Book Review: Atomic Color
01/07/2007 09:35 PM by Gretchen Schauffler
I live in a very lucky city, Portland, Oregon. It has a thriving art community and attracts very innovative people. It recently snagged a great couple with a terrific vision of the modern past—the editors and founder of the magazine Atomic Ranch.
I’ll never forget when my husband first came home with the magazine and said, “I think you’ll love this.” What was not to love? Having owned a Joseph Eichler-inspired Rummer home in a previous life, and since then having a serious tendency to buy Sixties homes with similar characteristics—flat roofs, beams that run all the way through the glass windows to the outside, back wall full of windows, lots of wood, atriums, carports. I was in heaven! The couple responsible for this treat, Michelle Gringeri-Brown and Jim Brown, moved to Portland recently. We met this holiday season and I had a chance to thank them. That’s the lucky part.
Their new book is called “ATOMIC RANCH: Design Ideas for Stylish Ranch Homes” and what I love about it is that it takes the comforting optimism of contemporary style and shows you how people are living with it today. From Tiki lounge time capsules (Psycho Suzie’s Tiki Motor Lounge in Minneapolis has raised Tiki to a new level) to adding new style and sophistication (Asian, Craftsman, Ethnic) through floor plan variations, flooring, countertop materials and, of course, paint.
Mid-century is defined by natural wood, flagstone, synthetic plastic reds, blacks and whites, candy-bright ceramics and pastel tile and toilets. This book has great photos of how flexible the ranch home truly is and how it represents timeless design. Considering that it was modern at the time, it is still modern 50 years later.
For this look try Devine Ale, Gold or Lil’ Melon.
Color is one big mood ring, and in this book there are many moods to experience! The book has wonderful examples of color relationships, from daring vintage to contemporary traditional. Check it out.
Gretchen Schauffler
Artist and Founder of Devine Color®
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