Toronto’s Interval House is the first of nine women’s shelters across Canada to receive a ‘colour makeover’ by Benjamin Moore.Supplied
We see red. We feel blue. We're green with envy and tickled pink. There's no question how connected we are to the colours surrounding us – they make us hungry, fire us up, placate and comfort and soothe us. It's this last goal that Benjamin Moore's latest initiative, which aims to transform women's shelters into tranquil, inviting havens, is intended to achieve. Last week, Toronto's Interval House was the launching pad for the paint company's Colour Care Across Canada project, which will give "colour makeovers" to nine women's shelters across the country by Thanksgiving. The Canadian Women's Foundation helped select the shelters, which represent every province except P.E.I.; its sister program in the U.S. aims to make over shelters in 50 states, plus Washington D.C., in 50 days.
"There are certain things we take for granted in our lives. We all know how important our home is," Benjamin Moore general manager Mike Kolind says. "If we're able to provide a safe and comfortable refuge for people, I think that's a very worthwhile cause."
The initiative brings to mind other projects in which colour has been used as a catalyst to uplift. In Rio de Janeiro, for example, Dutch artist duo Haas & Hahn brightened an impoverished shanty town by working with the inhabitants to paint the facades of 34 buildings in bold, brightly coloured stripes. And the Let's Colour project – which is sponsored by a number of companies, including Dulux – has been invigorating schools, streets and homes in India, France, South Africa and other countries since 2010.
Rather than focusing on far-flung regions, however, the Benjamin Moore project sticks much closer to home. Even the colour palettes, chosen by company colour expert Sharon Gretch, are locally themed: All of the hues are taken from the Designer Classics collection, a palette of 231 tones specifically chosen by Canadian designers and consumers. Among them are such homegrown shades as Stanley Park brown and Five Dollar Bill blue. "It seems a little kitschy but it's actually really fun," says Gretch.
Focusing on "cooler colours – refreshing and calming," Gretch created a six-colour palette for each province, incorporating local touches that would speak to shelter users in each. The Mountain Rose Women's Shelter in Alberta, for example, will see a Stampede brown among its hues, while the Cape Breton Transition House in Nova Scotia has Cabot Trail tan and Oyster grey on its walls. "A lot of it is nature inspired," Gretch explains. "We worked with palettes inspired by the sea, by the landscape, different areas."
The Interval House scheme was particularly close to Gretch's heart – not only because it's the first shelter on Benjamin Moore's agenda, but because she's a Torontonian herself. For this shelter, she chose a palette that includes a deep Georgian Bay blue, an off-white called Delaware Putty and Metropolis light grey. Four bedroom suites were transformed in the makeover, which saw each room get a different combination of the colourways – something that Interval House greatly appreciated: Six years ago, when it moved into its new digs, it invited different companies and firms to each design one of the building's 14 bedrooms, creating unique, personal spaces without a cookie-cutter feel.
"There's nothing worse than fleeing from your home and coming to a place where it's all institutionalized," Lesley Ackrill, Interval House's executive manager, says. "When they have a nice space to come to and it's quiet and private, it's a big deal."
Gretch also coordinated her colourways with linen from GlucksteinHome, which donated bedding for each shelter. "It's the same way you would do it as a homeowner," she says, emphasizing the importance of giving each room a cozy, residential feel. "It's uplifting."