Balance: Benjamin Moore’s Color Forecast for 2011
Will we return to hearth and home and while we seek order in our lives? Will we dream secret dreams? Will community life become the focus of our lives? Benjamin Moore thinks so. They presented these ideas at Wednesday’s Color Pulse for 2012. Their forecast is directed at Designers and Architects. But I thought everyone would be interested in reading about their thoughts.
Their overall theme was Balance, translated into four distinctive influencers: Farm, Order, Escape and Tribes. Benjamin Moore’s forecaster, Andrea Magno painted the picture for us.
Farmville
No doubt, last year’s economic crisis has affected all of us. While not stating this overtly, the link is obvious. Benjamin Moore believes our fears will translate into greater importance being placed on hearth and home with both at least one foot planted firmly in reality.
Earthy browns form the backdrop for milky whites and pale, buttery yellows. Hay and terra cotta mix with “varietals” such as aubergine, pumpkin, tomato and, of course, green. Tints are baked in the warm sunshine.
Beyond pure color, life on the farm includes fabrics suggesting the handmade. We‚Äôll see macram?©, irregular knits, and burlap. Tea-stained effects, tie-dyes and hand-stenciled patterns all suggest a desire to appreciate the simple things in life. Luxury is out.
Order
From the chaos of last year, comes a desire for a sense of order. Benjamin Moore interprets this as a return to basic primary colors applied to a monochromatic scale of blacks, grays and whites. That means lots of red with black. Blue, yellow, green – even pink are paired with grays. No more neon.
Patterns are geometric. Rectilinear shapes, circles and triangles are stacked and molded into larger shapes. Clean lines are the order of the day.
Escape comes after the jump.
Escape
But a girl has to dream, right? Benjamin Moore sees a feminine Mad Men world where “things aren’t what they seem.” Our dreams are filled with optimism and hope.
This means pearlescent and shimmery finishes applied to pastels paired with a ground color. We’ll see rosy pinks with carbon, lavender with brown, and pale green with camel.
Dreams are wispy, and so are fabrics. Benjamin Moore predicts feminine fabrics that are soft, sheer and draped.
Tribe
As we return to the simpler things in life, so too we’ll place more importance on our communities, or “tribes”.
The bold colors of the Masai and Native Americans are the order of the day. Rich berry tones, fire orange, saffron and cinnamon are paired with brown, bronze (a major metallic), and charcoal.
Tortoise shell is a new texture. Beaded elements, the human body and community-themed stencils find a place in the tribal world of 2011.
This is Benjamin Moore’s forecast of things to come. Do you like what the weatherman is saying? I have my own opinion, which I share next week. What’s yours?
2 Responses to “Balance: Benjamin Moore’s Color Forecast for 2011”
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Posted by Tie dye shirts on June 21st, 2011 at 9:47 am
We’re seeing the tie dye theme really comeback with interior design so much that people are asking us for our designs for inspiration. Kind of crazy, but subtle tie dye inclusions in designs seems quite popular.
It’s certainly interesting and I do love the colors. Design Hole is referenced on my Thistle Cove Farm blog. I was doing some research on colors and came across the B. Moore information as well as yours. Like yours better -smile-.