Colour Stories: Pink

What colours go with pink? The answer is pretty much anything. Depending on the tone used, pink can produce very different effects in a home. Pale or pastel pink work brilliantly as a warm neutral, especially with strong, deep colours such as chocolate, forest green and midnight blue. Thought to be soothing and calming, lighter shades are perfect for a bedroom or anywhere else you want to relax. Use it on woodwork and sweep it over the ceilings to create a stylish, contemporary look. Strong, vibrant pinks such as fuchsia and magenta can be dramatic and highly stimulating, so best used in spaces where you entertain guests such as dining rooms, kitchens or living rooms. Whatever the shade, pink in all its guises is youthful, optimistic and fun. Pink flatters the skin so in the same way a pink shirt or jumper flatters the wearer, a pink interior will flatter the occupant and the objects within it.

Pink at its most saturated is the colour of an English country garden in summer. Extend this idea by teaming bold pinks with chalky whites, blue greys and jade greens to create a room full of vitality. Soft, petal pink fabrics such as our Blush Cotton Twill and Nile Wool work beautifully with sage, mint and olive greens or lime for extra punch, creating a relaxed, easy and timeless feel. For a more toned down effect, opt for dark rose, plum and berry pinks such as our Velvet in Ruby. These rich colours are used to best effect with greys, leaf greens and soft whites.

The use of the word ‘pink’ to describe a colour is relatively new. Prior to its first appearance in the Oxford English Dictionary in the late 1600’s, pink was used to describe a pigment made by mixing buckthorn berries with chalk. The resulting colour, although varied, was reminiscent of the flower dianthus plumarius, also known as the ‘pink’. After that, the colour pink became associated more with females when in fact, it was quite the opposite. Pink, a faded version of red after all, was associated with military uniforms and red-robed clergy and blue, a colour associated more with males, was the official colour of the Virgin Mary.