Colour Class with Miriam Ragen - Ocean

I'm Miriam, a colour consultant by trade, colour lover at heart.  I thought I’d start with a little bit about why I'm writing a blog post for Mustard Made.

 Firstly... I love this brand and I respect and admire the girls behind it so much. It doesn’t feel all that long ago that myself and Becca had our baby boys a couple of weeks apart (who are now two and a half) and were already talking about ‘what’s next’ when it's time to go back to work. I had almost completed my studies in Colour and Design and Becca was talking about designing rad lockers in beautiful colours that would suit all sorts of living situations and interior styles. So, here we are today! Doing what we love in our respective creative industries both with a passion for colour.

Becca has a degree in fine arts and a good understanding of colour but has allowed me to be a colour sounding board when choosing locker colours from the beginning. She was also a very willing guinea pig when I was studying and let me help her choose paint colours when renovating her lovely Newcastle cottage. The other reason is that the Mustard girls have just released two new uplifting locker colours into their range Ocean and Berry and we thought it would be fun to show you some cool options on how to style them with a little lesson in colour thrown in. 

Hands up who gets excited to hear Dulux paints yearly announcement of the colour forecast?? I do!

Earlier in the year they announced the 2019 theme ‘Filter’ which is all about our craving for individuality and personal expression. My favorite forecast to date (though I probably say that every year, lets be honest), I am relieved that we’ve moved on from all shades of grey interiors and are now taking our colour and style cues from the design eras spanning from the 60’s to the 90’s. Colour and design trends are a reflection of what is happening in our world today and may be what we are looking for in interiors is a reminder of a simpler time when it was easy to disconnect and live in the moment? Colour gives us the power to make our home a haven and focus on what matters to us.

Repair, Dulux pallet 2019

‘Filter’ has been curated into four distinct colour palettes: Repair, Wholeself, Legacy and Identity. We’ve decided to pair the Ocean Lowdown with the Repair colour palette. Think shades or tints of earthy terracotta, sand and rich cinnamon complimented by a mix of calming greens and uplifting teal. Add to it timber and natural textures and you’ve got a colour palette that will make you feel equally at peace and revitalized.

There is a more technical reason however that these colours work so well together and its not just because they remind us of nature. Think undertones. The second hue you see coming through when you look at a colour. Hue refers to the pure spectrum of colours... red, blue, yellow, green, orange and violet. The best example of this is if you were in the paint aisle of Bunnings trying to choose a ‘grey’ but they all seem to throw an extra colour that isn’t obvious until you hold it up against another grey or another colour entirely. That’s an undertone. Getting back to why the colours of the ‘Repair’ palette works so well together...they are Analogous. This means that when you look at their undertones on a colour wheel they sit side by side.

The Lowdown locker is the most versatile size in the Mustard collection in my opinion. It works well as a tv cabinet, console or office storage and the colour Ocean just makes me feel like connecting with nature envoking memories of sunny days at the beach. With this in mind I’ve styled the Ocean Lowdown with pieces from a handful of my favourite home wares brands and artists. Think handmade pottery, woven goods, linen fabrics with influences of modern coastal and 70’s italian style. We hope you like this nature inspired palette as much as we do!

Get the look

6. Vintage linen fringe rectangular cushion - olive - Aura Home 
7. Vintage linen fringe throw - willow - Aura Home 
8. Hanging planter - large red ochre - Lightly
9. Harley large and medium lamps - Milk and Sugar
10. River woven rug - Armadillo Co.
11. Raw earth plant stand pot - chalk white - Angus and Celeste
12. The Lowdown - ocean - Mustard Made
13. Grain pendant light - natural  - Lightly
14. Parasol pendant - rope - Tigmi Trading 
15. Arch lean mirror - deep green - Made of Tomorrow  
16. ‘Sunrise Coffee’ artwork - Prudence Demarchi
17. Icon chair - Sarah Ellison 
18. Large palm springs planter – burnt sienna - Lightly
19. Tobacco stripe duvet cover and pillow case - Society of Wanderers
20. Anatole side table - white - Trit House