Timeless Hues, Guatemalan Roots: A New Palette Emerges
When I first started recognizing Guatemalan textiles showing up in the interior design spaces I was in, I was blown away by the techniques. But for my design firm, the color combinations were a bit too bright. Our color palette aesthetic is based on Classic and Traditional colorways. It is important to our clients to have pieces that can easily mix and match with their furniture and wall colors.
Although the bright colors of Latin America are inspiring and fill me with joy while I'm there, I knew that I wanted to take a different approach when I started to partner with the weavers in Guatemala.
Traditional textiles from Guatemala
When developing designs for RB Curated, I chose 4 main colors that are no brainers in classic design for a timeless home. They are Caki, or Khaki Brown in English, Azul Oscuro (French Blue), Azul Claro (Ice Blue), and Verde Aqua (Sea Green). In our many years of experience, one of these 4 colors is guaranteed to compliment all homes, whether traditional, contemporary, or somewhere in between.
Indigenous Maya weavers are experts in combining and placing colors in their intricately woven Huipiles. So, when we started partnering with them, our approach was to provide an initial palette, and to let them bring each design to life with their generational skills.
Behind the Scenes photo of choosing color palettes for our designs using thread samples from Guatemala.
In each traditionally woven textile, the Maya still use certain colors to symbolize different meanings. Each piece is unique to the weaver who wove it. Here are some popular interpretations of colors Maya weavers traditionally use.
Brown: Mother Nature and ancestors blood
Purple: The sadness of being human
Green: Mother Nature
Yellow: Happiness, originality, intelligence, the sun
Black: Sunset, night, death, recuperation
Our Culebra Throw Pillow embraces an incredible combination of traditional colors.
Bring ancestral knowledge, quality weaving, and versatile color palettes to your home, or your client’s home, with our full collection.
Regan Billingsley, founder of RB Curated
“What matters just as much as the piece itself is the process behind it—the hands, the history, and the heart involved. When done with intention, it becomes more than beautiful—it becomes a lasting expression of heritage, connection, and purpose”
