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As an Australian visiting Europe, I noticed a huge difference in the way Australians paint their homes and how it's done in Northern Europe. Australia is indee

As an Australian visiting Europe, I noticed a huge difference in the way Australians paint their homes and how it's done in Northern Europe. Australia is indeed mostly pastels, and always has been. I remember thinking the occupants of the first house I saw Brittan must have been schizophrenic. The bright colours and contrasts almost hurt my eyes for a while. But it turns in the UK I was the odd one out as most people used colour in that way. Right now I'm in the Netherlands and it's the same deal - wall sized murals cascading with colour through the house. I'm no expert in why people do things, so I have no good reason to speculate. But I did anyway. I put it down to Australian's being able to spend part of every day outdoors for the entire year. There is no need for artificial brightness inside when you looking into a world illuminated by 1kW of sunshine per m2 every day. But the UK was downright dreary for large chunks of the time. It's not unusual to hear a UK expat in Australia say they left the place because they could not stand the depressing weather. If you accept that's what's going on, then the answer is obvious. It's caused by global warming. The world is becoming more like Australia. :D

calgoo 4y ago
On possibility is that color is used to make the darker months more bearable. I live in Spain now, but am from Sweden. Whenever i visit Sweden during Christmas I see a lot of reds and greens in the houses with lots of lights and decorations etc. Meanwhile, in Spain, people do decorate, but its normally less colors, more pastels etc. Barcelona city mostly uses blue lights for street decorations, which makes the streets feel even colder.
- bobthechef 4y ago
  [dead]
ztetranz 4y ago
As a kiwi in the US I had the opposite experience. At least where I live in New Hampshire, everything seems gray and drab compared to New Zealand.
intothemild 4y ago
As an Australian living in Norway, i was amazed by how much color the buildings have here.
bombcar 4y ago
At least when I was in Mexico the pastels made sense, because the outsides of the buildings would get dusty pretty quickly, and pastels look fine under dust, but bright colors get muted and look a bit weird. And not everyone would wash their houses, and it didn't rain much.
GekkePrutser 4y ago
> It's not unusual to hear a UK expat in Australia say they left the place because they could not stand the depressing weather. I did too, I lived in Ireland for a while but I couldn't stand the depressing weather and short days in winter. It didn't help that I lived on the west coast which is even worse than the east. Many weeks of non-stop grey and rain. I live in Spain now and it really helped my mood. Wages are lower here but quality of life is so much better. Not just in terms of weather but socially too, because people live outdoors more. I lived 2 years in Australia as well which has a similar climate but it was too far from family.
tomxor 4y ago
> It's not unusual to hear a UK expat in Australia say they left the place because they could not stand the depressing weather. Note that by definition that is a biased set. Some people's concept of fun is limited to high intensity sunshine on a beach, personally I like the weather in the UK which feels quite balanced compared to many countries, and ideal for a lot of outdoor activities... Although this year it's been a bit on the hot side, probably not by comparison to Australia, which is why I can't imagine living in Australia, i'd constantly be too hot to want to do anything more than sit on my arse and drink beer. It's possible people who find this weather depressing are in a depressing setting of suburbia where only intense sunshine could possibly make it appear less gloomy - maybe they just needed to get out and enjoy the wilderness more.
- pottertheotter 4y ago
  I’m absolutely with you. While I want some sun and sunny days, I much prefer overcast and even rainy days. In fact, I’m one who will probably relocate at some point to a place that fits that better.
abeppu 4y ago
I think the relationship with ambient light may be important, but shouldn't the trend have gone the other way for the latter 19th and early 20th centuries then? As more people shifted from being involved in some form of agricultural or other outdoor manual labor to factory and office jobs, wouldn't we have seen a greater demand for bright colors as people spent more time inside?

calgoo 4y ago

On possibility is that color is used to make the darker months more bearable. I live in Spain now, but am from Sweden. Whenever i visit Sweden during Christmas I see a lot of reds and greens in the houses with lots of lights and decorations etc. Meanwhile, in Spain, people do decorate, but its normally less colors, more pastels etc. Barcelona city mostly uses blue lights for street decorations, which makes the streets feel even colder.

bobthechef 4y ago
[dead]

ztetranz 4y ago

As a kiwi in the US I had the opposite experience. At least where I live in New Hampshire, everything seems gray and drab compared to New Zealand.

intothemild 4y ago

As an Australian living in Norway, i was amazed by how much color the buildings have here.

bombcar 4y ago

At least when I was in Mexico the pastels made sense, because the outsides of the buildings would get dusty pretty quickly, and pastels look fine under dust, but bright colors get muted and look a bit weird. And not everyone would wash their houses, and it didn't rain much.

GekkePrutser 4y ago

> It's not unusual to hear a UK expat in Australia say they left the place because they could not stand the depressing weather. I did too, I lived in Ireland for a while but I couldn't stand the depressing weather and short days in winter. It didn't help that I lived on the west coast which is even worse than the east. Many weeks of non-stop grey and rain. I live in Spain now and it really helped my mood. Wages are lower here but quality of life is so much better. Not just in terms of weather but socially too, because people live outdoors more. I lived 2 years in Australia as well which has a similar climate but it was too far from family.

tomxor 4y ago

> It's not unusual to hear a UK expat in Australia say they left the place because they could not stand the depressing weather. Note that by definition that is a biased set. Some people's concept of fun is limited to high intensity sunshine on a beach, personally I like the weather in the UK which feels quite balanced compared to many countries, and ideal for a lot of outdoor activities... Although this year it's been a bit on the hot side, probably not by comparison to Australia, which is why I can't imagine living in Australia, i'd constantly be too hot to want to do anything more than sit on my arse and drink beer. It's possible people who find this weather depressing are in a depressing setting of suburbia where only intense sunshine could possibly make it appear less gloomy - maybe they just needed to get out and enjoy the wilderness more.

pottertheotter 4y ago
I’m absolutely with you. While I want some sun and sunny days, I much prefer overcast and even rainy days. In fact, I’m one who will probably relocate at some point to a place that fits that better.

abeppu 4y ago

I think the relationship with ambient light may be important, but shouldn't the trend have gone the other way for the latter 19th and early 20th centuries then? As more people shifted from being involved in some form of agricultural or other outdoor manual labor to factory and office jobs, wouldn't we have seen a greater demand for bright colors as people spent more time inside?