News

Color it blue? orange? green?

Committee will choose shades for new Beverly High School

By Cate Lecuyer
staff writer
Published: March 17, 2009

BEVERLY — Navy blue floors? Pale orange walls? Light wood paneling?

It's a possible look for the inside of the new Beverly High School.

Although construction has just begun on the academic wing, Superintendent James Hayes is looking for people to form a color committee, which will work with the architects to pick out the right palette for the building.

They'll be looking at colors for the terrazzo floors, carpets, wood paneling, wainscoting, hallways, cafeteria, bathrooms, furniture and anything else in the building. Members will also be tying the color scheme to other features, like the windows and glass paneling.

Margaret Daly, the interior designer at Mount Vernon Group Architects, already has some ideas. She usually likes to incorporate the school colors — in this case orange and black — but in a way that's classic, and not too trendy or garish.

"I'll probably work with the orange color and not focus too much on the black," she said. She also plans to incorporate blue, which complements orange on the color wheel.

"What I'll wind up doing is toning down the orange so it's easier on the eyes," she said. She's thinking more of a terra cotta, with maybe a midnight blue and a lighter blue or slate gray, accented with light golds and creams.

She also plans to create an alternative palette with more neutral colors like white and beige, but, "I would say 95 percent of the time they go with the color," Daly said. "You don't want it to feel like an institution."

Overall, she's going for "an organic feel that's not too formal and not too casual," she said. "Something middle of the road."

When it comes to picking the colors, Daly said she tries to stay away from dark shades, which can be sad or depressing, and really bright colors like mint green, which can be distracting.

"Color has an effect on students," she said. For instance, green is generally considered a good color for a library, because it's said to be thought-provoking. Reds and yellows are often ideal for a cafeteria, since they can help stimulate the appetite.

She also looks at the purpose of the building. An elementary school, for example, would be brighter than a high school. Also, since the new academic wing is four floors, she's thinking of making each floor a different color to give people a sense of place and help keep them oriented.

The palette suggestions Daly has are just that and subject to change by the color committee, which she and Hayes hope to keep small. Hayes said he's looking for about six members who have some association with the high school.

"Some people get very emotionally involved," Daly said. "That's why we try to keep the color committee down."

If members don't like any of the color combinations Daly comes up with, they need to let her know right away. She's not sure exactly when the deadline to order materials is, but it's coming up soon. The $80 million project is expected to be complete by 2010.

"We don't have a lot of time to fool around," Daly said.

Staff writer Cate Lecuyer can be reached at clecuyer@salemnews.com.