Color Forecasting

Color Forecasting: 2014 Colors of the Year

Don’t you get excited at the beginning of each season to see what the latest styles look like; or to see what additions are going to make the cut and be added to your closet? I would be lying if I said I didn’t get a little thrill shopping at the beginning of a season when stores have just put out their new lines.  It never fails, however, that when I’m flipping through the fashion or home decor magazines and I’m less than thrilled with what I find filling that season’s pages, I am always left wondering… “Who decided this was going to be ‘in’!?”

So many industries revolve around color.  Many of us take the simple notion of color for granted if we are not in one of these industries. Whether you are in the fashion industry or you are in cosmetics; in the residential or commercial industry of flooring, paint, textiles, etc., your entire business ebbs and flows on the latest color trends.  If you are a diehard fashionista this may be true about what fills your closet as well!  As my imagination takes hold, I think there has to be some sort of evil master mind sitting behind the scenes dictating what’s “in” and what’s “out”, right?  Deciding what colors are going to be the “it colors” for the season is an industry all its own called Color Forecasting.

Color Forecasting may be done by each industry, but all industries look to Pantone for their expertise in color standards and color forecasting.  The 2014 color of the year is said to be “Radiant Orchid”, “An enchanting harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid [is said to] inspire confidence and emanate great joy, love and health.” You may remember 2013’s color pick, “Emerald”.  What do you think out there? Do you, as a consumer, agree?  Some of us may be a little slower to pick up on these trends. I’ve always heard that Interior trends follow fashion, so here in the Interior side of the industry, we can always look to what’s popular in fashion to see what will show up in our industry next. 

Sherwin- Williams Paints has their own color researches looking into these trends.  The influences to decide such a thing are surprisingly vast!  "We study information from many resources, such as current and predicted economic conditions, travel destinations, cinema, theater, trade shows, and various trend-watching organizations, websites and blogs," says Jackie Jordan, director of color marketing for Sherwin-Williams.  Sherwin- Williams has called Exclusive Plum (SW 6263) their pick for color of the year 2014; calling Plum “a sophisticated violet hue, a balance of cool blue and feisty red with a splash of gray”.

In the home, we are looking at more than the color pick of the year, but more the color palettes that will define our living spaces and keep us feeling fresh and current.  The Neutral color palette has donned magazine pages for a few seasons now, and this season we will see a shift to what Benjamin- Moore is calling the “New” Neutrals.  “We’ve begun to see a shift away from gray to tints of blues, greens, lavenders and pinks. Pastels, softened and filtered, to lift the spirit but not shout too loud... colors that can make a room happy, flatter your possessions and your art. We call these the new neutrals.” Says Ellen O’Neill Creative Director of Benjamin Moore& Co.  We are seeing a combination of these soft pastels with vivid bright, as well, creating a colorful equilibrium. .  However, you can count on gray still being an essential neutral; after all, grey is the new black!

The more eras that pass, the more inspiration we have to pull from.  Cultural inspirations and influences are really big this season and have resulted in the use of rich saturated hues from the ever popular Indigo hues, to the emeralds, freesias, plums, and oranges, persimmons and corals, a few more crimson hues can be seen transitioning into our fabrics and patterns as well. As our influences become wider and more varied we will continue to pull inspiration from across the globe broadening our scope of trending looks.  Come by and see what is trending at Creative Interiors here in Bowling Green and let us what is trending in your home this season!