A STORM IN BLUE-GREY

CREATING THAT MOMENT JUST BEFORE THE STORM

We've visited this moment before, that time in a weather pattern when the air is so still the leaves are like pieces of steel immobile against a blue-grey sky. The beating rain is still miles away. It's that time that makes you want to go inside to pull up a comfortable chair in front of a big window with a warm cup of coffee and take in the amazing beauty of Mother Nature's spectacle. It's a combination of tranquility and danger.

Wallpaper designed by Little Owl Design in Holland brings that moment of tranquility and danger inside.

Here it spreads that moment into a constant with their paper called appropriately, "Storm".

My favorite designers, Shelton-Mindel, have added the hint of the storm to this design in a more contemporary space. You get the color of the storm and just as in the real world the sun can still shine through in that moment when the storm is approaching but rays of light burst through the clouds like flood lights on a stage.

The moment before a storm can also bring a chill. There can be a sudden drop in temperature. It's that time when you pull out the cashmere throw to wrap around you as you curl up in that overstuffed chair or slip into a bed with throws by Restoration Hardware.

The contrast here pits the warmth of a vintage sofa against the cool of the raw concrete wall. It's the same combination that causes a storm when a high front meets a low and the thunder and lightening starts it's showy side.

Here in Wisconsin we have the Iron Horse Hotel where comfort exists in a palette of stormy colors and materials. Milwaukee may not be the first city to come to mind in design but it's a city that holds design in high regard and contains a cache of amazing design jewels.

A starker more dangerous approach to the storm inside happens in this space using faux metal panels made of ceramic tile by Oxy and available through Nemo Tile in New York. That coldness of steel and danger of graffiti make a perfect interior storm.

Even the kitchen can pull in the essence of a storm through color. This kitchen captures the beauty and peacefulness of a warm rain.

As the temperatures here drop into the negative numbers the thought of summer storm is warming and inviting and a diversion from the winter cold.









THE GALLERY

Cloud Tornado
Marc Yankus, photographer
Available through: sales@photographersgallery.com