Wholesome Loft Lagoon

An adjectival form of whole — used as a color modifier since the sixteenth century for hues that read as healthy and unadulterated. Wholesome cream, wholesome wheat: moderate saturation combined with the optical impression of a natural origin. Sits at the crisp-bucket alongside genuine.

Old Norse lopt, upper-floor / sky. As a color modifier, loft implies an upper-floor-and-rafter quality, the visual register of Tribeca-and-SoHo-Loft Industrial-Revolution converted-warehouse exposed-rafter-and-cast-iron-pillar artist-studio surfaces under Mid-Century-Modern New-York-City artist-loft light. Sits at the modifier-and-place end of the grid, parallel to atrium and barn in usage.

A shallow body of saltwater partially or fully enclosed by a barrier — coral atoll lagoons in the Pacific, Venice's Laguna Veneta, the Florida Keys' backcountry. The color refers to the average reflectance of a calm tropical lagoon at midday: a saturated, slightly muted blue-green with the optical clarity of shallow water over white sand. Brighter than reef, cooler than aquamarine, with the postcard weight of a Pacific atoll seen from above.