Thanksgiving has been consumed and put away and we are now racing toward the second funnest (my column, I’m allowed to make up words!) part of fall – Halloween.
Has everyone had enough pumpkin spice yet? Are we done? Have we consumed every possible product with the pumpkin spice banner in our quest to satiate our souls with this warm and gooey flavour? Everything from coffee to cookies to CEREAL!
My favourite, the mini wheat, has been defiled. It’s incredible to sit back and watch trends roll through like a tidal wave, wondering when they will subside and retreat, making way for a new fad to crash on shore.
A few years ago, pumpkin was all the rage in decorating – Soft Pumpkin, Greenfield pumpkin, smooth spice pumpkin were words uttered often during my design consults.
Call it burnt orange or rustic red or barn brown – it was all the same thing, roasted pumpkin, pumpkin cream….I feel a tad guilty for helping to indoctrinate this generation of Pumpkin Spicers with my enthusiasm for this colour palette.
This colour was chosen by me for many people from tile to paint to upholstery, I even had this delicious colour crafted into custom draperies in a recent home not ever realizing that whoever lives there now is enjoying the pumpkin spice velvet draperies; hopefully while sipping on a latte of the same name!
A trend can become the folly of a generation and can run rampant with social media to fuel the fun and now Pumpkin Spice is a laughable, comical element of fall with all of us who love (or loved) it having to dive underground and order our frothy beverage in hushed tones to avoid ridicule.
The humor behind having to deny our love for the sites and scents of fall is hilarious and always makes me chuckle when I remember how passionate I was about this hue.
It was a warm and wonderful way to decorate and it still traces in home décor in smaller elements such as accessories and accents but bring on October and it is a full-fledged reason to drag out autumn in all its glory and not feel guilty or out-dated.
My rule is, if you can still find that colour in local stores or in current upholstery then it is certainly fine to decorate with.
We can be inundated with current magazines and décor information which will tell us to paint it all white or throw a sea breeze type colour on our walls and we will often heed the call of the herd, even if we hate the outcome.
I decree that is perfectly acceptable to embrace your pumpkin loving ways; bring out that favorite shade of lipstick and wrap yourself in that fuzzy orange sweater.
Drive yourself to the nearest coffee shop and shout from the door, “Pumpkin Spice latte with extra nutmeg please” and don’t be ashamed.
If the current shades of pale blue and lavender leave you cold, keep that intense shade of Greenfield Pumpkin on your walls and don’t you dare apologize for loving the colour.
The pumpkin spice craze may have gone too far in some areas but it is still a rich, delicious colour and a soothing and spicy taste and that you are still allowed to enjoy.
Kim Wyse is a Central Alberta freelance designer. Find her on facebook at ‘Ask a Realtor/Ask a Designer’.
