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Thursday, March 26, 2009

' In The Closet ' About My Secret Love

This has always been a 'thing' with me ( and I am sure I am the only one who has known about it ).
All of my life, I have been afraid of red.
I like red, but I was always afraid of it.
It's just so.......RED !

Since my earliest memories, green , cream, taupe, and BLACK have always been my colors. They are my comfort colors.

I still love, love, love, black. I don't know.... it's just is so strong, in a quiet way.
If I have to do something important ( especially work related ), or go to a function where I might feel a bit insecure, I will wear black.
I feel much stronger emotionally, almost protected ( it's in my head, I know ).
It is like my very own 'magic armor.'
Weird, I know.
But hey , it works for me.


Now , when I was a skinny b-zitch, I always wanted a long, tight fitting, slinky ,bugle beaded gown.
In Chinese red ( orange /red )!!!!
It would have a very high neck line in front , and in back, cut way down, almost to the 'blank' in my ......... as low as you can go in the back ,and still be considered a nice girl.
But I am terrified to wear red . For me, going to a party or a function wearing red would totally freak me out!!
I have tried to do it.
I feel like there are horns blowing, bright spotlights following me where ever I go, and people pointing........and that was just in my house ! LOL
......I have purchased a beautiful red dress, and chanted to myself over and over;
" I CAN DO THIS, I CAN DO THIS"........only to flip out when it is time to go. And then I have to change all over again into something black ,because I am so flipped out that I can't wear red.

But I can do this.
And this.

I really , really hate red cars too. But , since I have wanted this car since the age of 17 and I still do not have it......I can do this.

Anyway, this, brings me to this...

Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 625–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared, or below red and cannot be seen by the naked human eye. Red is used as one of the additive primary colors of light, complementary to cyan, in RGB color systems. Red is also one of the subtractive primary colors of RYB color space but not CMYK color space.
In human
color psychology, red is associated with heat, energy and blood, and emotions that "stir the blood", including anger, passion, and love.



A few years ago I had my office painted a deep Chinese red. The color might be paprika or chili pepper. The upholstery/sofa is olive green, and all case goods are dark walnut. The walls are filled with HUNT Scene paintings where there are horses, riders with red jackets , and a lot of green. There are other 3 dimensional items , such as brass bugles, a crop, riding hats, blah , blah ,blah.
It is a fabulous room. Very Cozy.
This room is popular with friends and family, and now is more like a den than an office.
My daughter ended up with a red room as well.....go figure.
ME, who was afraid of red , has two red rooms in her house.
I guess I have always been 'IN THE CLOSET' about my secret love of red.
( the educational portion of the post )
If you've ever driven through a rural area, it's likely that you've seen the red barns that speckle the farming landscape. There are several theories as to why barns are painted red.
Centuries ago, European farmers would seal the wood on their barns with an oil, often linseed oil -- a tawny-colored oil derived from the seed of the flax plant. They would paint their barns with a linseed-oil mixture, often consisting of additions such as milk and lime. The combination produced a long-lasting paint that dried and hardened quickly. (Today, linseed oil is sold in most home-improvement stores as a wood sealant). Now, where does the red come from?
Wealthy farmers added blood from a recent slaughter to the oil mixture. As the paint dried, it turned from a bright red to a darker, burnt red.
I can do this, and I have.
It is a rich look if really done just right.
However, No animal blood is needed.
They way I made myself get over my fear of red was by slowly introducing red accessories ( including accent furniture) into design jobs. After a while, and practice , I became fearless when it came to using red in other people's homes.

And before I knew it ..................or you will know it .........we will be loving red.

It became second nature.



( BTW, my living room has 22' high walls of soaring deep coral )







WSHOME Summer Colors.
sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red
http://www.wshome.com/seasonal-styles/index.cfm?cm_re=SummerD1A-_-stylelink1-_-Shop%20By%20Style
http://www.germes-online.com/direct/dbimage/50300864/Red_Cabinet_Set.jpg

( enlarge any picture for more info and a closer look )

Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her BLOG.....
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14 comments:

  1. Hey R...great post. I painted my laundry room red! If I ever have anything painted red again, the painter will do it!

    the "other" R

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  2. Great pictures. I'd go for that red vintage Mercedes. Now that is my style!!!

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  3. I must admit, I really do not like red! I think it is because of my coloring - I can't wear red in any shape or form (no pink, no orange-red). If you look at my house, there is no red (although I did have my dining room painted a deep burnt orange until recently, but now that it is neutral, it is like a source of tension is gone!).

    However, I love this post! Red is a dramatic color, certainly. And, I had the great fortune to go to the White House in December and I sat in that very room on this post - the red room. It was beautiful at night, all warm and glowing.

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  4. Great post, Renee. I must say that I imagined you as a red lover. Your passionate personality comes out in your posts. Funny, I have always wanted that mercedes as well. Red would have worked well with my natural dark brown hair color, but now that my hair is lighter, I think I will have to go with a silver mercedes instead. Poor me! LOL
    It's interesting, I don't have any red in my own homes, but I do design with red quite a bit. I am especially drawn to deep reds rather than orange ones.
    So, do we get to see the red rooms in your home?

    xo
    Brooke

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  5. B-

    UGH.............your killing me here.

    i guess i will have to tidy up and take some pics.

    xxx

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  6. Love red. We have the red bar room, the red linen curtains in the bedroom, the red upholstered chair... buy my favourite is the red silk Chinese dress that I had made for Mrs.E. It's a show stopper. So yes, you do get noticed... .

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  7. Anonymous16:45

    Red or orange, throw in some green. Accent it all with black; Pretty much sums up my decorating style. I usually wear black because I am not quite as daring as my rooms. You are right about the magic armor.

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  8. Like yourself, I always liked red but never wore it or used it much. i like how you have shown it here in your many photos. You have me thinking about this wonderfully powerful color some more.

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  9. LOVELY RED post! I felt like I should run and put on RED clothes and RED lipstick to help you!!!
    LOL

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  10. R!
    Thanks for visiting me today,,,a girl does feel special when she dines at a lovely table!
    Blessings...

    I left you a note on FB!

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  11. Hi Renee! Thanks so much for stopping by the blog - and for saying such sweet things about me over at Joni's! :) Scott is sort of afraid of red, and though I'm not - I can't really see a room in my house where red would work. I do have a coral colored foyer and upstairs hall ... I suppose that's a variation of red ... I love the way coral works with sage green! ooo, I so totally digress, sorry! And thank you for the bit on the barns! I had no idea of the history! Think of how smart I'm going to sound during our next drive up to Vermont!

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  12. Great and very informative post, Renee. Thanks and have a great weekend!

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  13. Ok, now I want some red! I love red but have just realized I have very little red around me (except at Christmas time) - might be time to change after this post Renee. Have a wonderful weekend, xv.

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  14. I firmly believe you could certainly wear red! As for me, I'm far too pale for Chinese red, but can wear a blue red on occasion. I once modeled for an art class and was told by all the painters there that I "have a lot of blue in my skin". Who knew? I can only wear red when I am feeling especially "together", but when I do, I feel wonderful in it!! Give it a try!! I have no doubt you could pull it off with panache!

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About Renée Finberg

I have been in this business since the age of 22.

I love what I do and cannot imagine my life without Design.

Design Challenges are great.

And because of those challenges

I have imported fine antique pieces from Paris,

Designed and Manufactured Furniture,

Created Fantastic Window Treatments,

And solved all kinds of spatial & architectural issues

With my unique style.

If I can't find it, I create it.

My rooms would make excellent movie sets.

I am a visual, tactile and audio sensitive individual.

Creating is what I live for, not math, not spelling, not science.

Just Great Design.

Just imagine how it would be if each of us,

If only for a few hours of everyday,We could be in a space that is our very own.A place that is exactly the way we want it to be

Surrounded by all the things we wanted to see,

The atmosphere we wanted feel, smell and the sound we wanted to listen to.

Private Paradise

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Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her Adventures in Design by Renee Finberg is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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