THE PARLOUR ESSAYS

The Parlour Essays are short observational pieces on colour, interiors and their place in history and society. They examine the choices of material, function, or ornament that shaped domestic life.
The focus is on the ordinary as much as the grand, on details that reveal larger patterns. Read together, they offer a view of design as part of society.

FEATURED ESSAYS

THE COLOURED COMPASS
A Guide to Colour for All Aspects

Compass showing all directions. Simple design.

COLOUR FOR A NORTH-FACING ROOM

The Colour Compass: Part I. Lean into the light. North-facing rooms require careful handling, very different from other aspects. The light is cool and even, and the colours need to carry warmth without any help.

Simple old fashioned compass showing all orientations.

COLOUR FOR AN EAST-FACING ROOM

The Colour Compass: Part II. East greets the sunrise. With brightness in the morning and softness in the afternoon, east-facing rooms can handle vibrancy and cheerfulness.

An simple, old fashioned compass showing all orientations.

COLOUR FOR A SOUTH-FACING ROOM

The Colour Compass: Part III. The light in south-facing rooms is the best gift a house can get. They are the super models of light. But with strong light, comes great responsibility.

COLOUR FOR A WEST-FACING ROOM

The Colour Compass: Part IV. Dinner by the fire. Mercurial and changeable, the light in west-facing rooms need warmth in the mornings and radiance in the evenings.

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A divided parlour. One half neat and domestic, the other devoured by nature.

DUAL PERSONALITIES

Victorians between materialism and romanticism. The co-existence of progress and sentiment in Victorian times. Industry versus poetry, nature versus machines.

Imitation marble with veining and a chip revealing the substrate.

SMOKE AND MIRRORS

The Victorians' love for deception in interiors. The Victorians loved to fake it. Marble, lacquer, expensive woods, trompe-lœil; they used great skill to pretend they could have it all without the price tag.

Evil skeleton grabbing tin of arsenic paint in room with green damask wallpaper.

THE GREEN DEATH

Demise by beauty. Arsenic is know for being a deadly poison, but it was once used for wallpapers, paint, clothing, toys and even sweets. The colour green was in vogue but being fashionable could kill you.

A coloured drawing of a Victorian shopfront selling fabric and wallpapers.

INTERIORS AND SOCIAL STRUCTURES

Humans crave order and structure. The signalling of these social constructs were very visible during Victorian times, and show themselves clearly in interiors.

COLOUR FOR A NORTH-FACING ROOM

The Colour Compass: Part I. Lean into the light. North-facing rooms require careful handling, very different from other aspects. The light is cool and even, and the colours need to carry warmth without any help.

COLOUR FOR AN EAST-FACING ROOM

The Colour Compass: Part II. East greets the sunrise. With brightness in the morning and softness in the afternoon, east-facing rooms can handle vibrancy and cheerfulness.

STUDIO WALLANDER

THE PARLOUR ESSAYS

FEATURED ESSAYS

THE COLOURED COMPASS A Guide to Colour for All Aspects

COLOUR FOR A NORTH-FACING ROOM

COLOUR FOR AN EAST-FACING ROOM

COLOUR FOR A SOUTH-FACING ROOM

COLOUR FOR A WEST-FACING ROOM

DUAL PERSONALITIES

SMOKE AND MIRRORS

THE GREEN DEATH

INTERIORS AND SOCIAL STRUCTURES

COLOUR FOR A NORTH-FACING ROOM

COLOUR FOR AN EAST-FACING ROOM

THE COLOURED COMPASS
A Guide to Colour for All Aspects