Orange is the Happiest Color

Or so said Frank Sinatra. Frank loved his orange. Me? Not so much so. However, there are certain shades of orange that I find to be stunning. I wouldn't say that these particular shades are necessarily happy but rather moody. Moody in a good way, mind you. Not moody as in tedious. More Paris than Palm Springs, the place that Frank called home. You know, orange without all of that Vitamin C.

You know who else must have liked orange? The late (and still great) Henri Samuel. I flipped for the photos of his Paris apartment that were featured in the 1989 book The Decorator by Florence de Dampierre. It was a refined home and yet that Hermes shade gave the room a sense of vigor. This, to me, is orange the way that it should be.

Interestingly, when asked what his favorite color was, Samuel responded that it was mauve. OK, so I'm not sold on mauve, but I'm sure if anyone could successfully use the color, it was Samuel. Now I just need to find some photos to back that opinion up.


Of course, an orange room looks that much better when one owns a Giacometti table and a Balthus painting.




Samuel's sitting room. The fireplace was Empire "in the Egyptian taste".


(Photos from The Decorator by Florence de Dampierre, Antoine Bootz photographer.)