15 October 2009 - 7:15White

White

Some people think that white is the absence of color.  But that is exactly what it is not! White is produced by combining all of the visible colors of light in equal proportions.  While blue is the most popular, since the early 20^th century there has been no color more important in interior design than white. And so, there are more commercially available shades of white paint than of any other color.

In the Western world white is the symbol of purity: the holiness of the angels, the virginity of a bride, the cleanliness of a doctor.   White is also the symbol of conservatism: the White Russians who opposed the Red communists during the revolution of 1917, the white shirt for the conservative businessman, plain vanilla as opposed to Chunky Monkey or Cherry Garcia.

White has long been a principal color in the home.  Think of white marble for buildings and decorative statuary in ancient Greece and Rome (although it’s worth noting that these were sometimes painted in bright colors.)  Whitewash continued to be a staple color in the humble homes of the Mediterranean.   In 19^th century Britain and America, white was the color of choice for walls in modest homes, while the more prosperous families used wallpaper.  This, combined with a penchant for dark wood furniture like mahogany, helped to shape our image of the 19^th century as a time of dark heaviness in interior design.

The 20^th century, on the other hand, saw the ascendancy of whiteness and lightness.   I can think of two major reasons for this.  The first is technological.  The decline of sooty coal fires and oil lamps, combined with the rise of better cleaning products and the invention of the vacuum cleaner made white fabrics a more reasonable choice.  The second reason is cultural.   Designers in the early 20^th century wanted to break away from the dark heaviness of Victorian design or even Art Nouveau.  Art Deco, on the other hand, was a new modern style that played with lightness, white and silver surfaces, as well as mirrors. An early version of this can be seen in Eileen Gray’s design for Suzanne Talbot’s living room. Here the whiteness of the modern style was punctuated by the dark starkness of the primitive in the form of animal skins and African tribal pieces.

(Eileen Gray design for Suzanne Talbot 1919-22)

The move to whiteness was carried a step further by Syrie Maugham of “cut it down and paint it white” fame who is usually credited with having introduced the first all-white room in 1920s.  It was in large part through her influence that white became the dominant color for interior design. The reason Maugham’s influence was so important was that Hollywood set designers in the late 20s and early 30s found her sleek white look (with contrasting dark objects) ideal for black and white filming. During the hard years of the depression, the light, bright interiors on movie sets became a fantasy of the high life.  This style was reinforced by publicity shots of the famous actresses like Jean Harlow lounging seductively on polar bear rugs, or Marlene Dietrich relaxing in her luminous Hollywood home.  This in turn influenced high-end designers and so the circle of interior designer—film set—interior designer was completed.

(Syrie Maugham  drawing room, Kings Road, Chelsea)

(Jean Harlow on polar bear rug 1934)

White didn’t die with Deco, in fact postwar design embraced white as a symbol of the purity and simplicity of modernism itself. As we know, white is the color of choice for museums and galleries because it’s such an effective backdrop for art.  For the very same reason it works wonderfully well in the home.  As we can see below, an architect like Richard Meier, has made white his signature color, collapsing the distinction between home and gallery.

Richard Meier interior of Southern California Beach House

A word of caution, though. A very white pallet works best with dramatic architecture or striking art and furnishings.  Otherwise your place might just look plain vanilla.