Maryott Custom Interiors

Carol Maryott: 281-597-0415

Design Trends

Color Trends Knowing how to use color can help you create spaces that captivate the imagination, inspire and uplift you, or provide a calm or restful atmosphere. It can create focal points, change mood of your room, increase or decrease the feeling of spaciousness or turn dull into dramatic. Choosing a color scheme can be as simple as repeating the colors in a favorite painting, piece of china, fabric or an existing rug. Your color scheme will affect how you feel in a room. Warm colors such as red, yellow or orange can add cheer to a room with a northern exposure, while southern or western exposure can be cooled with blues, greens and blue-greens. Color will also change with the time of day, outside light and interior lighting. Incandescent lights accentuate red and yellow. Some fluorescents accentuate blue. A monochromatic color scheme is the use of one color. To make it interesting, it must use a variety of shades and textures of a single color. It is sophisticated in its simplicity and makes a neutral background for art and accessories. Bright colors are cheerful and stimulating. Red, for example spurs action and stimulates creative ideas. Greens and blues are natural tranquilizers. They can turn a room into a peaceful retreat or make an excellent background for a home office where concentration is required. Nature creates color schemes more beautiful and varied than any artist. Look at flowers, trees and sunsets for inspiration when you are undecided about a color scheme. COLOR TRENDS The dreary days are over- at least where color is concerned. Colors for 2006 are getting brighter, more cheerful, more active, and more optimistic than what we've seen the past three years. At the same time, colors representing security and serenity remain important, but take on a fresh look for 2007 and beyond.

		Reds are Rocking! Reds range from pale, neutral pinks, to bright and sassy hot pinks, to traditional reds, and red browns. Reds influenced by blue are feminine, romantic, and appeal to young, Active consumers. Yellow-based reds remain spicy, and like the brown reds, have a strong connection to earth. A bright Chinese red implies strength and durability, and is showing up as accent items for our living and workspaces. Reds are also being paired more with metallics, adding an emotional edge to the equation. Consumers are being more accepting of red, and the excitement is coming from the pink side of the family. Pinks are being paired with other reds, and even oranges, for a new look that is vibrant and stimulating. When you add yellowed greens to these combinations, the results are exciting. Look for a new version of mauve to show up in home fashions, moving towards a soft, blissful pink.

		Must Have Orange Orange continues to grow in popularity. This warm, active color is a must-have. Spices from India, Tuscan pottery, and Moroccan leather represent but a few of the multifaceted hues of this color family. Influenced by brown, the oranges are becoming more complex, more sophisticated, and are appealing to the North American consumer. - finally! As an accent color, ranging from pale apricot to spicy saffron, orange is found in an overwhelming range of hues. Clay pottery, terra cotta, and copper are everywhere and bright Popsicle orange is making a splash as an accent for youth. A strong vibrant orange-copper hue takes its influence from the American Southwest and from Aztec culture. In any hue, orange pops! Two Purples: Rich and Soft Look for two new introductions to the purple family. One that is very rich, opulent purple that pairs well with greens, metallics, and oranges and pinks. The other is soft, thistle-like grayed lavender.

		Green: Lime and .... Avocado? Greens continue to be popular, with yellow greens still dominating the palette. The spa-like greens have become established colors, and a new, bright lime green that's fun and vibrant, and appealing to a younger, free spirited consumer will be introduced. This bright-lime, and a softened version of lime green, will both be popular accent items for electronics, outdoor furniture, toys, and fashion accessories. Greens continue to change, however. And olive green is back. Mystical, cool and mossy, it brings a touch of the deep forest to our palettes. As in the brown, nature's influence is very evident in all these greens. Did someone say avocado? Ready or not, it's back in a variety of hues, only with different names to make it feel fresh and perky. A huge success at all markets is spruce green.

		Blues All Around Blue continues to move in different directions. Blue has something for everyone. Blue is traditional, it takes on the color of the ocean, it will verge on violet. Some blues bridge the blue and green families; others are watery blues that are serene and calming. A saturated medium blue with a hint of turquoise is mixed with metallic and other, more traditional colors. It's both uncomplicated and traditional at the same time. Botanical blues will are also popular, some leaning towards violets, others to sky blues. And a new dark blue, navy with a shift toward violet, is complex, luxurious and exciting. Blue is steadfast and calming, and dark blues are even authoritative. Aqua, Robin's egg and Turquoise are on the rise. Lighter teal is often combined with brown.

		Brown: The Natural Sophisticate Brown is becoming a significant color in a variety of products, but especially in bedding And drapery textiles. From rich creams to warm sunny tans, to dark, elegant chocolate, brown is making a fashion statement. This color family is comforting, and supports our need for security. It goes with everything, so it makes a great accent color as well as a theme color. Reds will also influence some browns, and we'll see the introduction of earthy red browns that have an oxidized iron look to them. Dark brown is formal again. Browns are sophisticated, urban, and yet entirely natural.

		Color Neutrals Neutrals are being infused with color, and the gray/neutral colors are atmospheric and claming, but not boring. They are sophisticated and upscale, with grays, new whites, and khaki all sharing center stage. A new warm creamy white will be easy to live with, supportive of many other hues, that come to life when paired with darker, more complex tones. Grayed silvers and burnished nickels are warm and reflective. Stainless steel continues to get a lot of attention. Metallic surfaces dominate this area And surface texture is as important as the hue. A soft khaki becomes a comfortable color, and pairs will with greens. Metallic bronze and gold are back in a big way. This is reinforced by The Honeyed Neutrals.

		Banana Split And yellow-what could have more optimism than this happy, bright, cheerful color? Yet yellow has a split personality. The Old World golds are warm, elegant, luxurious and soothing. The sun washed interiors of Tuscan yellows and gold are full of charm and serenity, especially when paired with colors such as Provencal reds, and sage greens. Yet a bright, more saturated, edgy yellow is coming into play. A yellow highly influenced by orange will be another warm and sassy accent color that speaks to individuality wherever it is used. A highly saturated yellow can be irritating in large doses, so this bright hue is best used as accent items.

Colors continue to evolve around us. Do the changing colors cause us to become more optimistic in our outlook, or does our changing attitude demand more optimistic colors? One could make an argument for either case. In any event, we can be comforted in that the classic colors- our standards and old favorites- are always there for us. A spa-like green, a vanilla white, and a watery ocean blue were recently added to the Classic Color Palette by Color Marketing Group, joining navy, burgundy, hunter green, and other classic colors, while a new batch of fresh, optimistic and complex colors awaits us in 2008.