Recently while browsing the Luxury Portfolio of a local real estate company's website I was struck by an odd similarity in these not so humble abodes. I generally like to look at the properties in the $6million -$1million range. I tiptoe through the photos as if I were a guest in their opulent homes...careful not to touch a thing. These homes are decorated with absolute precision...every thing has it's place...every pillow is coordinated and every piece of tile hand selected. However, with the voluminous possibilities I was struck by something...I was struck with...beige. Nearly every room is light, airy, sparse, and...beige. As I looked through...house after house with anticipated serendipity...there it was...if not every room, at least one...prerequisite beige room. Now, don't get me wrong. The idea of a light, airy...beige room...is very appealing to me. But, as the owner of two dogs who have shed so much in their 6+ years of life that they could have duplicated themselves many times over, and the mother to a toddler...the thought of decorating with daring...risky...beige is pointedly foolish. So, as I went from one house to the next I deduced that these homes housed neither pets nor toddlers. But then...there it was...on a far wall. I could barely make out the images. The room was...beige. The sofa...beige. The lamps shaded in...beige. The tapestry...tonal beige. The walls...beige. And...the pastels on canvas...of their precious children...beige. As if to say...yes, we have two children...we love them enough to have them sit for a portrait, but we'd prefer they just...well, blend in. Picture after picture...an occasional "kid's" room with a splash of the lightest...palest blue or a creamier beige. Pools out back with not one strewn float...half drank Capri-Sun or wayward flip-flop. I often wonder, as this is not my first time to browse the homes of the privileged, who lives there, what are they like? Do they cook in their kitchens outfitted for the finest restaurant? Or do the cold...subway tiled walls tell a different story? Do they sit at TV trays on their beige sofas when their favorite shows are on? Do they stumble on the edge of the rug and spill their pinot noir sometimes? Do their children ever step on Cheez-it's...for fun? I ask these questions...knowing the answer. But do I? They are...after all..."For Sale". Are the occupants wanting something bigger? Are they wishing they hadn't bought so big in the first place...or are they wondering when the beige...travertine...carrera...and colorless tidal wave washed over them? My guess...they too are asking...where is the love...where are the kids...and...crap...did I just spill my wine?
If you need a little...or a lot...of color infused in your life...check out these sites to get started with your color intervention...
http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/index.aspx
http://www.sherwin-williams.com/index.jsp
image credits: RealtySouth
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