Hazel is: Terracotta

With my background of having worked years in corporate sales, marketing, and retail management for luxury furniture, interior design, and home furnishings, I’ve heard it all on consumers’ objections to finalizing a purchase or design choice. One such objection was when a material looked “unfinished.” Oak or pine wood appeared pale and unrefined, concrete looked too raw and industrial, and terracotta looked too bare as though it was still needing a paint or glaze. There was the obvious choice of offering another finish, but sometimes there were sales targets and goals surrounding a certain product type or new product launch and the aim was to push certain products on the sales board rather than steer customers to other products. It was those moments of customers not showing interest that I heard one of my former boss’ infamous sayings echoing in my head: ‘The sales process doesn’t start until you get your first “no” or sales objection.’

Stay tuned for this upcoming Friday’s blog of Point of View: The Clay Pot, which will focus on terracotta as a material of clay stoneware, whereas this particular post of terracotta is in reference to its color.

There are a number of ways to elegantly incorporate the color of Terracotta into a setting or wardrobe. Combining a warm mix of earth tones, we could look at the analogous color harmony of olive green (i.e. yellow-green), dijon mustard yellow (i.e. yellow), pumpkin orange (i.e. yellow-orange). Think of leaves changing colors in the autumn. This is a breeze to nail when it comes to tabletop design since the colors are so often found in food itself and the color palette is easy to tie together with dinnerware, table linens, centerpiece displays. When I think of this color combo in fashion, I think of an ombre scarf with the gradient of these colors.

Another go-to color harmony using terracotta is a monochromatic color harmony in which terracotta at its darkest hue is then bleached out to a pale cream so that you a full gradient ranging from a warmer copper color (i.e. Terracotta) to cream and everything in between including a mid-range color of pale peachy-blush. Poul Kjaerholm, a famous architect and furniture designer from Denmark, was notorious for using natural leather hides to compose his iconic furniture. One of the natural beauties - literally - of his pricey creations is the spectacular transition that the natural leather hides would take on over the years. The leather hides start as a pale blush in their new, raw state and over time and use, the leather takes on more character and richness with the color transitioning to a darker cognac (i.e. Terracotta) color. Scandinavian interiors can often be a chic mix of cognac leathers, blush tones, and creamy white. A range of wood types and finishes add to the color palette with whitewashed ash woods, natural oak, and warmer natural walnut.

Need more color or style inspiration? Visit our online store here bearing in mind that all items are handmade with custom color options available beyond what is shown. Terracotta (color) is no exception. Click individual photos in top banner of this post if you’re curious to shop those specific Hazel Coasts items.