What’s Your Color? Trends in Home Decor Colors

Blue is the new black.  Or is the old black good enough?  Is grey the new neutral, or do we go back to beige?  Are bright, cherry hues catching our eye, or dark, dramatic ones?  It all depends who you ask!  Color trends change from year to year and season to season, and most of the time, the “hot trends” are just guesses as to what consumers will respond to in the coming year.  Have the experts guessed right?

Of course, paint companies do not choose trendy colors – consumers do.  But they certainly put their all into figuring out what consumers want (and perhaps nudging them in that direction!).  Dominique Pepin of the Colour Marketing Group (Canada) and Sico Paints says, “Colour trends respond to people’s needs.  This year’s palate, for example, is dominated by warm and comforting colours that reflect the public’s mood.”

According to Vancouver’s Times Colonist, designers are seeing less of the bold, complex tones that were popular just a year or two ago (think of the Lavender, Acid Green, and Chipmunk Brown palate from Pantone, for instance) and more sedate, simple colors that bring with them a sense of security.  These include classic neutrals, like beiges, creams, tans, and whites.

But, at the same time, the Virginia-based Color Marketing Group says that the paint color of the year is Honeymoon – a “mustard gold color” that is “inspired by honeybees and is reminiscent of warm, worn leather.”  There is very little that is “neutral” about this color!  But there is a great deal that is warm and comforting, the same qualities people look to neutrals to convey.

Interior designer Susan Barker says, “A great place to look for color inspiration is in nature and flowers in particular.  Flowers are always a big part of summer because they add so much excitement and pizzazz to any space….”

Lisa Cregan, author of Blue: 350 Inspiring Ways to Decorate with Blue, says, “People are much braver about putting their own personality out there.  They’re much more likely than in the past to decorate their homes with what they like rather than what’s in style.  And what many of them like is blue.”  Or honeymoon or beige.  Whether you want an Amisco bar stool with a bold Sangria upholstery, for instance, or you prefer to have a calmer presence, like classic leather, in the home, go with your instincts and surround yourself with what you love.