Colour Forecast for 2019
The forecast colors of the year for 2019 have all been introduced and, while I said I wasn’t going to do this, here is my take on the whole thing.
Once again, in my humble opinion, Pantone has chosen a color (Living Coral — a bright, clean mid-toned coral) which I doubt will catch on, or take the decor world by storm. I have never seen it used in a home, and probably never will.
Benjamin Moore chose a cool gray. (Metropolitan). Which is interesting because the gray trend is at the very end of the trend 10-year cycle.
Behr chose ‘Blueprint’ which is the color of the ink on a blueprint. — a dusky, mid-toned blue.
Sherwin Williams voted for Cavern Clay:
Natural colors and textures are the trends right now, and most of the forecasts are of muted colors which can work with the jewel tones of navy and green — colors also making statements this year. And wood? Keep it light and natural finished.
Furniture colors follow along these paint colors, but the main change we see is the suggestion that furniture and wall color should be similar. It’s called ‘colour on colour.’ The aesthetic for the year is ‘Comfort,’ and comfort means ease, it means nothing jarring or loud, it means soft transitions and easy landings. Which is what lack of contrast is all about.
A white sofa on a dark blue wall is not as peaceful as a dark blue sofa against that wall. The whole scenario will feel calmer, and the area will appear larger.
This room could be overwhelmingly busy if the sofa was another colour.
So it isn’t any surprise that this colour on colour idea is everywhere.
Lack of contrast… comfort.. less furniture, but each piece is functional. So the sofas are softly tufted and may have a curved (convex) front edge. Rolled arms, good padding — hallmarks of comfort. And the coffee table sits on a beautiful area rug in soothing, tone on tone colors. And that coffee table will probably be acrylic or at the very least glass-topped. Takes up less visual space.
So having said all this, what do YOU do in your home to make it appear colour current? Well, whatever you want. Keep it simple, use the best you can afford, make it all easy and comfortable, and make sure you love every single thing in your home.
It’s a good time to remind ourselves what William Morris said in 1880, “You should not have anything in your home which you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
