One of the aspects of MA&D’s work that I enjoy is our application of color in our designs. Two identical architectural schemes can look completely different when dressed in shades of white and gray versus orange and purple. One thing that puzzles me, is how colors seem to come in and out of popularity, and eventually become passé – representing an era that is no longer relevant. Imagine repainting your favorite room in harvest gold and avocado green!

Take a look at this recently completed MA&D residential project. It’s so “2012!”

Recently, I’ve been researching colors of the 1960s for a renovation project we’re doing for a building complex. In my research, I came across the company California Paints and this – their essential color palettes guide for each decade of the 20th century. It’s fascinating how the collective taste of our country (and the world) changes so rapidly and how colors can come to represent the way we feel.

Everything from political turmoil and social unrest, to technological advances seem to influence the hues that come to represent a period of time in America. In another way, they symbolize the collective attitude of a people during a time period. The pastels and earth-tones of the Victorian era give way to the stark white and saturated accent colors of the mid-20th century. Are we hopeful, cheerful, frustrated, or indignant? All of these factors subtly find their ways into the colors we dress ourselves (and our buildings) in!

This image was one of the first to show up on a search for “summer colors 2012.” Apparently I’m a little behind schedule on this one but, I wonder what this color trend says about where we are right now as a country, and a world. Are we really feeling as wild and crazy as these neon shades seem to suggest?