I recently watched the movie Revolutionary Road, based on a novel by Richard Yates and directed by Sam Mendes. It’s a story about a young married couple, played by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, who moves to the suburbs in the mid 50’s and lives out their lives in quiet desperation.

Leonardo joins the army of men, dressed in suits of tan and grey, who travel by train to work in office cubicles that all look the same. Kate Winslet strikes out against her husband, accusing him of not having the courage to live the life they had wished for. She wants them to sell their house in the burbs and live a life of passion in Paris, as they had once dreamed.

This theme resonates with me as we have come to this place in our culture of design where we feel a need to conform, to not stand apart, to not differ in any way, lest we be viewed as eccentric or even radical.
It started with post-war utility in design, which generated a “manufactured urban landscape” of glass, concrete, square lines and houses built for the masses. What was once a necessity due to cost, has now become a design statement that places value on uniformity, depersonalization, function, form and utility. What we have given up is decor, which equates with fine craftsmanship, detail, more as opposed to less, along with those items that exist simply and solely because they are beautiful.

What we have lost and need to recover, is that which should be most cherished; our own vision, our ability to stand up and live our lives out loud in lilac, watermelon, pumpkin, buttercup, lipstick or whatever colours reflect our passions, our dreams.

The following images represent my work with clients whose dreams and fantasies were realized by using the colours of the sea and the surf.