Selecting color for today's "average" staging client is a bit of a game, and may be a game that doesn't need to be played. Given that we re-arrange and re-purpose what people already have, it seems that an eye for proportion, balance, shape and weight is more crucial to our mission.
And given that our accessories come from the retail world, we should be fine by following the retail trendsetters in contemporary design.
But NOOOOOO, not really. I know we're not "designers" nor "decorators", but this stuff is in our BLOOD!!!
I ADORE COLOR, dream in color, salivate over color. In my life, my corporate career and my staging business I lean heavily on greyed neutrals, which I think of as "Nature At Dusk". The medium tones are the big elements (walls, furniture, large accessories, fabrics), and the dark and bright tones are the accents (pillows, art, objects, florals).
Close your eyes, and imagine it this way for a moment: You're at the beach, the sun has almost set, and the fresh colors of day begin to fade. Breathe the salt air; feel the wind in your hair, hear the sound of the ocean. The sand (blushing tan to rich caramel), driftwood (soft greys and taupes), seagrasses (olive to lime), cliffs (melted chocolate to gleaming black), seashells (chalky white to pearly ivory to bark-brown), sunset (burnt orange to golden yellow), the sea (deep azure, dark teal, slate blue), the surf (foamy pale green - I think of tender cauliflower leaves), and the movement and shades of wildlife (the pearl grey of a seagull wing, flamingo-coral, crab-leg-red, soft heron blue). There's your palette! It is the rare home or city apartment that can handle deep-end-of-the-pool blue, or Granny Smith apple green, or Pepto-pink, and I know we've all seen it done, both beautifully and horribly.
But moving forard, I always look to the fashion industry, which is typically two years ahead of home furnishings. Fashion of 2008 seems to be planning on four palettes: the earthy neutrals (when do they not?), hot reds (from...yes, I'm sorry... the DUSTY ROSE from the 80's that we're all trying to scrape out of these houses, to burgundy, to fire engine, to wet clay, sliding right into black), aubergines (clear royal purple, to cobalt, to deep orchid, to eggplant, to bittersweert chocolate, with splashes of pumpkin), and fresh greens (lime sorbet to deep evergreen, to olive, to Granny Smith, and something that strikes me....sorry again....as "pond muck").
But the bottom line, for we humble stagers, is keep your eye firmly glued to the windows and catalogs of Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, and Pier One, but PLEASE glance occasionally at high end furniture and design stores in your area. Target can't do everything, nor can dozens of books on color palettes!
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