‘A Sea of Beige’

Colour in the Australian Home, with Michael Lech

How do we perceive our homes of 19th and early 20th centuries: were they dark, gloomy places, overstuffed with furnishings in a series of muddy colours?

Nothing could be further from the truth! Resources from the Caroline Simpson Library will uncover a ‘riot’ of colour used in Australian homes of the past.

Talks & webinars

Vivienne Chaffer : Colour [interior design student workbook]

Phyllis Shillito and her colour curriculum 1945–1979

This event focused on the colour curriculum of pioneering Sydney-based colour designer and educator Phyllis Shillito (1895–1980) of the 1940s to the 1970s

Watercolour of a group of people landing ashore

The Extraordinary Story of Rose de Freycinet

Hear the story of Rose de Freycinet, the first woman to write an account of a global circumnavigation, with Suzanne Falkiner

A colour chart of ready-mixed paints

Historic colour in the home

The many sources in the Caroline Simpson Library that can bring colour to the homes of past, with Matthew Stephens

Children's nursery

Animals in our Houses

A Parade of Animals in Nurseries, with Michael Lech