Colour Trends
Each year the main colour houses release their ‘Colour of the Year’ with Dulux announcing Brave Ground and Pantone announcing 2 controversial colours – Ultimate Gray (17-5104) and Illuminating (light yellow 13-0647) for 2021.
These colour trends are then seen through digital and printed magazines showing us as consumers how to use the colours in our homes.
Like fashion, colour trends also appear in home design. These can be micro ‘short’ trends which last 1-2 years or macro ‘long’ trends which last 10+ years. A macro trend seen in homes over the last 3+ years has been the use of grey, initially on décor pieces, but now on walls, in soft furnishings and even kitchen cabinets.
Through social media I still see plenty of people asking about what shade or grey to paint their walls, or what colour should they use to compliment the grey in their living room/bedroom/kitchen.
Colour Choices
If you are confused about which colour to paint your room, or a combination of rooms to keep a cohesive feel, then I am not surprised. From the main paint companies alone there are over 750 colours to choose from. If you then add Dulux trade colours into the mix this goes up to over 2750 colours.
[Farrow and Ball 132 colours, Zoffany 156 colours, Johnstones over 200 colours, Little Green 191 colours, Earthborn 72 colours and Lick 45 colours, Duluz Trade Colours over 2000]
Break through the confusion
For me, nature never seems to get colour wrong and if you are unsure where to start with colour choices and combincations I would always suggest getting out into nature and seeing what colours work well together.
I often take inspiration from a set of Botanical postcards that I have from The New York Botanicals Gardens. These are four of my current favourites. As you would expect green features in all in some form but it can be used as an accent colour in a room, or as a main colour.
The Slipper Orchid features green, purple, light orange, cream/white and black. If you just thought about putting those colours together in a room you'd reach straight for the tin of magnolia or brilliant white.
Don't be afraid of colour but get some colour advice if you are unsure where to start. Often the simpliest question a designer will ask is "what's your favourite colour?" To me thats such a tough question as it depends on the room, how I want to feel, the mood I want to create. Its not just a simple answer - pink !
Colour Help
As you've made it this far through this blog post I'll finish with showcasing 2 colour designs I put together. One is an ensuite bathroom where the working single mum wanted a relaxing, calming space to retreat to after a hard day at work and once the kids were in bed.
The second design is for a fun loving couple who love to entertain and wanted colour in their living and dining space, whilst still reflecting the period of their Victorian Home.
Hopefully you can see its not just about picking a colour, or following a trend, but using a colour to create a feeling or mood.
If you would like a colour design board for your room(s) then get in touch. Digital boards are created after an initial phone consultation and typically take up to a week to pull together. Priced at £75 per room.