Boriqua Interior Designer Cristina Villalón curates tips on how to best incorporate the color Puerto Rico Sunshine into a space. This fiery red-orange color created by Pantone is a combination of the sunbeams that grace the island throughout the day, refined by a physicist and professor at the University of Puerto Rico. Villalón, a leading designer in Puerto Rico with projects all over the Americas is the ideal eye to recommend how to integrate Puerto Rico Sunshine into any room or décor.
According to Villalón, orange is a dynamic color. It should be used to add energy to a room and make a space come alive. Thus, if you reside in a cold place, adding an orange wall will automatically add warmth and ebullience to the space.
Puerto Rico Sunshine alongside neutral tones such as gray have a neutralizing effect to tone down the brightness. For full island-vibes, blues also complement orange beautifully and make the perfect combination in a vibrant beach house or beachy themed room. It is recommended to use only one vivid color, like Puerto Rico Sunshine, in any given space. Using a neutral palette and natural textures, then adding pops of this bold orange in accessories makes for a soothing yet cheerful space. Painting an entire room a strong, overwhelming color can be a bit too much for most interior design tastes. Villalón recommends painting one wall in a room the brighter, statement-making color, and the rest a more neutral tone. Not only will the accent wall stand out and become a focal point, but it won’t overpower the rest of the décor elements and make you want to run out of the room! Other trends include incorporating accent colors in a wall mural. A wall mural permits you to incorporate as much or as little of an accent color as you would like, and you can also add texture and visual interest with the pattern or design you choose.
A great way to offer cohesion to the room is to paint only one wall an orange, like Puerto Rico Sunshine, and then repeat the color via furniture pieces or accessories. Some of these ways include adding color to the entryway of your home, updating older furniture, framing a mirror, or even making your own artwork. The eye-catching possibilities are as endless as the sun’s rays. Color is an extremely powerful force and too much of anyone can leave a room or space unbalanced. Yet the right amount can invigorate a home and its visitors!
Cristina Villalón is the Co-founder, Principal Interior Designer and the Director of Álvarez-Díaz & Villalón® | Architecture & Interior Design. Recognized for her attractive, welcoming, and functional interior designs, Villalón was awarded in 2015 with the Star on the Rise Award from the Design Center of the Americas (DCOTA). In 2016, Cristina was named among the Top 40 Under 40 by the magazine Design: Retail and that same year, Caribbean Business awarded her the same distinction. Villalón is a proud mother of three beautiful daughters, a recycling activist and gender equality, an insatiable reader and a lifelong learner.
*Special thanks to Discover Puerto Rico for providing images and access to Cristina Villalón.
