Holi, the spring festival of colours, is just over and we may as well seize the occasion to reflect upon the importance of colours in our life – be they at home, office, or the city around us. Life without colours is unimaginable. And, our language if full of expressions that recollect colour to express emotions – red with rage, feeling blue, green with jealousy, black-hearted; soft and pink, bright and yellow – and so on and so forth. Remember, all colours are beautiful and there are no ugly colours. Ugly combinations can make or mar the overall effect, though.
So, when refurbishing your home, ensure that walls are painted in a light
shade like creamy whites, ivory, soft pink, pale blue or very light green. This is because light colours have a soothing effect; they help in reducing tension and most importantly, they reflect light and lend the room a bright, sunny and happy look. Surely, a condition many of us would like to be in.
Professor Najma Rizvi, formerly of School of Planning and Architecture, says that red, orange, dark yellow should be avoided because they exercise a negative effect on the inhabitants of a house. Red incites anger and passion, and black and grey give the place a dark, gloomy and sombre look.
Professor D S Meshram, director of Institute of Town Planners, says that due to cost factor, we see more and more building owners opt for permanent finish rather than colours. As colours start fading after three-fours years, owners of buildings opt for a more permanent option even though many may love to see light colours on their buildings. “Even after so many years of their construction, the Raj era buildings still look so elegant because they have opted for either light colours or they were made of red sandstones,” Meshram says.
As far as houses are concerned, gone are the pastel shades and serene whites. Instead, you find houses with new coats of paint. The colours defy aesthetic logic at times. You will see deep blue, violet, orange and yellows. But then, it’s a matter of personal preferences. “These people have no clue as to what colours can be used. They depend on people at the paint shops to decide on the colours and the more gaudy, the merrier,” says an architect.
Should we have uniform colours for both commercial and residential buildings in Delhi? Some architects and developers say that as Delhi is a green city with lots of trees and a rich forest cover, buildings should be painted in shades of beige, light brown and off-white as these colours go nicely
with green. A green Delhi would look out of the world.
While some feel that with its blue skyline offset by fluffy white clouds, a white Delhi would look great. White is the universal colour of purity and peace. White and blue, in conjunction, would give Delhi a very Mediterranean and glamourous look, yet others opine.
Alimuddin Rafi Ahmed, MD of ILD developers, says that they decide on colours of their buildings after a lot of thinking and discussion. Of course, there is no place for dark shades. They go for light and attractive colour schemes. The choice of colour can make or mar the beauty of a building. “To begin with, we decide on what portions of the exterior to highlight –blocks, windows or mouldings. Bright-coloured building are prominent, appear large and closer to the eye,” he says
On the other hand, Ajmal Zaheer Khan of the well-known architect firm, Kothari Associates, has a soft corner for dark colours for exteriors of buildings. “I think school building for kids should prefer dark shades,” he says.
Giving his inputs on the preferable colour-schemes of buildings, Harinder Dhillon, VP of Raheja Developers, says the colour of a building generally depends upon a number of factors like the profile of residents, location and whether it is located across a fairly large area or is the area restricted. An upper-class luxury residential condominium complex will have subtle colours like cream, while a lower-classes residential tower is likely to have green or red.
Experts also say that in many cases, some clients settle for colours which are associated with their religion. For example, green is associated with a certain community and saffron with another.
“I also get many clients asking for bright colours on exterior walls. They want orange, red, yellow and blue. As a professional, I prefer light colours for exteriors like cream and grey, but then, a client is always right,” says another architect.
And, why is there a trend for bright colours? “Houses that are shown on TV are mostly brightly painted. In some houses, only the frontage is painted with such colours. Amidst the concrete jungle of white, cream and grey, the bright houses are a feast to the eye and dazzle a city’s skyline.”
Experts say that people are playing with colours a lot more now. Earlier, colours were restricted to the interiors. For exteriors, all homeowners wanted light, evergreen and low maintenance colours. Some even used stones, marble and brick tiles so that a house needed practically no painting, but after some time these houses start looking dull. If you use colour, you can give your house a new look every time you repaint. For now, play Holi with lots of colour, but see that they do not spill on to the walls or facade at your home or the office.
( via - Times of india )
