Autumn Journal Entry 201002

How can autumn be segmented into only warm and colorful palettes?

The various shades of green and neutral sends the message of autumn in an unexpected way.

Daily, we see the fall season repainting the landscape with new faded softer tones. Shades of beige, tawny browns, faded green and so on.

While I do agree the bright autumn shades are very exciting to witness, they often overshadow the cooler colors. Primarily due to red acting as their base color. Since red is the most powerful color in the spectrum, we notice anything red first. Try it out and you’ll see your eye catch the red tones first. Science is at play everywhere, even for designers.

My color tendencies lean toward muted colors. Light Blue is my favorite color followed by pale pink. And of course, it’s my job to bring you the unexpected. Green tends to be the least used color of autumn. How to use it correctly will vary, depending on the application. But in my preferred method of combining classic with some modern influences, the arrangement below came to be.  You can see more on this type of study in my Rust Toned Autumn Table Setting from 2019

Let’s talk about the piece.

Those gorgeous caramel colored roses are at home in any autumn design.

Yellow is the common undertone for both green and caramel. Using them with green creates a tiny bit of harmony that feels soothing and non-obtrusive.

If you get the sense they look withered, you are correct. I used fading blooms purposefully– I want you to see that even at the end of life, there is something beautiful awaiting these natural elements.

Take a look and study the piece. You will see that the other items are either dead or undesirable in some sense.

Below you will find the items selected and their present state of life

• Montbretia pods are dead– they are normally a variegated brilliant orange and red
• Coco (caramel) roses are at the end
• Green Celosia is dried but only a week past prime
• Millet grass is fading
• De-petaled anemone (yes, like the sea creature) is completely shot but the remaining stem is ideal
• Kangaroo Paws are dead– they are burgundy but more luminescent red when alive
• Green Trick Dianthus, totally alive but passed the 7 day mark
• Blue thistle is almost dead
• Wheat is completely dried as received from vendor
• Green gourd is still in its prime
• Missing: the off-white butterfly anemone which are at their peak and dried green sword ferns

When you study the design, you don’t recognize items as “dead.” You see them used in one beautiful statement. It’s the overall feeling the collection of items create I look for; not beauty of the single item that is needed.

Using multiple layered, well-edited elements correctly is the key to any good design.

Thank you for sharing this space with me.

In love & style,

Petah