– Color Choices in Your Home Design and Color Trends –
One of the single most difficult decisions I see plaguing my clients is color, especially when it comes to painting their walls. Interestingly enough though, this is the place where you can get daring and it’s the least expensive mistake you can make.
So when I see a client hesitate about picking colors, I advise them to let go of their inhibitions and try for bolder, adventurous colors and find a whole new excitement in their interiors.
Interior Design, just like fashion, is forever changing and color is key to those changes. Do you remember Harvest Gold? For those of who lived through the 70’s, it conjures up visions of appliances. Ten or so years later, that particular tone of gold was not so popular, nor readily available. This is all due to what is called color forecasting.
COLOR FORECASTING
Each year, the design industry sets out to establish the upcoming color trends. Typically, fashion and interior design will echo each other in this. Many factors go into the process, sometimes it relates to political events, sometimes a music trend, or even sometimes a historical reference will be made. It can be very interesting when you read the forecasting of the various organizations that create the palettes for an upcoming season.
Among color experts, the PANTONE® name is known worldwide as the standard language for color communication from designer to manufacturer to retailer to customer. (If you are curious to see their 2014 color forecast, go to www.Pantone.com.)
The Color Marketing Group is another and was recently quoted as saying at a forecasting event: “It seems the cheerful chromatic palette we experienced last year is pleasantly shifting in a more sophisticated, mature direction… Early indicators are revealing a trend down in chromaticity by softening our color entrees more in a pastel direction.”
Many if not all the major paint companies offer their insight into future color trends, Sherwin Williams is a good example. Take some time on the internet and Google phrases like “color trends”, “color forecasting”, etc. and see what the future of color will bring.
SELECTING COLORS FOR YOUR INTERIOR DESIGN PROJECT
But here is where it gets tricky… Let’s say you have a room that needs some updating. The draperies are fine, the accessories could use a little enhancing, but the upholstery is in serious need of attention, as well as the pillows. If your interiors are several years old, it may be difficult to come up with compatible colors.
If you find yourself having challenges with some updating and are unsuccessful at blending new color palettes with old, find a design professional you trust to assist.
The spectrum of paint colors available is limitless and many times, colors are best chosen after you have selected interior items such as fabrics. Many designers offer color consultation for a set fee and are trained in color so don’t hesitate to seek a professional for your next project.
The state of color is always fluid, rushing forward and gathering influences from the world around us.
– Sherwin Williams
More Information:
Robyn Randall, ASID
Designs by Robyn LLC
Email
Website: www.DesignsByRobyn.com
Twitter: @RobynASID
Creative Commons image courtesy of Skeddy in NYC
