Decorating with Tangerine

By Sarah Van Arsdale

If you think of all the shades of color there are and all the months of the year, chances are you'll match up orange with October. After all, isn't burnt orange the color of autumn leaves, and, when paired with black, the color we associate with Halloween?

Of course. But orange isn't just for Halloween - especially if it's a more bright, yellowish orange, the shade of orange we call tangerine.

This shade is fresh and refreshing, whether you're using it in upholstered furniture or with accent pieces. Tangerine is also something of a mod color. Here, it suits perfectly this very contemporary sofa. This item would fit in with any modern d'or of a living room, study, or bedroom.

If you're lucky enough to have windows that face out onto greenery, the orange-trimmed windows will provide a frame that gives you a high contrast with the greenery outdoors.

You can also use tangerine with a more old-fashioned, elegant look, as we see here with the vase of flowers on this antique wooden chest. You can see here how tangerine works well with wood. The tangerine of these tulips picks up the hints of tangerine of the wood, and these deeper tones are nicely complemented by the high-shined blue vase.

Blue, you can see, goes nicely with tangerine, as in this collection of frosted glass vases. Organize such a collection and set them up on a sunny windowsill for a bit of early springtime color.

Reprinted with permission from the Sheffield School of Interior Design