Color Ingenuity with Susan Sargent

Susan Sargent was just 12 years old when she decided textiles would be her major focus in life. She collected vintage fabrics and learn to print and silkscreen. Weaving became a passion and she spent time in Sweden working at a small family spinning and dyeing business. She spent two years there, and two more years in trade school learning to weave and dye. The she returned to Vermont, where she’s been ever since, raising sheep and weaving custom tapestries and creating free-lance “private label” bedding designs for Neiman Marcus, Laura Ashley and the Sundance catalogue. She’s the author of Colorscapes and she joined me recently to  talk about what she refers to as “Color Ingenuity”

Listen to the interview.

COLOR INGENUITY

1. CONTRAST: A ROOM WITHOUT CONTRAST IS FLAT AND UNAPPEALING.

2. TEXTURE: SOMETIMES TEXTURE CAN HAVE AS MUCH IMPACT AS COLOR.

3. COLORS WITH NEUTRALS: ADDING SOME QUIET TONES CAN BOTH SUPPORT THE UNDERLYING COLOR THEME AND GIVE RELIEF TO THE EYE.

4. SPLASH: USE COLOR IN ONE STRONG DOSE FOR MAXIMUM EFFECT.

5. COLOR FAMILIES: USING MULTIPLE SHADES OF COLOR CAN BE EFFECTIVE.

6. TRANSITIONS: THINK GLOBALLY.

7. COLOR PARTNERS: A WARM COLOR PAIRED WITH A COOL COLOR IS A SIMPLE WAY TO START.

8. COLOR BALANCE: ARE THE COLORS BOARD SOFT AND RESTRAINED OR BOLD AND VIVID.

9. THINKING IN THREES: PICKING A THREE COLOR PALETTE.