Colour stories: Orange

If ever there was a country that whole-heartedly embraced a single colour, it has to be the Netherlands with a history and culture entwined with orange. The hugely influential House of Orange insisted that its members wore the colour when sitting for portraits, the Dutch Boer-controlled region of South Africa was known as the Orange Free State and the country’s football team is as well known for its orange strip as for its soccer prowess. And in a move that can only be recognised as an obsession with the colour, Dutch farmers are known to have taken an unattractive and bitter, purple vegetable from South Africa and through a process of selective breeding over 100 years, created the humble orange carrot.

The softest versions of orange, toned-down and almost pastel, are clean, youthful and spring-like. Fabrics such as our Primrose and Mandarin silks work beautifully with lots of white, and natural materials in any setting.

Orange in its most saturated form packs a real punch but needs to be used judiciously and is best avoided in rooms where an aura of calm and relaxation is required. Choose fabrics such as our Reef wool where you want maximum impact. Use with coral, mint and other toned-down greens to create a vibrant scheme or team with harmonious caramel and cinnamon tones for a sophisticated yet dramatic result. Brown-tinged oranges such as our Terracotta cotton twill, Sunset flax and Paprika linton are both spicy and earthy, perfect for a rich, opulent scheme. Team with burgundy, dark wood and warm metals to create an inviting space that’s perfect for this, or indeed any, time of year.