A new year is on the horizon and you’ll be seeing new colors entering the home fashion industry. Each year new color palettes are forecasted and those colors are then used as a guide by product designers in developing and creating new consumer products.
Color is the very first thing that we react to when entering a room and remember when leaving a room. We make a subconscious decision about people, places and items within 60 to 90 seconds upon seeing them based upon the color. Many times it is the deciding factor when making purchasing decisions in our homes. Although, selecting colors is the number one decorating dilemma most homeowners face. So we settle for “safe” colors, those that we’ve had and seen for years, even though we yearn for something different and colorful.
Decorating with color doesn’t cost any extra. Paint is the same price whether it is white or lavender. Fabrics come in hundreds of colors and the same fabric has the same price tag no matter which color you select. No matter what your budget is, you can transform your home from ordinary to extraordinary with a fabulous color scheme.
Let’s do a quick review of a few color terms. This way, as you are looking at colors, reading an article or watching a decorating program, you’ll feel more comfortable with any of the terms you might hear.
HUE is another name for color. On the color wheel there are twelve hues or colors, starting at red and going clockwise to red-violet. Colors are referred to as being either warm or cool. Warm colors include; red, orange and yellow. Cool colors are; green, blue and violet.
TINT is a color with white added. SHADE is a color with black added. VALUE is the lightness or darkness of a color, or how much white or black is added.
TONE is a color with gray added. CHROMA or INTENSITY is the brightness or dullness of a color, or how much gray is added.
MONOCHROMATIC COLORS is a color scheme only using one hue or color in varying tints, shades and intensities. If you love orange, your color scheme could range from a deep terra cotta to a pale peach.
COMPLEMENTARY COLORS are directly opposite from each other on the color wheel. Like yellow and purple, or red and green. They are called complements because they complete each other. When they are placed next to each other they appear more intense. A red rose looks even redder when surrounded by green leaves.
ANALOGOUS COLORS are next to each other on the color wheel. Such as green, blue-green and blue. An easy color scheme where color harmony is guaranteed is by using three colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel.
Choosing colors is fun, so start with selecting colors that you respond to. What is the first color that you gravitate to? When looking through magazines, what colored pictures do you stop at? What colors of towels and pillows do you walk up to in the stores and touch? What color flowers do you buy? We know what we like when we see it, so surround yourself with color you love.
Color can be thought of as being living, since it is affected by all of the other elements around it. So here are a few helpful hints which will make selecting your color choices easier.
1) Select and view the colors in the room where they will be seen. This is extremely important as the light sources in the room will affect how the color looks. Do you have a lot of sunlight? Is the room lit mainly by artificial light? Are your windows tinted? Tinted windows will affect the colors during the day as sunlight streams into the room through your bronze tinted windows. Do you have anything right outside your windows that might affect your interior colors? One time, I had a large redwood patio cover cast a rose tint to all of the colors in the room as the sun came through the windows.
2) Look at the color on the plane it will be seen. Colors will look different when held vertical versus horizontal. Again, the way light strikes a color plays a role in how it is seen. When deciding upon wallpaper or paint, hold the paper against the wall and not laying on the table. Painting the ceiling? Hold the paint color horizontal. Look at the chair fabric both horizontal for the seat and vertical for the back.
3) View the color from the direction it will be seen. If the sofa will be in front of the window, place the fabric facing you in front of the window, just where the sofa would be placed. If you’re painting an accent wall across from a window, tape the paint chip on that wall and view it at Sunrise (AM), Sunlight (Noon) and Sunset (PM). When painting a whole room, view the color from every direction and on every wall.
4) When making color decisions, use a neutral background to see the truest color. A soft or photographic gray is the best background. You can purchase a “Gray Card” from a camera store for around $2.00.
5) Pay close attention to the other items in the room and how the color will work together and react to each other. Colors in combination look much different, then when you look at each one on its own. It is also important to keep in mind the size relationship between the colors. If you are placing a red chair up against a yellow wall, size the samples so that they are in proportion to the items themselves. Paint a poster board yellow and have a small fabric swatch for the chair.
So what are the new colors you’ll be seeing in 2003? There are 21 new consumer colors that have been forecasted by the Color Marketing Group. Technology and special color effects where the main influences on the colors forecasted. Watch for 9 out of the 21 colors to have influences of copper, silver and gold, some mixing with orange, blue and brown. Pinks and rose colors will make a comeback. Blues are still strong with a cool blue gray, retro blue, dusty navy and a watery blue with a sporty edge. Green will range from tropical to soothing. This years’ neutral is the color of unglazed ceramics or raw plaster, a softened matte gray.
Published in Home & Hearth Magazine December 2002