I remember the shock the first time I encountered a New York winter. It wasn’t just the cold - it was the contrast between icy winds outside and close fug inside, no middle ground at all.
A fine balance is a lovely thing, to be able to enjoy the fresh snap of cooler air to breathe, but with warm hands and feet. Bed should be a cosy place defined by elemental pleasures: the softness of down, the warmth of wool, the freshness of linen. Natural fibres have all the advantages, never clingy or clammy, not too heavy, not too light, and warm enough to allow fresh air into your bedroom unless it is blowing a gale.
The sheer joy and indulgence of sleeping outside might be over for the year (feeling like a kid again!), but the immersive joy of a good book, soft lights and an early night while the earth rests and refreshes itself is immensely restorative. A sweet and fleeting dream of hibernation to set you up for the next day.
Colour!
Glorious colour is one of the joys of life. Subtle or eye-popping, toning or contrasting, colour is there for us to play with to our hearts’ content.
There are no rules, but there are guidelines, and the science of colour is fascinating. Have you noticed that not all blues go together? Pure blues can make green-blues look sickly, green-blues can make pure blues look strident.
Green is another story, think of nature - greens tend to be inherently harmonious.
Colours of similar saturation play well together. Jewel tones are most often tertiary colours, that is, they are complex -think Merlot, Eucalyptus, Fig. Tone on tone is more subtle, think of the lovely spectrum of natural linen, which varies from harvest to harvest then weather down with use and washing to a lovely silvery sheen on taupe. Our neutrals are natural, white, and gray, and they can support a glorious splash of colour like Orchid, or underpin the sophistication of black or dark blue.
I have an enduring love for Orchid, and I put it with other bold colours like Pear and Ochre. What do we have to lose?