Is lavender the new colour to know?
A milky hue that lurks between pink and blue, lavender has enjoyed sporadic moments of popularity in design, art and fashion for centuries. The colour has strong and varied associations throughout history, from the ‘mauveine measles’ (a sudden societal obsession with light purple triggered by Queen Victoria's penchant for purple), to the ‘lavender menace’ associated with LGBTQ+ members since the 19th century.
Lavender has been affiliated with the queer movement potentially as far back as the 7th-century Lesbian poet Sappho, according to the V&A's LGBTQ+ Working Group. Labelled as ‘lavender menaces,' the queer community reclaimed the light shade of purple in their flags, from Gilbert Baker’s 1978 rainbow flag to Daniel Quasar’s 21st-century progress flag. Protestors in lavender ribbons formed a ‘purple column’ at the famous Stonewall riots in 1969, representing the official aesthetic unification of lavender and queerness.
Lavender was once a colour reserved for the richest in society. According to Kassia St Clair's comprehensive guide to colour it would have taken 250,000 shellfish to produce one ounce of purple dye: ‘There was even legislation that dictated who could or couldn’t wear the colour,' she explains. Thanks to the accidental invention of synthetic dye in 1856, ordinary people were suddenly able to introduce lavenders and lilacs into their interiors and clothes. Lavender features in some Arts and Crafts prints of the period, representative of their keenness to move away from the harsh, masculine aesthetic of the industrial period.
The Wiener Werkstätte and Bauhaus movements of the early 20th century both enjoyed how lavender's light, greyish base provided a natural, neutral juxtaposition to their favoured dark black geometrical designs. The Art Deco movement featured lavender alongside golds and greens, forming a luxurious palette that symbolised glamour and wealth.
We've seen some wonderful uses of lavenders and lilacs in the recent House & Garden oeuvre, all evidence that this luxurious colour seems to be returning to favour.
Lavender homewares to buy now
Simon Upton1/8Nicky Haslam is never one to shy away from an unusual colour, as this London project done in collaboration with Studio QD shows. Purple is a highlight of the bathroom, with panels in ‘Lavender’ by Edward Bulmer Natural Paint framing a seagrass wallcovering and ‘Light Emperador’ marble from SPC.
Paul Massey2/8In this 17th-century country house by Nicola Harding, George Spencer Designs' ‘Spencer Velvet’ in amaranth on the sofa tones with murals hand-painted by Alex Smith in the four-poster bedroom. The palette has a rather retro feel, which works well with the lavender mural. The clashing colours, periods and textures mean that it still feels contemporary and playful.
Simon Brown3/8Jorge Almada of Casamidy designed the armchairs in the library in his and his wife Anne-Marie Midy’s Brussels home, and painted the walls in a light lilac. The tin-framed mirror is a Casamidy design scaled up specially for the room.
Paul Massey4/8Painted in ‘Old Rose’ by Pure Original, this lilac bedroom wall is the perfect backdrop to an eccentric amalgam of colour and textures in a country house project by Nicola Harding. It subtly picks up the pinks and blues in the layered textiles of the quilt, headboard and canopy.
Rachael Smith5/8Interior designer Natalie Tredgett has made her mark on her own Victorian terraced house, creating an eclectic environment that works as both a family home and a stylish showcase for her eye-catching furniture and lighting designs. In the study, red and purple bookcases in Farrow & Ball's ‘Wine Dark’ and ‘Red Earth’ are nothing if not striking.
Martin Morrell6/8In this enchanting house by Retrouvius on Dartmoor, the living room is decorated in a Bauwerk aubergine lime paint, which forms a backdrop for framed kuba cloth panels above an antique oak settle and refectory table. The room is illuminated by vintage brass and copper lanterns, all from Retrouvius. The ‘Mon Prince’ sofa is from Caravane.
7/8When Max Hurd called in his friend Benedict Foley to design his London house, the result was an explosion of clashing colour. In the attic space, red walls are gloriously combined with purple fitted carpet and a lilac patterned fabric by Viola Lanari.
Rachel Whiting8/8Octavia Dickinson's former flat in Battersea is a perfectly lovely cottage-style bathroom. Woodwork painted in Sanderson's 'Oyster White' and a blind in a simple checked fabric from Linwood allow the lilac-y purple Cole & Son wallpaper to shine.
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