In a collaborative effort a local interior designer with 25 years experience (Randy Trainor) and I hope to publish a series of blogs about upcoming trends in design for the New Year. Randy has offices in Portsmouth and Franconia New Hampshire covering the sea coast (including Boston) and in the White Mountains area. We hope to give you some insight to the latest COLORS in today’s installment. Alpine Lakes Real Estate will offer Randy’s expertise in staging and designs to help buyers and sellers…of our custom build homes, and re-sale properties that need a little help to sell quickly and at the best price for our clients.
Please enjoy Randy’s professional take on color trends for 2012.
Color Trends for 2012
In today's global economy, one would think that color trends might be consistent around the globe. When I was researching the 2012 colors, I found that throughout the world the color trends are the same, but they are presented in different combinations from region to region. It is no secret that the financial and social environment influences color predictions. In other words, combine a region's personality with current events to come up with the dominant colors for that particular region.
For example, here at home Benjamin Moore's color of the year is Wythe Blue, a historic, soft, grayed blue that reminds us of our heritage, of when things were simpler. Sherwin Williams keys on color schemes that reflect Earth's infinite variety, but these colors have been slightly grayed by the addition of hints of brown and black. Do you think the US financial and jobs outlook has anything to do with these color trends?
AKZO Nobel, the world's largest paint and coatings manufacturer, has selected a deep purple as the US color of the year. Sherwin Williams has a similar color among their 2012 palette, and SW calls this color "Marooned". I wonder why?
It is interesting that AKZO Nobel points to Mykonos Red, a pinkish, tropical red with a hint of pastel and a misty quality as the European color of the year, and a deep teal as Latin America's color for 2012. The fact that the red has a misty quality and the teal is deep-toned, and not bright, probably is a reflection of the overall situation in those particular regions as well.
Those that make the color predictions for the year always pick an overriding concept to inform their decisions. I particularly liked AKZO Nobel's concept for 2012. This concept is named "Possibilities" which refers to the inspirational and exhilarating idea that new options are waiting to be claimed. How does this translate into color trends? Think of taking colors that give us a sense of security and calm, that have a slightly grayed quality, and mixing them up in completely new ways. Interesting!
Enough of the background! Here are the colors for 2012! 
Reds - Think berry-ripe, romantic, and edible. Remember Mykonos Red?
Oranges - Think earthy, industrial and hypnotic. These are moving from pumpkin and coral into rustier tones.
Yellows - Think spicy, tan and edgy. Mix a hint of curry with mustard and gold for depth and strength.
Greens - Think botanical, watery and natural. Combine a grassy, saturated, leafy green with a hint of chartreuse. The bluer-inspired greens of recent past are migrating to more natural, yellowed greens.
Blues - Think enigmatic, classic and personal, chalky, inky and ocean-deep. Last year's teals are taking on more ocean-deep, mysterious qualities.
Violets - Think dusky, shadowlike and mysterious. Picture a deep blackberry with hints or charcoal, or bluer violets with shades of slate.
Warm Neutrals - Think nude, couture, and chic. Mix gray and beige together with pearls of sand and a hint of salmon, similar to the colors of an oyster shell.
Cool Neutrals - Think modest, natural and solid. Industrial grays with lilac tinges or silvery gray with a hint of green.
Remember the concept of "Possibilities" that suggested that colors would be combined in new ways for 2012? After looking at the color charts in this article and noticing that the color combos are slightly different from last year and definitely different from the teal and burgundy or peach and soft blue color schemes of the past, wouldn't you agree?
Come to think of it - I don't even see the chocolate and blue combination that has been the dynamic duo of the past few years......
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