Some colour combinations are loaded: with meaning, with vitality, with nostalgia for a specific era in time. Such a combo is citrine and olive, the sunny golden yellow and rich deep green of the Mediterranean.
Citrine takes its name from the coloured quartz which can occur in a range of yellows. Olive, of course, is the deep rich green of the leaves and fruit of the olive tree. Together they create a perfect balance that we’ve seen put to good use by interior designers of the mid-century modern era, such as the Eames and George Nelson, for companies like Vitra.
Vitra is the Swiss family-owned company whose name is synonymous with streamlined and liveable design for residential and commercial interiors. Founded in 1950, Vitra began collaborating with great designers from the outset – early partnerships with Charles and Ray Eames and Nelson set the tone for years to come. Today Vitra is renowned for well-made furniture and its work with designers that reinterpret the values of the past in designs that are made for modern living.
A perfect example is the modular sofa designed by Vitra regular Jasper Morrison. It offers maximum comfort and flexibility – add seating and a chaise or ottoman as you wish.
Over the years Vitra made full use of new technologies in moulded plastic and these occasional chairs by Jasper Morrison are a good example of the state of the art. They are reminiscent of a classic wooden chair, but are solidly indoor/outdoor and have a sophisticated built-in flex mechanism and a choice of two-tone colouring. And this handsome Hal Ply wood chair, also by Morrison, is a curvier iteration of the dining chair.
Take this yellow fabric sofa from Habitat, for example. Sunny yellow, it features comfy cushions and a sleek profile, with a chaise extension on the left and wooden legs, £765. Habitat also carries a slightly more formal version – more formally tufted, this modular unit can be upholstered in either green or citrine (and a bunch of other colours).
Either way the Vitra-inspired look we’re building from today features lots of pale wood – as in this oak coffee table from Choice. £195 Or go straight to the source for Vitra’s Noguchi classic coffee table in maple and glass, £1260. Chairs in the Vitra tradition, like these natural oak veneer ones from Habitat, are also an option. £60
The Vitra look is sophisticated and warm; aspiring to its streamlined and classic values will land you in a living room to be proud of.
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Vitra product images are (c) Vitra; all others courtesy of retailers featured.