A Passion For Purple

Coastal Living Magazine

I have always been enamored with the color purple.  Growing up, I painted everything within my reach in some shade of purple.  Furniture was handed down through our famliy when needed and I ended up with someone's version of boring.  I decided to make the best of my new "gift" by painting it . . . you guessed it . . . purple, long before painted and distressed furniture became in vogue. 

I have wondered why this color has always captivated me.  Turns out that purple dye was originally made by extracting the glands of  mullosks. It took some 336,000 snails to yield one ounce of purple dye.   That explains my love for the color purple and my love of the sea!

Derived from the mixing of a strong warm and strong cool, purple has both warm and cool properties.  Purple can boost your imagination.  Here, Arteriors has created a subtle purple 25" coastal lighting choice to brighten your seaside space. 

Arteriors Lulu Violet Lamp

 The intricately-embroidered pattern on this DL Rhein Waikiki 20" linen coastal decor throw pillow is stunning.

DL Rhein Purple Waikiki Pillow

Isola Bella creates linen artwork hand-printed with icons from the sea available in sizes and colors to fit your coastal palette.

Isola Bella Linen Artwork

Long associated with both nobility and spirituality mixing opposing colors of hot red and cool blue create this intriguing color.  Trina Turk, as always, creates a colorful accent pillow with this 20" embroidered Purple Sea pillow.

Trina Turk Purple Sea

Trina Turk has created yet another colorful accent pillow in her Jungle Bloom Series, shown here in fabulous purple.

Trina Turk Purple Jungle Bloom Pillow

According to the color experts, if you surround yourself with purple, you will have peace of mind!  We love the summery linen fabric and beautiful hand-printed artwork of Isola Bella.  Featured here are two of our favorites . . . 100% purple linen highlighted with white sea urchins or white branch coral.

Isola Bella Violet Sea Urchin Pillow

Isola Bella Violet Seafan Pillow

And how about a touch of purple on your seaside dining table.  Isola Bella has created a charming line of table linens done in my favorite shade . . . yes, purple!  What an unexpected color to find in the kitchen or dining room.

Isola Bella Purple Sea Urchin Napkins

Isola Bella Purple Sea Urchin Table Runner

Look at nature's precious flowers:  orchids, lilacs, lavendar.  Shades of purple range from lavendar, mauve, amethyst, blue purples, red purples and deep purples.  If blue or red are an obvious color choice for what you are decorating, try purple instead!