Be Seeing Hue

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday February 22, 2007

Words Stephen Crafti

The people judging Australia's leading colour design awards have discerning palettes.

When Australian designers are recognised for their use of colour, it is sometimes regarded as a specialist accolade, but as any interior designer will say - colour is at the heart of every working interior.

Which is why the Dulux Colour Awards, now in their 21st year, are regarded as a showcase for cutting-edge use of colour.

Last year's Grand Prix winner was architect Stephen Varady, who inventively used blocks of colour such as lime green and honey yellow in the predominantly white interior in a new house in Wahroonga. There were also splashes of deep red next to the stairs and lining a pool wall outside.

Varady says: "It brings enormous kudos to the design industry. Anyone using colour looks forward to these awards to see the latest innovations."

For this year's awards, which will be held in Melbourne on February 28, London interior designer Nina Campbell has been invited to be one of the judges. She is known for her luxurious signature style and her collections include fabric, wallpaper and trimmings distributed internationally through Osborne & Little, paints through the Paint & Paper Library and rugs through the Rug Company. She also has a distinctive range of home accessories and recently launched a range of furniture.

"Nina's name always came up in magazines. She's had more than 30 years' experience. And she was an obvious choice to judge this year's Dulux Colour Awards," says Andrea Lucena-Orr, the company's colour and communications manager.

Campbell steers towards more traditional English-style interiors with a contemporary edge.

"Nina always brings together quite unusual textures and colours, whether it's icy blues and beiges or blacks and silvers fused together," Lucena-Orr says.

Campbell herself has never been shy when it comes to colour. One of her first apartments in London had a dining room in the basement. "I painted all the walls a deep blackcurrant colour. The painter thought I would change my mind and paint it white," Campbell says. "You mustn't lose your nerve. Often, people panic when they first paint a wall. They think it's too strong and water it down, making it worse."

Campbell is interested in how designers use paint to change a room and how they can enhance a space, regardless of its size. "Most people think that if you're given a small room, you paint it white," she says. "But you can transform the smallest space with colour. You can also get quite a crude result if the colour isn't right."

Campbell is used to creating lavish interiors for European clients, but is aware of the Australian light and casual approach. "The light is brighter in Australia and some colours get washed out here," she says.

Judy Dymond, a consultant in design and colour, says: "The use of colour in Australia is quite different to the way it's used in Europe and the United States. Our landscape has a large influence on the way we live."

Dymond sees many shades of white, along with warm greys, being important in the coming seasons. "Shape, form and texture will bring out some of these colours," she says.

Dymond also sees a return to Victorian embellishment. "Personal artefacts in a room will form part of that rich and layered colour," she says.

Abbie Galvin, principal at Bligh Voller Nield Architecture, is another judge at this year's awards. Galvin is highly attuned when it comes to using colour but she will be more interested in how designers have created an environment. "It's about how the space in a building feels," she says. "There's nothing worse than walking into a room and coming face to face with a garishly painted feature wall. I'll be looking for how colour enhances and articulates a space. In a sense, colour should be secondary to a wonderful space."

Some designers may present a strong colour palette to grab the judges' attention but for Galvin colour can't conceal poor design. "Walk around a lot of poorly designed hospital rooms to see how colour can be used in the wrong way," she says.

Architect Tim O'Sullivan, a director of Melbourne company Multiplicity and another judge for this year's awards, works closely with his partner and co-director, interior designer Sioux Clark, when selecting colour. "Nina's successful and has established an enormous following. But how she uses colour is different to the way we work," says O'Sullivan, who has received a colour award from the Design Institute of Australia for a renovation to a church in central Victoria.

"The way we use colour can appear quite incidental rather than planned."

He says what's important about the awards is that they "generate debate, both for judges and the public".

© 2007 Sydney Morning Herald

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