Changing leaves aren’t the only introductions of color this season, thanks to the debut of the beloved paint-and-wallpaper company Farrow & Ball’s latest collaboration: a line with the Louisiana native and fashion world phenom Christopher John Rogers.
Dubbed Carte Blanche, the series features twelve hues and three wallpapers with distinct connections to the South. “Many are a celebration of nostalgia and memories tied to my upbringing in Baton Rouge,” Rogers says. The paint colors “Hog Plum, Shallot, Raw Tomatillo, and Lobster, for example, all hold culinary references to Louisiana and more generally, the South.” For those who may assume that Hog Plum skews purple, think again. The name actually nods to a sweet and tangy tropical citrus variety. Even the neutrals have nuance. “Au Lait,” he says, “is a soft white inspired by the way chicory coffee is popularly prepared in New Orleans.”
Charlotte Cosby, the creative director at Farrow & Ball, knew from the start that Rogers would bring his own inimitable way of doing things to the interiors world. “I just fell in love immediately,” she says. “His use of color is so fun.” Rogers is never shy about employing the mood-shifting properties of color—be it in the form of fashion or decor. “I think color has the power to do many things: comfort, soothe, inspire, express,” he says. “But it’s really up to each individual to do with it what they will.”
For Rogers and his team, the studio conference room of his corporate headquarters in New York proved the perfect spot for merging and melding the line: Now, his Stripe 6104 wallpaper hangs in close company there with his Liquorice paint, which he used on the trim. “It’s a joyous reminder of the collaboration in our everyday routine.”
