2008 Color Trends - February 2008

Kaye Gosline and Emily Morrow: Edited by Brian Hamilton

The color of an interior affects its occupants unlike any other element of design. It can influence behavior and emotions in both obvious and subtle ways and make it easier or more difficult for the interior to be used as intended. Floors, of course, play a defining role in design, and flooring manufacturers and astute designers are as aware of color trends as anyone in the apparel business or any other fashion industry. Many designers start with the floor and use it as the base palette for the look of the whole room.

Nevertheless, the ways colors and other design elements are used in commercial and residential settings are very different, although there is some overlap in colors that are in widespread use in each segment today, such as basic black and white.

Kaye Gosline, creative director for Milliken Floor Covering, who also wrote “About Color: A Journey Into Light,” in commenting about color in commercial settings, says “I’ve always thought of color trends as a journey. You can visualize the long winding road that about every ten years takes a new direction—either bluer, more yellow or redder undertones. The path sometimes is sunny and warm and then it turns cooler and more serious.”

Today, she says, the trend in commercial colors isn’t taking any dramatic turns but probably will in two or three years. “We’re at a respite where there’s balance with lots of sunshine and just enough shadow and nuance to be really cozy,” Gosline says. “Designers have not only accepted ambiguity but they’ve invited it to stay for awhile and make itself at home. In other words, we’re happy with color just the way it is and we’re not ready to move on yet.”

For the next few years the harmony of warm and cool neutrals will remain popular, along with lots of rich chocolates, fun reds and oranges, and a touch of blues. Purples are out of the picture, she says, except for hints of magenta or as undertones in reds, browns and blues.

The bright spot in what Gosline calls a “complex, mostly neutral world of color,” is clean, clear yellow that’s inspired by technology. Black and white is also extraordinarily popular and has never been more in demand.

“The palette is an optimistic, sophisticated collection of colors that works for all end uses, from healthcare to corporate,” Gosline says. “Aside from gaming and public spaces, they work pretty well even in hospitality. The lines have blurred because designers are craving classic, beautiful, and people-friendly spaces.”

Gosline believes the freshness in commercial design today isn’t coming from new colors but from the “judicious editing” of color and design elements. She first noticed this trend last year at Heimtextil, the international trade show for home and contract textiles. Vendors had brought smaller selections of products and the color lines were pared down to an essence of the look they were trying to achieve. “By showing less, they were saying more to the audience,” she notes.

Gosline admits that it’s so easy for designers to get distracted by lots of color and pattern. “We’re so often tempted to show off all we can do as designers but that sometimes just confuses the viewer. By focusing on just a few elements the designer has to get it absolutely just right or it falls flat. Good design is not just knowing what to put in but what to leave out. Color becomes critical in this mode. The difference between brilliant and just good is a hair, a blink of the eye. Simple is really hard. It requires patience, persistence and the passion for perfection.”

Influences
Design is influenced by social, economic and political realms. Today, everything is retro, Gosline says, and the only thing that looks truly dated is matching outfits from head to toe. Just as there’s no one dominant color, there’s no one fashion trend that is taking the globe by storm. “Yet, fashion is still interesting and fresh, which proves that you don’t have to be changing dramatically to be unique,” Gosline says. “It’s all in the twist that you put on design and color that allows you to use the same set of elements and colors but still create dynamic new stuff.”

As the year unfolds, Gosline expects the election and world events such as the Olympics in Beijing to influence our overall world view. She says the East Meets West theme is taking on a new dimension. Over the last couple of years, the Middle East influence has crept into design, which is reflected in the use of paisley, mosaics, and color. This year, the emphasis will shift to the Far East, but not so much from the perspective of ancient China but from the reality of China today. 

“More than ever designers are looking for authentic materials and products with real emotional connections,” Gosline says. She notes that the need for sustainability is a given in many cases but it goes beyond just green.

“It’s about the story behind the space, product or service. What inspired it and does that resonate through the design? That’s why travel has become such an important source of design inspiration. We need to connect with people and places that cause us to challenge the status quo and renew feelings of wonder.”

Design Trends
While color is not really moving much, there is some change in design trends, Gosline says. Those shifts explain part of how the same palette continues to work.

Texture in carpet will continue to be just as important as color. Designers seek tactile properties that engage the senses. Combinations of subtle luster changes and textures played against one another add interest and continue to grow in popularity. 

Pattern is changing more than anything else, Gosline says. Overall, pattern needs to have clean lines and simple shapes. There’s a lot of interest in large-scale patterns but they need to be condensed to a simple idea. Coloring these with tonal palettes and maybe a single accent is best.

“More organic shapes are needed to match the strong geometrics that continue in popularity,” she observes. “The shift is that we’re not looking for complex pattern-on-pattern and layering anymore. Editing rules!”

Nature as an inspiration has also never been stronger because it’s authentic yet mysterious. For example, schools are being designed to pull in daylight and reflect the environment around the facility. Hotel owners are also seeing that green is good business, so hospitality designers will openly embrace more natural looking spaces. “When the sustainability movement began in contract, there was an influx of the color green,” Gosline recalls. “This may happen in hospitality but it should be a short term blip. A few years ago, we needed a wide range of greens in every color palette, but today we’ve got four or five from yellow- to blue-based that satisfy our demands.”

What’s next?
By the dawn of the next decade, “we’ll be bored and ready for dramatic change,” Gosline predicts. The warm metals keep trying to break in again but their time has not come. Likewise, blue is also on the horizon and is just beginning to show. “We aren’t looking for fads or flash. We need substance and light. We need to experience the joy of comfortable spaces designed for real people. Tomorrow, we’ll deal with change.”

COLOR IN RESIDENTIAL DESIGN
“Most designers consider the floor as the ideal location to begin their interior projects because it’s the largest expanse of space within an interior,” says Emily Morrow, director of color, style and design for Shaw Industries.

She says there are some subtle changes on the color horizon. Neutrals are still popular but consumers are looking for more color and more vibrance. Although today’s palettes have become darker, richer and more complex, white is emerging and has a fresh appeal, reflecting cultural sign posts like the iPod’s ever-present white ear buds and casings.

Morrow notes that there’s also a resurgence of the 1980s, which has crept into fashion, music, and home. Many of these trends will be only vaguely familiar to consumers who lived through the 80s, and the color combinations will make many looks new again. They’ll also appeal to younger consumers who didn’t experience the decade of “over the top opulence and preppy style,” and to mature consumers who have fond memories of that luxurious decade.

All things that exemplify over the top glamour and luxury, such as exotic locations like Dubai, are in every area of design in color, texture, and pattern, on the runway and in the home.

Glamour and luxury lead many residential consumers to turn to carpet and rugs for their design inspiration, Morrow says. They’re attracted by the use of rich color, accents of black, chocolate, lustrous yarns, and intricate patterns that include florals, vines, grids, checks, harlequin diamonds and even zebra or crocodile.

Also, hand-scraped, chiseled-edged, distressed wood floors are crossing all style boundaries. What initially was seen as rustic is now being installed in urban lofts, formal traditional homes, traditionally modern interiors and more. “Designers and consumers are drawn to the crafted element, especially the subtle chatter marks left there by a true craftsman,” Morrow says. “These components are always impacting the color palettes of carpet and rug styles.”

On specific color trends, Morrow says, “We’re seeing variations of rich shades of green in the classics such as emerald, kelly, and milky-green sea glass greens. Blue-based greens still appeal and are bridging well with new color introductions such as gray and the dark chocolates as well as classic black. Yellow-based greens are staying strong because of their link to environmental awareness as much as for their pop. Versatile, almost-neutral gray-greens can be subtle and sophisticated.” 

Navy, true blue, and the diluted water blues are also important. Nautical, blue-and-white, bold stripes are very strong. Soft shades of aqua, reminiscent of the “water” colors that have been trending strongly for the past two or three years are still vital. Morrow predicts that blues will become more diverse, influencing purples and green. Also, blue-greens will be seen in unusual combinations with other colors such as rich browns, yellow-greens, and vivid red-oranges.

Seville red is being used as a contrast against satiny, lacquered surfaces. “Red is always classic and dramatic—the significant aspect of red is whether it’s influenced by blue or yellow,” Morrow says. “Today’s Chinese red is definitely a rich red-orange, but look out for Seville red, which is a purer red bordering on the blue side. Bright corals are strong, while mid-value pinks will begin to decline in the next year.”

Pinks have evolved toward rose, moving away from the pink that flooded the marketplace over the past four years. She notes that the Evelyn Lauder Breast Cancer Awareness Pink Ribbon campaign created a tidal wave of home and fashion products in the pink family. “We’ve definitely grown up from the little-girl pink into mature and confident rose and raspberry pinks,” Morrow says.

Metallic Color Trends
Copper has been appearing in eye-catching automotive color as well as in kitchen appliance fronts and more, and has worked its way into upholstery and drapery fabric, paint and fashion. Some of the coppers and muddy oranges are burnished and appear oxidized. Orange is still on the scene in both muddier and brighter contexts. Specialty finishes can create a rich oxidized patina or the appearance of molten lava.

Subtle yellow-golds are appearing in gilded finishes, burnished leather, or precious metals. “It’s been at least 12 years since consumers were ripping out their polished brass fixtures in the home, had diamonds reset in platinum bands, and switched over to brushed nickel, pewter and the like, Morrow says. “Now that stainless steel appliances are in mainstream American homes, our hearts long for something that is not seen everywhere. Gold today is still not the highly polished gold of the 80s but is bronzed over, burnished and patinaed.” Gold is in everything from handbags to chain-mail couture to beading.

Rich Neutrals
Brown has become increasingly respected and dominant and is recognized as an alternate classic, like black. We’ve seen all shades of brown, including mocha, cinnamon, chocolate, and coffee. Dark and medium chocolates, ranging from coffee bean to latte, and lustrous or mineralized shades of just-tilled earth, can be paired with vibrant, unexpected colors. It’s warm and elegant when used with aged gold, or dramatic and daring with magenta or orange. “Brown maintains its appeal because it complements a multitude of tastes and lifestyles,” Morrow says.

Golden beige and taupe are easy to live with and to use as a neutralizer among the vibrant coppers, reds and yellows. “For the ultimate combination of sophistication, pair gray with taupe, tan or brown.”

Neutrals are becoming darker and more saturated and are now being infused with a blush of color—sometimes relating to golden skin tones—creating the effect of more personalized options for consumers. Neutrals in all constructions are becoming darker, such as taupes, tobaccos and anything reminiscent of leather.

Gray is also making a strong comeback. Gray flannel and charcoal are re-emerging, possibly because of the sleek contemporary look that is stylish in home furnishings. Brushed nickel and aged pewter are popular for appliances and hardware. Grays are clean and straightforward, with no influence from blue or green.”

Black is being used as an accent in every room in rugs, carpet, fabric, and accessories. Black and white combinations are popular in large-scale, traditional motifs. Black accents in textiles of all kinds are in demand, giving added body and visual dimension. 

Copyright 2008 Floor Focus 

Related Topics:Shaw Industries Group, Inc.