Colour Effects

I would imagine if you follow my website and product ranges you can tell I love colour, the minimal neutrals don't inspire or make me feel happy, I LOVE COLOUR and at time mix them together including patterns and designs, my old colour painting teacher used to call me 'Electric Libby' - even my water colour painting were bright and vibrant, so I wanted to share some theories behind colour with you in the post!      I just added more to detail to this post, enjoy reading! RED. Physical Positive: Physical courage, strength, warmth, energy, basic survival, 'fight or flight', stimulation, masculinity, excitement. Negative: Defiance, aggression, visual impact, strain. Being the longest wavelength, red is a powerful colour. Although not technically the most visible, it has the property of appearing to be nearer than it is and therefore it grabs our attention first. Hence its effectiveness in traffic lights the world over. Its effect is physical; it stimulates us and raises the pulse rate, giving the impression that time is passing faster than it is. It relates to the masculine principle and can activate the "fight or flight" instinct. Red is strong, and very basic. Pure red is the simplest colour, with no subtlety. It is stimulating and lively, very friendly. At the same time, it can be perceived as demanding and aggressive.
BLUE. Intellectual. Positive: Intelligence, communication, trust, efficiency, serenity, duty, logic, coolness, reflection, calm. Negative: Coldness, aloofness, lack of emotion, unfriendliness. Blue is the colour of the mind and is essentially soothing; it affects us mentally, rather than the physical reaction we have to red. Strong blues will stimulate clear thought and lighter, soft blues will calm the mind and aid concentration. Consequently it is serene and mentally calming. It is the colour of clear communication. Blue objects do not appear to be as close to us as red ones. Time and again in research, blue is the world's favourite colour. However, it can be perceived as cold, unemotional and unfriendly.
YELLOW. Emotional Positive: Optimism, confidence, self-esteem, extraversion, emotional strength, friendliness, creativity. Negative: Irrationality, fear, emotional fragility, depression, anxiety, suicide. The yellow wavelength is relatively long and essentially stimulating. In this case the stimulus is emotional, therefore yellow is the strongest colour, psychologically. The right yellow will lift our spirits and our self-esteem; it is the colour of confidence and optimism. Too much of it, or the wrong tone in relation to the other tones in a colour scheme, can cause self-esteem to plummet, giving rise to fear and anxiety. Our "yellow streak" can surface.
GREEN. Balance Positive: Harmony, balance, refreshment, universal love, rest, restoration, reassurance, environmental awareness, equilibrium, peace. Negative: Boredom, stagnation, blandness, enervation. Green strikes the eye in such a way as to require no adjustment whatever and is, therefore, restful. Being in the centre of the spectrum, it is the colour of balance - a more important concept than many people realise. When the world about us contains plenty of green, this indicates the presence of water, and little danger of famine, so we are reassured by green, on a primitive level. Negatively, it can indicate stagnation and, incorrectly used, will be perceived as being too bland.
VIOLET. Spiritual Positive: Spiritual awareness, containment, vision, luxury, authenticity, truth, quality. Negative: Introversion, decadence, suppression, inferiority. The shortest wavelength is violet, often described as purple. It takes awareness to a higher level of thought, even into the realms of spiritual values. It is highly introverted and encourages deep contemplation, or meditation. It has associations with royalty and usually communicates the finest possible quality. Being the last visible wavelength before the ultra-violet ray, it has associations with time and space and the cosmos. Excessive use of purple can bring about too much introspection and the wrong tone of it communicates something cheap and nasty, faster than any other colour.
ORANGE. Positive: Physical comfort, food, warmth, security, sensuality, passion, abundance, fun. Negative: Deprivation, frustration, frivolity, immaturity. Since it is a combination of red and yellow, orange is stimulating and reaction to it is a combination of the physical and the emotional. It focuses our minds on issues of physical comfort - food, warmth, shelter etc. - and sensuality. It is a 'fun' colour. Negatively, it might focus on the exact opposite - deprivation. This is particularly likely when warm orange is used with black. Equally, too much orange suggests frivolity and a lack of serious intellectual values.
PINK. Positive: Physical tranquillity, nurture, warmth, femininity, love, sexuality, survival of the species. Negative: Inhibition, emotional claustrophobia, emasculation, physical weakness. Being a tint of red, pink also affects us physically, but it soothes, rather than stimulates. (Interestingly, red is the only colour that has an entirely separate name for its tints. Tints of blue, green, yellow, etc. are simply called light blue, light green etc.) Pink is a powerful colour, psychologically. It represents the feminine principle, and survival of the species; it is nurturing and physically soothing. Too much pink is physically draining and can be somewhat emasculating.
GREY. Positive: Psychological neutrality. Negative: Lack of confidence, dampness, depression, hibernation, lack of energy. Pure grey is the only colour that has no direct psychological properties. It is, however, quite suppressive. A virtual absence of colour is depressing and when the world turns grey we are instinctively conditioned to draw in and prepare for hibernation. Unless the precise tone is right, grey has a dampening effect on other colours used with it. Heavy use of grey usually indicates a lack of confidence and fear of exposure.
BLACK. Positive: Sophistication, glamour, security, emotional safety, efficiency, substance. Negative: Oppression, coldness, menace, heaviness. Black is all colours, totally absorbed. The psychological implications of that are considerable. It creates protective barriers, as it absorbs all the energy coming towards you, and it enshrouds the personality. Black is essentially an absence of light, since no wavelengths are reflected and it can, therefore be menacing; many people are afraid of the dark. Positively, it communicates absolute clarity, with no fine nuances. It communicates sophistication and uncompromising excellence and it works particularly well with white. Black creates a perception of weight and seriousness. It is a myth that black clothes are slimming:

Colour me happy!

A little snippet of the meaning behind colours, as you know Table Tops in a Box is fond of colour, and looks forward to Spring/Summer so the Alfresco Dinners and entertaining begins.


Today I'm sharing the meanings behind Red and Orange and variations on these colours!


Light red represents joy, sexuality, passion, sensitivity, and love.

Pink signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness.

Dark red is associated with vigor,willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath.

Brown suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities.

Reddish-brown is associated with harvest and fall.

Dark orange can mean deceit and distrust.

Red-orange corresponds to desire, sexual passion, pleasure, domination, aggression, and thirst for action.

Gold evokes the feeling of prestige. The meaning of gold is illumination, wisdom, and wealth. Gold often symbolizes high quality.

 
 

Mother's Day made magical!

20% off all Pink Table Décor and Pink Four Place Settings this Mother's Day - offer available till May 11, order now to guarantee delivery!

 

“A table for this day should be fun and festive. Use flowers, vegetables and fruit for decoration. Don’t forget beautiful table runners and napkins and other sweet details such as tea light candles. Use bright juicy colors – orange, pink, yellow and purple, original centerpieces and candleholders, napkins and exquisite cups and jugs.”  

Libby O’Neill - Creator of Table Tops in a box. 

 

For further information, high res images, or an interview with Libby O’Neill regarding other clever ideas for your table, please contact Table Tops in a Box on 0400401448, Shop 1/306 Bronte Road, Waverley or visit online at www.tabletopsinabox.com.au

 

Valentine’s Day, romance at its best!

Start planning that perfect romantic meal as Valentine’s Day will be here before you know it!

That perfect take your breath away moment is a romantic table setting from Table Tops in a Box, be it a picnic with a romantic stroll on the beach or a table for two with a home cooked meal, your table decor requirements are all at ‘Table Tops in a Box’ either on line at www.tabletopsinabox.com.au or at the concept store shop 1/306 Bronte Road, Waverley.

The table is the most important element especially for that special someone in your life.

 It doesn’t take much to make a table look stylish.  People enjoy the wow factor, the buzz and the joy it adds to sharing a meal together.  Dressing the table is just as important as the menu. 

Libby O’Neill Creator, Table Tops in a Box recommends these particular styles this Valentine’s Day:

Fine Dining with the Mother of Pearl setting, fine shell available in cream or gold placemats, napkin ring and coaster, matched with stunning runner and napkins either in neutrals or the colour of romance red.

Casual setting is the dots and stripes range, perfect for the picnic setting or alfresco dining at home, available in 7 colours to match any decor.  Range includes floral screen printed placemat, coaster matched with runner and napkins in either dot or stripes, with wooden napkin ring. 

To perfect that take your breath away moment start planning, so visit ‘Table Tops in a Box’ either online or in store as we’d love to take your breath away with ‘Simple, Stylish and Impactful table settings.

In addition to your table and picnic settings you will find amazing candles by ‘Love That’ introducing new rose scents and the famous Italian Nesti soaps, a special gift for your loved one!

 

 

 

Libby O’Neill – Creator Table Tops in a Box Shop 1/306 Bronte Rd Waverley NSW 2024

M: 0400401448

W:www.tabletopsinabox.com.au

 

Table Tops in a Box expanded into a retail shop front at the end of October and its been a great success with many other table top products available for sale in store.  The most interesting thing is that many people are asking for Table Cloths, so I have started working with the wonderful Bali Zen 'Fair Trade' manufacturers on table cloths - utilising some of the amazing fabrics and designs already featured in the table runners these will be sold online sometime soon!

The shop is located at shop 1/306 Bronte Road, Waverley in a really cute eastern suburbs shopping village fondly referred to as Charring Cross, my grandmother used to live up the road and I used to live around the corner, so the position of the shop has great memories, as a child running errands for my grandmother, the local milk bar which isn't operating anymore was the local hang out, at age 42 the owner Theo still recognised me as Mrs. Goonrey's granddaughter, some 27 years later, now that's a memory to treasure!

I'd love to see my online customers also in store, so if you are in the area either on holiday or live locally please come and visit.  Due to costs I sadly will have to charge postage for any order under $100.00 online for metro areas in 2014, something I've been trying to avoid for sometime but I'm now into my second year of Table Tops in a Box and the cost of free shipping is no longer cost effective.

On a brighter note, the dots and stripe ranges look fantastic, so take a look at them online at www.tabletopsinabox.com.au now, a four place setting retails for just $142.00 and the runners are reversible. Dots are really in fashion, I especially love the orange and black/white.

A preview below:

Its been sometime since my last blog, and I've made some changes to my work life so I can totally commit to Table Tops in a Box moving on.

The latest news is that Table Tops in a Box now has a shop front at shop 1/306 Bronte Road, Waverley in one of Sydney's eastern suburb small villages fondly referred too as Charing Cross.

The shop gives me an opportunity to complement Table Tops in a Box products with stylish home ware items, such as the Papaya pebble bud vases, amazing ceramics from Mateus and stunning glassware and other statement items that just really make the ranges look more amazing.

So ' Good Gifts we do Bring' at Table Tops in a Box, with the launch of the Christmas in a Box range, now available in traditional xmas red, turquoise for the alfresco beach style lunch or a stunning natural range, all of which can me mingled with some of the existing Table Tops in a Box products.

Box Sets make an ideal gift and with free delivery to all metro locations don't hesitate to order on line now or come and visit in store if you live in Sydney.

Trading hours are from10am each day throughout the silly season, so come and see the 'Good Gift's at Table Tops in a Box either on line or in store now!

A Christmas menu is on it's way and by the way are you not loving the  ALDI ham ads on television with the surf board riding Santa's holding the ALDI ham's, it makes me laugh each time, as it depicts the typical Aussie Christmas!

How amazing is the weather in Sydney at the moment, the shock of returning from Bali last Friday has passed, with the last two days being just glorious!  Bali went well with the ground work for Christmas Boxes in place, Table Art Work is still a work in progress so I'll keep you posted as this idea progresses, it didn't look as affective as planned but still has substance as an idea.  I'll make it happen it just needs more work, sampling and testing implementation.

I've posted on Facebook a competition for the best Mother's Day lunch recipes ideas, the full menu with entree, main and dessert, I will upload on the website www.tabletopsinabox.com.au the best menu/recipe ideas with a prize for the lucky person who supplies the recipe and menu.

The perfect gift for Mum is Table Tops in a Box so spread the word, share the Facebook posting, so I can spread the word about Table Tops in a Box and the competition.

Bali was incredible with the highlight being cooking glasses at the Tugu Hotel, well worth doing and the instruction is very personal almost one on one.  Fine dinning at La Lucciola, Mamasan and Sardine were all amazingly fantastic with each restaurant delivering a varied menu, ambience and service.

Back to normal life and busy time ahead, so place your Mother's Day orders now and I'll post the winning recipe once I collate the entries and choose the best menu!