The Muuto perspective: Colour
How can colour impact the ways in which we experience our surroundings?
In our everyday life we see colours and we remember — things, feelings, moods. I believe that colours can have a huge impact on how we feel, whether it is a sense of calm, energy, or joy. This goes for colours that are more subtle too, not only the bold or loud. Colours like sand, grey, white, and black can somehow feel just right, accentuating the material or product it is applied to. At the same time, if the colour is just slightly off, it can make a product look cheap or altogether wrong.
What potential does colour hold to improve our lives?
If we look at how most of us talk about colours, we often refer to the real-world when we describe colours. Ocean blue, stone grey, tomato red, yet we know that not all tomatoes have the same colour. We do this because we use colours as a tool to remember and to store memories. So, when you fill your life with colours that make you feel great, I believe you store the colours in your memories too.
From bright to dark, vibrant to subtle – where should you begin when choosing colours for your interiors?
I think the best way to start is to refrain from choosing a very specific direction, dark home, colourful home, etc. I believe that this can be difficult to overcome — to have an overview from start to end. My recommendation would be to instead fall in love with an object, and to go with one of the beautiful, more interesting colours it comes in, one that might have dragged you in the store in the first place. Go with it instead of the other option in white. Take the object home and see how it fits in. Move it around and play with it in your home. By getting to know it, you start seeing what a great colour combination might look like. Then you can allow yourself to be more playful, adding more and more pieces. See what goes well together, build a home like that.
Are there any rules that should be followed when mixing and matching colours in a space?
Generally, I think you should create your own rules. It is your home, and you should feel at home in it. One good piece of advice is that colours can only shine if you give them room to do so. This can manifest itself in a space in the form of a great colour combination, or by keeping subtler tones on some surfaces or products in order for others to pop.
Are there any colour combinations you think work particularly well?
There are a lot of combinations I find beautiful. In general, I like when you combine bolder colours with more subtle colours or vice versa, letting each one of them have some space to truly shine. If you want to combine lots of colours you shouldn’t use them in their purest form, but rather break them slightly in order for them to be able to work together, to converse.
We heard rumours that the Muuto team takes part in a yearly workshop to develop the brand’s colour palette. What do these workshops look like?
That’s right, we do a colour workshop once a year where we bring together creative heads from different departments at Muuto. We have an open discussion on what inspires us when it comes to colours, materials, and surfaces, asking ourselves how we see them with our Muuto glasses on and how we can implement some of these ideas.
This allows us to reimagine how we use our colours today and explore where we want to go with our colour palette and universe. To ask ourselves how we can stay relevant but still keep our strong colour identity and timeless design principles. Further, we always invite a talented external artist or designer, who works with colours in their everyday life, to talk about how they work with colours and how they see the Muuto colour palette evolving in the future.
How do you pair colour with product?
When I have to give colour to a new product or an existing product, I need to understand the product. What is the demand for this product, and how did it come to be? What were the designer’s ideas and inspirations for this product? Does it reference other designs, products, or functions that would be good to incorporate and underline? When I understand these aspects, I start sampling a selection of colours. From there it is all about seeing what works and figuring out why it works, which comes naturally with experience of working with colours.
Are there any colours you think we will be seeing more of in interiors over the next months or years?
In general, I think we will see more colour in our homes. Not only on products or furniture, but on the walls, floors, and general surfaces too. We see lots of colourful brands popping up. I think we will also see a lot of colour combinations that go beyond the colour blocking that we have known for some time now.
Which colours can we expect from Muuto next?
At Muuto, we now focus on developing our colour palette to create as many combinations and possibilities as possible when mixing and styling our products. For a long time, we have been known for our Dusty Green, which has been received so well that we almost see it as a core colour in the same way that our Grey is. A new hue I think might have some of the same functions and appeal as Dusty Green is Light Blue, a colour we have had great success with, both using it as a beautiful pop of colour, as well as a subtler tone, easily combined with other colours in a space.
Inspired by Muuto? Visit our brand page to discover the full range of Muuto designs. Need a hand? To talk to one of the Nest team, please email info@nest.co.uk, call 0114 243 3000 or send us a message on LiveChat.
