Scarlet Opus Trend Forecast for 2012 - May 2011

By Victoria Redshaw & Shelley Pond

Scarlet Opus forecasts trends a year in advance; for the spring/summer 2012 season, we have forecasted six interiors trends. We approach the season looking at things from a different perspective, a new standpoint of positivity and determination to set things right. A global reboot! The season’s colors work together as harmonious units, color communities, families. It’s all about the collective. Styles are seductively sensorial: sound waves of patterns; high-pitched colors; sharp, fractured shapes. It is a season of change, chaos, contradictions; products that soothe us; schemes that shake us up; patterns that reassure us; colors that alarm us. A beautifully imperfect harmony. 

Eco Carnival: This trend vibrates with a strong South American influence. Rio de Janeiro takes center stage for June’s Earth Summit, which will have a focus on sustainability and green issues. Patterns oscillate between oversized Amazonian botanical florals and pumped-up tribal geometrics. Aztec and African mash-ups set the tone. A jungle of lush greens are punctuated with exotic bloom brights and fruity accents. Combinations of tiger lily and turquoise are key.

This trend is quietly cultured, cheerfully modest and visually polite. It comes at a time when social values and graces are re-examined and re-established: 20th century values in the 21st century. This is a trend that moves us away from pretention toward simple pleasures. The color palette takes us from the garden vegetable patch into the kitchen: cookie crumb, mustard, milkshake pink and salad shades. A mid-century influence of modernist art, textiles and ceramics can clearly be identified. 

In this trend, we cross borders to find common cultural connections. Sometimes you have to deconstruct to reconstruct. Fragmented and networked structures and patterns from North Africa and the Middle East join to create a contemporary classic aesthetic. Seek inspiration in cartography, mashrabiya, interlinked geometrics, reptile skins and crackled metallic. A palette of arid weatherworn shades includes dry parchment, sand, sienna, dark malachite, steel, copper, purple and iridescent beetle blue.

The deep sea provides inspiration for this trend as we are invited to explore the mysterious depths below the surface. Think illuminations, ultra-violet lasers, and lighting with a shadowy glow; product design and surface textures are inspired by jellyfish, sea urchins and coral. Mysterious deep sea shades make up the color palette of ultra and aqua marine, sparkling turquoise, jade and beautiful lapis lazuli—an important color of the season—illuminated by ultra violet with coral and neon accents. Watermark effects, wave patterns and Rorschach-inspired prints work well for rugs and carpets, while rippling textures and changeant surfaces are key finishes for tiles.

Dynamic, energetic and uncontained, this trend is super-charged, taking inspiration from today’s youth culture and London’s unique style. Fractured, angular shapes, bolts of color, and clashing patterns come together to create this very-alive look. The plugged-in color palette of sporty brights reinforces the energy of this trend with a youthful Olympic blue, highlighter yellow and a clashing pink and red, working with a concrete city grey, which adds an important urban edge. Simple geometric leather wall panels and flooring work well with urban graffiti inspired surface pattern designs for walls, floor tiles and rugs as well as strong color blocking and pop art inspiration.

The handsome partner to our Savoir Faire trend—a perfect marriage of tradition and modernity, this trend simultaneously takes a look back as it moves ahead. Ornate forms and historical references to baroque and rococo periods are reworked with a minimalistic styling. Colors are refined yet majestic: plaster of Paris and foundation tones work with accents of royal red, princess blue and tuxedo black. Laser-cut leather panels, elegant cut-out wallcoverings, and baroque scrollwork add elegant detail to simple products in chalky tones. Smooth eggshell finishes and fine powdery textures are seen on all surfaces:.

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