Absinthe vs Chartreuse

Did you know that absinthe is no longer just a drink? Yes, it is now a color. According to the October issue of Traditional Home magazine, absinthe is the new chartreuse.

I agree that absinthe is quite a terrific word (it is of French origin), but there exist those dark connotations and connections – to the seamy, forbidden (and now romanticized) world of struggling artists and ladies of the evening in the decadent days of Paris in La Belle Epoque. Apparently, enough years have gone by to give the spirits an air of legitimacy and yes, chic – and absinthe has now been welcomed into the color palette of the design world.

Actually, Traditional Home wasn't the first to grant legitimacy to the once-whispered name. The color palette of textile designer Dominique Kieffer's wonderful line of fabrics in 2003 included Absinthe, Aniseed, Vert d'Eau and Noir. Those appellations seem somehow appropriate for Keiffer's opulent, moody fabrics, many woven of natural fibers with dark undertones and accents.

I'm always up for whatever is new, but appropriateness has to be the standard. For most applications of that acid, yellow-green color, it will always be chartreuse, for me.

Besides, I don't think Chartreuse was ever accused of driving anyone mad.
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Photo from House & Garden, 10.03, of fabric samples from Dominique Kieffer's line of textiles.