A Pleasing Palette
Today’s trendiest colors strike a harmonious balance.
Color prognosticator Leatrice Eiseman has been forecasting color trends for years, and her predictions have a powerful ripple effect on consumer products ranging from sweaters to sofas. She’s the one who made emerald green the “it” color of 2013, and tangerine the must-have hue for 2012. For spring 2014, she’s feeling blue—Dazzling Blue, to be exact. Dubbing this spring “a season of colorful equilibrium,” Eiseman, the executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, balances this bold blue hue with warm red, orange and gold, and a range of softer colors, including pale shades of blue, lavender, green and gray. It’s a challenging palette, but one that can yield eye-pleasing and dramatic results when used well. We asked local design experts for tips on how to refresh our interiors with these hues. Here’s what they had to say.
GETTING THE BLUES
Grant Gribble of Gribble Interior Group in College Park chose the color palette for his College Park bedroom well before Eiseman announced the spring 2014 hues. Gribble used bold blue accented with red, orange and gold shades that closely mirror Pantone’s Dazzling Blue, Cayenne, Celosia Orange and Freesia. “I think the blue is soothing and the yellow counteracts that so your moods balance out,” says Gribble of the wall and ceiling colors he selected. The spectrum is powerful and refreshing, and dramatically illustrates how well these hues work together. “I never shy away from color,” says Gribble. “Neutral palettes are great in the right place, but color makes me smile.”
SEEING GREEN
Hemlock is a soothing green shade that’s on trend according to Pantone’s spring picks, and Anne Rue of Anne Rue Interiors in Lake Mary says it’s an ideal hue to use in a master bath. “I think a bathroom should always have a feeling of tranquility, and there’s something about tropical greens and blues that gush relaxation,” she says. “Add some contrast with crisp black cabinetry or refreshing whites.”
SPICING IT UP
Pantone’s understated Sand and saucy Cayenne shades are beautiful and complementary, as shown in this living area by Anne Rue Interiors. “What I love most about this room is that the mix of these colors and prints translates year-round,” says Rue. “You can get this timeless look by mixing fun prints like the ikat draperies and white linen sofa with heavier fabrics like the velvet Cayenne armchairs and a wool tribal rug.”
MAKING A STATEMENT
Dazzling Blue “is a brighter, more energetic version of navy. This blue, when used in a room, will really wake up everything else around it,” says Jose Cabrera of CL Studio in Winter Park. “Be brave—use Dazzling Blue on a wall and balance it with Pantone’s other new palette colors in fabrics, accessories and lighting.”
Or, take a more cautious approach by bringing in blue accessories. “Trends are great as they allow us to not let our spaces get stale,” says Grant Gribble. “But I would make sure you utilize colors that you can live with for a while.”
His suggestion? Tap into color trends with paint. “Paint is cheap; fabrics and furnishings often aren’t.” Considering that it’ll cost you only a few hours of time and the price of a gallon or two of paint, it’s well worth the energy and expense to experiment with the latest color trends to keep your interior au courant.
GOING GRAY
Gray, like Pantone’s on-trend Paloma shade, is one of those neutrals that’s not only timeless, but also complements a variety of styles. As this cool, calm and collected bedroom illustrates, Troy Beasley and Stephanie Henley of Winter Park’s Beasley and Henley Interior Design are masters at combining eras. When working with this color, “blend classic and modern design,” advises Henley. “The clean lines of the nightstands and headboard work beautifully with the classic urn bedside lamps and traditionally inspired trellis-patterned area rug.”
