Commuter colours

If you’re a regular on the TTC, you may have noticed something unusual at the Yonge-Bloor station this month. Canadian paint brand Sico has taken over the space, decorating the walls with posters depicting colourful roomscapes, faux trim, video shorts and over-sized colour chips (see above). They also handed out colour-soaked Gerber daisies to travelers.

It’s all part of a clever relaunch of Sico’s top-of-the-line Cashmere paint, which the company says has a new, improved formula. All in all, it makes a refreshing change from the mish-mash of visual clutter that usually adorns the station.

 “We wanted to demonstrate how much colour can affect people,” says Sico’s marketing manager Dominique Pépin. “The splashes of colour will be a trigger, we think, to get people thinking about infusing their homes with colour this spring.”

That may be easier to do than it has been in previous years in which pale neutrals dominated décor. The fashion world is currently playing with lots of bright colours, florals and patterns, and as home décor often looks to the runway, the same elements are showing up more and more in our homes. “I even saw that on the ski slopes this year — with lots of really bright yellows and greens,” says Pépin.

Pépin is watching sunshine-y yellows and leafy, grassy greens and fuchsia-infused purples emerge on the scene, and is hoping that the month-long campaign (which ends on Tuesday) will push more homeowners to move beyond mocha.

If the thought of painting out a whole room in a go-for-it colour is intimidating, Pépin suggests using a colour zoning technique or doing a feature wall (see below). “If you see a colour in the station that you connect with, just get a quart of paint and start small. It’s one of the easiest, least expensive ways to personalize a space, and communicate who you are.”

P.S. I wonder —could we get a plumbing company to redo of the TTC’s filthy, fetid washrooms?

P.P.S.  And could we get more TTC musicians like my current fave —  the fellow at Finch station who sports a sailor suit and handlebar mustache, and pays the violin with achingly wistful Slavic melancholy (think Dr. Zhivago meets the Village People.) It’s beautiful.