Goodbye, Monotony!

Sick of specifying furnishings in boring greige—that noncommittal shade somewhere between gray, beige, and taupe? Thankfully, products in a multitude of bright colors are finding their way onto the market. These myriad choices add energy and a sense of optimism to spaces that could otherwise feel staid, and act as a counterweight to safer colors. The idea here is to combine objects to create a harmonious space and effortlessly express one’s individuality. One option, for example, is the Finnish designer Anu Penttinen’s Vitriini range for Iittala, a set of small modular glass cases in 15 different colors, which serve a practical purpose and provide jewel-like accents in an interior space. “Collecting and combining different pieces from the range lets people create their own personal take on the design, ranging from the wild and colorful to the romantic or the cool and refined,” Penttinen says.

For Kontor Kontur, a two-year-old Swedish graphic-design collective, arranging color in space has been an integral part of the studio’s creative evolution. “In the process of creating Kontor Kontur’s visual identity, we began to collect and sort our office-related objects. It turned into the Color Chart poster, eight monochrome design formations of stationery supplies,” the three-person design collective wrote in an e-mail interview. “There is something magical about arranging things by color.”