I’m in Palm Springs at the Westin Mission Hills Resort. Years ago when I actually was a Sales Manager at Westin Hotels in Vancouver I wanted to stay here, and through The annual colour forecasting conference, I’m finally here.
Terreeia’s with me. Funny, she’s never wanted to go to one of my conferences before, but one day last month, I’m walking by her office in the house and she says “Have you booked your flight yet?”.
Nope.
“Why don’t I come with you?”
Hmmm. . . Palm Springs. . . November. Kind of a no brainer.
So she’s golfing while I’m sitting in a dark ballroom, haha.
Here’s the homework for tomorrows meetings.
Take the top 3 colours from 2011 that were forecasted. Tell us how they were used in your industry and what colours they were paired with. How successful were they?
So here’s the ones I chose:
Blue grey is definitely hot. It serves as a background with other colours. I mentioned this colour in a post I wrote back in April.
I’m talking about this green because I just love it and want it to be super hot but in actual fact, it’s still hard to find designer fabrics in kelly greens, it seems to only be available in higher end lines even though this has been a hot colour for a few years now.
This cognac colour is EVERYWHERE this fall in furniture and fashion so this prediction was very accurate in my opinion. One of the first posts I ever wrote was about leather furniture and which colour was the most timeless 5 years ago and this was it.
Over to you my lovelies, after all, you are where we get colour trends from! It’s what you’re currently buying that wins and has some colours die and some live on and on.
What colours are you decorating with right now?
Related posts:
When to Buy Leather Furniture
The Three Best Colours for your Leather Sofa
Here’s How Colour Trend Forecasting Works
If you would like your home to fill you with happiness every time you walk up to the front door, become a client. On-line or In-person.
Download my eBook, How to Choose Paint Colours – It’s All in the Undertones to get my complete step-by-step system on how to get colour to do what you want.
To make sure the undertones in your home are right, get some large samples!
If you would like to learn how to choose colour with confidence, become a True Colour Expert.Â
Lavender and yellow-green, but I love spring and always use these colors. Not a fan of gray (reminds me too much of dreary cloudy days), and warm colors (red, orange, yellows) are too “hot” for me, except chocolate brown. I gravitate towards cool colors, which remind me of the outdoors and sunny days.
Maria, this is a challenge. You see there’s the old problem of what the market is producing. It reminds be of the blue jumper scene in The Devil wears Prada, because that is really how it works. I can have a black, white, griege, grey, brown and occasionally red or orange (extreme) leather lounge off the floor of a furniture. Other colours aren’t even in the samples here! So if I’m decorating and in the market for a lounge, it’s more like what is available to me. Frustrating. In fashion some emerald or Kelly green is around, and I’m laughing ‘cos I told the ladies at my work they’d be wearing it and they all poo-pooed the idea. They’d never heard of Pantone, and thought I was stark raving mad with my prediction that they would be wearing Pantone’s colour of the year in their fashion choices.
Hope you and Tereeia are having a wild time.
Loving the grayed out blues this year and am dying to use navy.
xo
navy is a great combo with that grey, great idea!
paper white replaced old luan mahogany paneling. marble replaced old brick on the hearth that I thought I would paint. new insulation replaced the old and the room is cool yet warm. sophisticated yet welcoming. I am waiting on the new rug to be delivered. sofas are white, love them.
love blue cook whites, dark floors, and black, navy, silver, gold and brown sugar.
pve
I am thrilled that Maria choose grey blue! My great room is painted in BM Silver Half Dollar. I love how this colour reads grey at certain times of the day and reads more blue grey at other times. It’s been 3 years and I am still in love!
I have always loved blue gray and cognac colours. For me they are both neutrals. I am a fan of decorating with the colours that I enjoy and would be using these colours regardless. I will however, thoroughly enjoy being on trend with my preferences for as long as it lasts!
Soft,muted colors have always been my favorites. Blues, greens, yellows, corals, or whites, but never bright or too saturated. I was never able to understand the gray trend for paint, but love charcoal gray for upholstered items. And cognac leather? I drool over it! Reminds me of my days with horses, the color of my saddle. As far as browns go, I use them only for natural wood furnishings or cabinets, but also love painted furniture, again in soft, muted colors or soft whites.
Shades of gray paired with the family of brass (not silver) and accented with colours accordingly. I’ve always been a wallpaper junkie (notice past tense being used) as love colour, pattern and texture thus not being in the design business, my biggest challenge at present is finding the fabrics to pull everything together.
-Brenda-
I’m a ‘white is always right’ kind of gal…with pale neutral walls and bits of color in accessories.
Great “kathi’s” think alike! At Colorstuff Design we encourage grays to be substituted for beiges, lots of white with pops of strong color in things easily changed out. The project we are working on currently is a bungalow in light grays, whites and Kelly greens! Gray is the neutral for “cool” people!!
Interesting that my husband loves that gray — I am adjusting to it, researching a palette. Am taking notes on what everyone here is saying — thank you Maria, for again, bringing important info to us!
Blue & white is always my “trend” so just bought a dark indigo chair & hope to buy a new white couch next. My kitchen is white with marble & white subway tile…love it! Walls are BM glass slipper in the kitchen & white throughout the house except for a soft light blue in 1 bedroom.
My walls are piper brown with Caribbean blue and white accents and a splash of lime green. White cupboards are on cowboy colored wall. This is with beautiful varied tones of maple hardwood. Very stunning! This is small space of kitchen, dining room and front room.
What company did you purchase your paint from and are those the exact color names? Sounds like the look I am going for but am having a hard time finding the right hues. Please share. Thank you!
I just did my foyer in BM Iced Green. I ended up with far too much of it from a previous project. It’s not my favorite color but it fits the coastal look I’m going for. I’m doing my kitchen in BM Pale Moon. Trim and walls in some other rooms are BM Chantilly Lace.
For me it’s all about the beloved painting of aspens in the fall and views of green trees and grass outside every big and bigger dark-framed window. But me that translate into a custom-color beige wall closest to DunnEdwards Jakarta (a soft yellow beige which I’ve grown to love), grey with green undertones and green with yellow undertones (more in the BM Agave range) – for me, no blue grey or kelly green. My bedroom carries the green accents with a paisley spread of orangey red, gold & green and the guest bedroom carries the shade of red with, surprisingly, versions of aqua (from an “antique blue” secretary) (along the lines which you and your sister used). Kitchen is Jakarta for now.
Hope you and Terreeia both have a blast!
We are on the same page (leave out gold and add in brick shades). Am thinking you are in the Rockies with the same setting I am looking at. Your colors have been my go to forever…on a rustic edge at my end. Can I have my terra cotta brick (cognac) couch now? Was heading there even without pantone. Blue/gray does lean towards used jeans to me.
I’m hoping you could clarify please. Are these color trends from 2011 or 2013? They are beautiful, colors that I would consider to be timeless.
These were colours that were forecasted in 2011 for 2013. Maria
Blue Grey is the trend, but I just bought a house in the mountains of Utah and it is waaaay too cold for the light here. The muddy tile color used, and the trim paint, also do not help. About to paint it all, and blue grey will not be used. This color can be really beautiful, but the mountain light emphasizes the coldness of this color and is not inviting at all.
Well I have two blue/gray leather chairs teamed with a Fawn microfiber (same style) loveseat. Walls are painted a blue/green/grey and it’s okay, but have been thinking of re-painting in a warmer contrasting colour such as BM’s ‘Brandy Cream’.
I don’t go with the trends so much, but as I can’t afford high-end furniture I have to buy what is available at the time.
This palette makes me happy.
I made drapes out of this amazing heavy upholstery weight Kelly green and cream large scale damask to go with all my cognac coloured floors and wood (wish it was that leather though!). My mom thought I was cracked. They’ve been up for over 5 years, and while the rest of the decor has shifted endlessly, those curtains still make me smile! Even mom has fallen in love with them.
Blue grey is lovely, but I tried it on the walls and it looked really drab since the light quality leaves something to be desired at my place. I think it works best in really good light.
I just purchase two cognac colored leather chairs and a gray sofa for my own home along with a navy rug. Also love the green in the same way I would use navy. Other colors that I’m drawn to right now, lots of purple, gold metal accents, toned down turquoise and orange. How is that Westin? I’m headed there in January.
I had a decorator come in earlier this year to give me some redecorating tips. The color scheme she chose for me was blue gray, brown and a creamy white with silver accents. I love it! It’s a very relaxing color scheme…and it’s not dreary as I had feared because we have warm brown floors and enough other browns to warm up the gray and white.
Grey, grey & more grey! I’ve always loved grey & am so excited to find it everywhere. In the past, I’ve only been able to find grey in paint and am looking forward to filling my life with as much as I can, while I can. Unfortunately, we purchased a brown sofa five years ago, grey would’ve been a special order from a different manufacture and cost five times as much! There seems to be so much value in choosing the common color.
I’ve currently used teal and turquoise as accent colors, throughout my home and wardrobe which pairs well with beige and grey. I chose BM Quiet Moments for my kitchen and dining a few years ago and a dark teal as an accent color in our master. I still love those rooms.
Navy has been on my mind for awhile too. I used it everywhere sixteen years ago as a newlywed…too much, really. Maybe it’ll make an appearance in an exterior application. At this point, I’m still resisting it. Although it does pair well with grey…
Enjoy Palm Springs!
Maria, what is the blue grey paint that you like best with the cognac? Years ago I used both in a western-style lake home. Loved them and this inspires me to try it again! Thanks
All the grey tones will work with cognac, BM Wickam gray, Stonington Gray, Moonshine, Natural Cream, Revere Pewter, the list goes on. Maria
Thanks, Maria!
In metro NY area, we’re seeing more requests for colors in the pink-purple range – think fushia, raspberry, lilac with greens. Possibly since more mature ladies feel comfortable embarrassing their feminine side at home. Looks beautiful with grey!
Blue grays are beautiful, lighter and less gray, but they dont feel like home.12 years ago, most of our home was painted BM Stone White. After 3 years it was too cool and bland. We went to beiges which I am learning has yellows and oranges undertones. Blues and greens make me feel calm and happy. Will be changing colors again. Ikea had a kelley green/off white stripe outdoor fabric this year. Makes great accent pillows for the beach.
I still love the toned aquas like BM palladian blue or Glass Slipper. Waited many yrs for turquoise and aqua to be in style so not ready to let go yet! Love using pale greens, yellows, sandy tones w aqua. I pulled in some orangey reds w Palladian Blue and lots of cream. I agree that dirty or toned blue grays are too cold unless one is decorating a very sunny space. I think that coral and yellow will be big soon due to gray being the new neutral. Oh, my personal fave for fashion and decor is NAVY BLUE….w white of course and orangey red accents (lipstick/scarf/bag). Navy blue is classic! Betsy O
Another great post Maria. Loved reading what everyone loves and doing. While I love colors, I can tired of them after a while so I do find myself going with softer pastels, some dark ones like Chelsea gray, black and whites and add color. My cabinets are a yellowish cream and soft grey blue walls, I have not tired of it yet, still loving it. maybe some yellow somewhere, pillows perhaps. I’ve often wondered about a couch color, like your beautiful yellow Maria, once I found my favorite color for something like that, but they all look so gorgeous but worry about tiring of it and it’s such a big item. Glad you both got away, and sounds like golfing lessons paid off. lol Its definitely a great hobby to do.
Some shade of green should ALWAYS be on trend!
We built a new house 2 years ago. We ended up going with a brown similar to what you shared, a darker brown for some of our high loft ceilings and a beige/green gray for our main floor. Our gray is warmer and more natural than a blue gray and and goes great with wood floors and natural pine trim. We also choose beige-gray kitchen cabinets in a darker shade which looks great in contrast to the walls. (While we don’t have any shades of purple, our particular gray cabinets look amazing with purples and creamy whites. If I could figure out how to use purple, I would since it looks great with the gray, like KNJ says) When we built, our builder wanted us to choose a golden/beige color for our timber frame great room, he insisted that it would look the best with the wood but I couldn’t bear the thought of another gold (stodgy) great room and held my ground and insisted on the gray against his unrelenting pressure. We ended up with warm grays, browns, and soft white, aged bronze, some satin nickel accents against natural wood floors, posts, beams and trim. The scheme is neutral enough to mix in colors and look fresh and updated. We’ve had many many complements on our colors, even from our builder!
Hello,
I am interested in the source of the photo with the cognac sofa. As a photo stylist, I am careful to cite my sources, especially the photographers. I wish to locate the manufacturer of the leather sofa, specifically.
Thanks,
Emily Kennedy
Click on the image and you’ll get to the source of the image.
Doesn’t work. Sorry. Clicking on the photo leads back to Pinterest. Clicking on it in Pinterest leads back to your blog. Not sure how to find the source now. Do you know the manufacturer? Will try to access your blog without Pinterest and see if that works.
That didn’t work either. It’s a linking problem, I guess. Thanks for any other way to send me to the source. I would appreciate it! Love your blog, by the way!
HI Emily, the source of that image leads to this blog: http://convoy.tumblr.com/page/4.
Maria, I’m sorry, but all I was able to focus on in this post was “palm springs in November!” I’m currently experiencing my first Washington rainforest November, and I now understand what you’ve been talking about all these years!! đ
Hope you had (have) a great time! Glad Terreeia was able to join you.
That bright Kelly green color really is nice. I haven’t used that yet, but it’s cheerful like the yellow you like. I may have to try the brighter colors now that there are gray skies all around! In sunny Colorado I used a lot of blue/green grays, but they just don’t seem to have the same effect here.
Jill
The colors you chose look very familiar! Definitely using the blue grays. Just painted our dining room niche in SW Leapfrog. It’s kelly green-ish – similarly intense and happy – but more natural and very plant-y looking, which works really well in our setting. There are also some natural blues, slightly grayed navy, and lots of white in the mix. Our fifties era trim has deepened over the years to a sort of light cognac-y color – not tempted to paint it out at all. Love the way it looks with white and gray. Warms it up nicely.
I can’t seem to get enough of black and white patterned prints right now! But not in a sharp graphic way. Rather I’m into the more rustic tribal motifs with a slight vintage feel. The whites are more ivory and cream; the blacks are almost blue. Works well with the current greys and charcoals around right now. For a hit of wow I bring in bits of gold and for a surprising cool calm I bring in my favorite neutral, a pale sky blue-green.