By Karen Fisher
New York Interior Designers Turn to Color
After a decade of luxuriating in monochromatic soft beige, neutral taupe and white-on-white color schemes, the Manhattan interior design establishment has started opting for color. It’s almost as if both designers and clients are feeling a need to brighten their surroundings. Is it possible that there’s an inverse proportion working here: as the Dow goes down, the color quotient goes up?
“Color gives you buzz for your buck,” one client told me; and her New York designer felt like a canary let out of his neutral cage! Almost any color is considered a hot color these days. Starting with red, which has an element of showmanship. As one Manhattan designer says “clients think that if they only paint one wall red, they’re playing it safe; but if you paint all four walls, then the color becomes a neutral backdrop.” Other favorite colors: apple green looks so fresh you wonder where it’s been hiding out. My favorite is the soft blue, which so many Manhattan interior designers are using now –it’s so easy to work with: it looks equally well with bright red or quiet beige.