Blush shades have been popular for a few years now but architects and designers have continued to push the boundaries in their application in a variety of environments.
By Helen Parton
Blush shades, from rose golds to peachy tones have endured for a few years now in the UK and elsewhere, especially in the wake of Living Coral being named Pantone Colour of the Year in 2019. Take the ‘millennial pink’ of Morris & Co’s R7 building which cheekily peeks out as you walk up into developer Argent’s King’s Cross in London for instance. Or look on instagram and you’ll see thousands of feature walls painted with a blush colour as architects, designers, influencers and consumers have maintained a love affair with this particular hue.
Perhaps the enduring appeal is its versatility. Office S&M clad a timber extension to a Victorian house in north London with an external skin of bespoke pigmented, scalloped concrete blocks. The material enables a more modulated shape than brick. The colour combines with the green of the downpipes to add a touch of theatricality. This external skin has a practical purpose too: being a ’shadow catcher’ so that there is a consistency of light coming in to the space.
Uncommon Projects created a sleek kitchen interior featuring components cut by CNC to guarantee precision and minimise waste.
© Jocelyn Low
Creating a calming space featuring blush walls was the order of the day at a project in the idyllic coastal town of Whitstable, Kent. Here designers Uncommon Projects cleverly resolved the issue of how to make sure a kitchen/diner in an interwar bungalow flowed, while maintaining a distinct identity to the spaces. Storage was improved and, at the same time, the existing architecture was respected.
Otto Tiles & Design’s Ombre Herringbone range of slender rectangular tiles in shades including Candy Pink, Dirty Pink, Peach can be laid vertically, horizontally or in a zig zag or chevron formation.
© Otto Tiles & Design
Bathrooms can also benefit from a touch of blush, marking a move away from the more clinical shades of white, blue and turquoise. Instead, using blush tones for tiles for instance can create a feeling of warmth and wellbeing. Blush colours can also combine with colours such as soft apricots, sunny yellows and berry tones to bring a feeling of Mediterranean sunsets into British homes.
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Pink upholstered sofas by Vladimir Kagan provide a symmetrical counterpoint to the range of artwork on display.
© Mel Yates
Blush worked well in the remodelling of Jubilee Place, a Victorian house in a conservation area near London’s King’s Road. Designer Shalini Misra has created a fluid layout with a feeling of space, including a reception area with floor and wall space for art and sculptures. The cosy blush pink velvet upholstered sofas combine with a chandelier, metallic impressed wallpaper and a distressed-look rug which sits on the wooden floor to create a cosy retreat.
Nulty worked closely with Ab Rogers Design to realise a polished aesthetic that invites guests to indulge in patisserie.
© Maybourne Hotel Group
Lighting designer Nulty has closely worked with interiors specialist Ab Rogers for Maybourne Hotel Group on the Connaught Patisserie, proving that blush shades can work equally well in commercial environments. This opulent feeling patisserie and cake shop is located next to the Connaught Hotel in Mayfair and features marble tabletops and velvet surfaces, with the design aiming to recreate the inside of a chocolate box. Here, pink blush walls form a backdrop for striking pink pendants. These crystal glass structures are positioned along the ceiling and each one has a fade in colour from shocking pink to dusty rose.
Pink’s previous associations from First Lady Mamie Eisenhower redecorating the White House to make it ‘The Pink Palace’ in the 1950s to a million little girls’ bedrooms have been banished with the emergence of blush as the sophisticated colour choice that looks set to stay in fashion.