Design Notes Archive

Pretty in Pink

Pretty in Pink

We headed to the spring edition of the New York design fair last week and it seemed everywhere we looked there was a medley of chalky pinks. From textiles to furniture to accessories, the pastel hue was the colour du jour. Turns out it’s not just the rage in the city that never sleeps. Spring design shows in Paris, Stockholm and Copenhagen all kicked off 2015 with countless rosy introductions. At Maison & Objet, Belgian firm Flamant celebrated the fair’s 20th anniversary with an eye-catching ombre of pink balloons while Fritz Hansen has honoured the 60th anniversary of Arne Jacobsen’s Series 7 chair by issuing a limited edition pale pink seat atop gold-pated legs. You needn’t travel to see it though; design magazines from The World of Interiors to Elle Decoration and House & Garden grace newsstands with pink covers this month. I’ll refrain from drawing a Valentine’s Day parallel but let’s just say that the colour of love is in the air!

It got us to thinking about pink in the bathroom and we dug out a few examples that elevate the hue from little girl’s time warp to gender neutral sophistication. In Topanga Canyon, California, architect Barbara Bestor bucked expectations by using pink marble slabs to create a bespoke bathtub in a modern, industrial style dwelling (think exposed pipes and concrete floors). Designer Kelly Wearstler also went mad for pink marble in an Austin, Texas bathroom. She countered the femme colour by using geometric tiles and wrapping a sizeable vanity with rich brown parchment. Further afield in Sydney, Australia, architecture firm Pohio Adams mixed pastel cement tiles with a minimalist wooden vanity and basic utilitarian lighting.

It would come as no surprise to 18th century writer Xavier de Maistre that pink is so adaptable. In his 1794 novel, A Journey Around My Room, the author decreed that an interior palette of pink and white was sure to help one relax. We couldn’t agree more! When it came to selecting pigments for Balineum’s ceramic tile collection we were meticulous about getting the perfect shade of pink, aptly named Dusty Rose. If it’s marble that fits the bill, Rosa Aura from Mexico, Pteleos Pink from Greece and Russian Sayansky are all as pretty as any.

Photographs © Pohio Adams, Condé Nast, Bestor Architecture