey, beige, cream and off-white.
It seemed as if the city was a unified stretch of desert expanse depicting the “Colors of our Land.” The city held its own in these humble yet proud beginnings, and to this day it has not forgotten its roots. And forty-five years later it has evolved to a modern city in the sand. For example, here is the recently opened Four Seasons.
The colors of the city have become just as vibrant as it is. Welcoming warmth and vigor are felt in Dubai’s version of the Box Park of London.
But one also sees creativity, innovation and an attitude of having arrived through the bright red, green, blue and yellow boxes cordoned by a row of colorful pillars and Palm trees. Somewhere a space is intentionally created to house a red croc and pink penguins which seem to break the monotony of sharp design.
At some distance from the Box Park, on a busy avenue, is another colorful feast. One of a kind, the City Walk incites a discovery into its journey of colors while luring you to spend long cool evenings in a variety of cafes and restaurants. And there’s more coming to this big time getaway!
Fireworks on New Year’s Eve showed a riot of colors, with shades of Marsala thrown in, as if it were honoring Pantone’s choice of color for 2015.
Yet again in the youthful and energetic colors of modern Dubai, flows stylish elegance. Neutrals are still seen in fine dining restaurants while vivid blues combined with beautiful design depict some of the finest mosques and malls in the city. In a way, an ever-evolving Dubai is continuously created through experimentation with color.
Cool blue and green glass buildings are a common feature in a mix of warm pink glass buildings.
Colors go well with the architectural theme of schools, shopping malls and parks. In this innovative style of a kids' nursery here, one can sense the enduring comfort and warmth of colors.
The Ibn Batuta mall, a signature mall, is regionally inspired with a combination of bright colors and modern design in many ways.
The Starbucks here takes on the regional modern concept of store design while creating a calm respite from the busyness.
Geared towards making an indelible mark on the globe, Dubai’s futuristic vision has anchored itself in myriad expressions of color. It is a city that is a visual delight in the day and at night.
