Last month I took a trip to Palm Springs to participate in a color experiment. I stayed at The Ace Hotel and Swim Club, which I highlighted in my previous post, "A Colorful Trip to the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, Part 1." I've been looking forward to sharing the rest of my experience, as it was truly unique. So, here goes!
Backing up a bit, the project was a collaborative effort between The Comex Group, Arkitip and The Ace Hotel. The Comex Group is a major paint and coatings company based out of Mexico. Arkitip, Inc. is both a PR company and art publication in Los Angeles. And The Ace Hotel, is, well, a hotel.
For the experiment, five of the normally all-white hotel rooms were painted in some pretty vibrant hues from the 2012 Comex color palette.
 |
| A few of the selected room colors. |
The entire 2012 palette,"Inspiring Cultures," is based around "a central theme, outlining the global factors affecting trends and our emerging color and design choices." Within the 2012 palette are four trend stories which represent a different time of day, "going full-circle round a 24 hour day, and in turn completing a life cycle." These trend stories are: 1) 06:00 Inhale, 2) 12:00 Rhythm, 3) 18:00 Urbanage and 4) 00:00 Digital.
Pretty cool concept, actually. And they have illustrated it beautifully in this gorgeous 90 page hardcover book.
The purpose of the experiment was to have all of the participants experience firsthand the different moods that environmental color creates. As Eddie Harari, head of Color for The Comex Group, wrote in his welcome letter, "The importance of color in our lives is immense, even if we don't notice it. Just think of your favorite sunset, an icy landscape, a jungle, or your favorite Sunday at the beach. Maybe you visit a friend's house who is a fantastic interior decorator, or travel to the Caribbean, India or Latin America where they embrace dramatic color. We hope the colors chosen for your rooms affect you like these experiences have, so that you feel genuinely transported....We hope that this experience will help open your mind and influence you to no longer be timid when choosing the color that surrounds you. Be brave, and bask in your magnificence!"
Amen! I'm all about being brave. (Shameless plug: The Brave New Home.)
Here's a shot of the "regular" rooms at the Ace hotel. I did not stay in one of these rooms during my trip. I'm not sure how I would have felt in this space - probably would have been craving a bit more color? It's hard to say. I think I might have to go back for another Palm Springs vacation experiment to test it out.
 |
| source |
The first night I stayed in a room painted in Comex' Digital 185 and Inhale 154.
The second night, the room was in Rhythm 164 and Rhythm 167.
And the last night, the colors were Urbanage 178 and Digital 182.
Those are some crazy hues, right? Aren't you dying to see how the regular rooms look with the colorful overhaul?
Here's a little peek, but you'll have to come back to read Part III for the full story on how these rooms looked, how they made me feel and my thoughts on the entire experiment. There's just too much to say, and I don't want anyone falling asleep before they get to the end of my blog post.
