Tag: Color of the Year

September 29, 2016

Paint Companies are Rolling Out their 2017 Colors of the Year

Photo Credit: HomeSpot HQ. Click image to view source.

It’s a colorful time of year in the design world as the paint companies begin announcing their picks for 2017 Color of the year. While the long-awaited, Pantone Color of the Year won’t be announced until December, we already have three new hues to contemplate for our future design needs. Here’s a look at them.

Sherwin Williams – Poised Taupe

“It’s like gray and brown had a baby, and it became taupe.”

That’s how Sue Wadden, the director of color marketing for Sherwin-Williams, described the color on the Today Show. That’s a good description because taupe is not hot or cold, gray or brown, dark or light. It lives somewhere in the middle ground between brown and gray.

Cool gray took the design world by storm a few years ago and has remained strong, but now that hue is ready for a refresh to steer design schemes away from feeling too cold and industrial. Poised Taupe has what people love about cool gray, but it also brings in the warmth of brown.

According to Sherwin Williams:

“Poised Taupe creates a cozy lifestyle and brings a sense of sanctuary into our homes. It diffuses the stresses of the world outside our doors — so much so that we feel restored and in balance when we walk across our threshold.”

This feeling of coziness is what the Danes call hygge (pronounced hue-gah), explains Sherwin Williams. And this feeling comes from creating the right atmosphere. Poised Taupe is the color to do this, according to the company.

It’s predicted that the shift to warmer colors will reach also commercial spaces in 2017. Because commercial color trends tend to move in more conservative color cycles than residential or designer directions, “Poised Taupe is on the forefront of this trend, offering the ability to endure over time, yet complement a wide range of designs,” says Wadden.

Olympic—Cloudberry

“Cloudberry conveys retreat from the pressures of daily life, encouraging meditation and mindfulness, inspiring more focus and less stress…”

2017 will be the year of JOMO, or the “joy of missing out,” according to the OLYMPIC Paints & Stains brand of PPG. Olympic chose Cloudberry as its standout color for next year, a soft violet which reflects society’s urge to find a space apart from constant connectivity. Cloudberry is a serene and calm light purple hue that should make just about any room a sanctuary. The hue is meant to create a space for solace from the bustle of the day to day grind. PPG senior color marketing manager, Dee Schlotter, stated in a press release:

“Home décor trends for 2017 are reflecting society’s urge to find a space apart from constant connectedness, and to create balance by establishing our homes.”

Pair Cloudberry with classic neutrals – grays, whites, and blacks. It’s also an ideal partner to gray-greens and gray-blues.

Glidden – Byzantine Blue

“The name may say blue, but Byzantine Blue is truly a purple in disguise.”

This serene gray violet blue is uniquely versatile with its ability to bring out certain hues based on its surroundings. Glidden’s design experts say Byzantine Blue appears more gray when paired with dark neutrals, and more bluish-purple when partnered with whites. According to Misty Yeomans, PPG color marketing manager, Glidden:

“It stretches the boundaries of purple to borrow all the best qualities of blue and gray, making it an appealing color choice for nearly any room…Byzantine Blue is a perfect shade for all ages. It is also gender-neutral, making it easy to use throughout your home.”

This purple works particularly well with earthy colors that promote a sense of tranquility and wellness, from brown-toned neutrals to charcoal and blues and greens infused with gray.

Gio brings you only the finest commercial grade products, hand-picked from global sources based on our focused knowledge of what you need to to transform commercial spaces. Contact us anytime – we’re here to work with you!

December 7, 2015

GIO Looks at Pantone’s 2016 Color(s) of the Year, Rose Quartz & Serenity

For the first time ever, color authority Pantone has announced not one, but two colors of the year to reign supreme in 2016. Every year since 2000, the world’s arbiters of color have selected a singular color to celebrate. Last year’s pick was warm and earthy Marsala (Pantone 18-1438), and the year before that it was the flowery Radiant Orchid (Pantone 18-3224).

The two colors chosen as THE color of the year for 2016, Rose Quartz (Pantone 13-1520), a soft pink, and Serenity (Pantone 15-3919), a muted blue, are so often seen together that they are a natural pairing.

While these gentle shades were chosen in tandem to convey calming warmth and tranquility, “welcoming colors that psychologically fulfill our yearning for reassurance and security,” the hues are also a nod to gender equality and gender fluidity. Pantone states that the prevalent combination of Rose Quartz and Serenity challenges traditional perceptions of color association. Pantone explained in a press release,

“Globally, we are experiencing gender blur as it relates to fashion, which has in turn impacted color trends throughout all other areas of design.This more unilateral approach to color is coinciding with societal movements toward gender equality and fluidity, the consumers’ increased comfort with using color as a form of expression, and an open exchange of digital information that has opened our eyes to different approaches to color usage that challenge traditional color associations.”

Pantone views the Color of the Year as a snapshot of what we see taking place in our culture, serving as an expression of a mood and an attitude. And while strong bold colors and geometrics have been popular the last few years, people are beginning to move away from them. This move toward softer colors could reflect a yearning for comfort and innocence, as well as a soothing sense of order and peace.

GIO is your gateway to beautifully designed, strategically selected collections of floor and wall tile sure to fit your demanding specification requirements and unique style. We look forward to working with you!

December 11, 2014

Pantone’s 2015 Color of the Year is Warm and Earthy Marsala

Since 1990, the Pantone Color Institute has annually decreed a Color of the Year, forecasting a specific hue that designers, product makers, and–ultimately–consumers will be using, wearing and buying for the next twelve months. Based on the announcement for 2015, Pantone has pronounced Marsala the “it” color of the coming year.

Described by Pantone as a “naturally robust wine red,” Marsala is in stark contrast to last year’s vivid Radiant Orchid. Unlike the 2014 Color of the year, with it’s “enchanting harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones,” the red-brown hue of Marsala has a dusky, earthy quality that’s warm and welcoming, yet elegant and sophisticated, too.

What inspires Pantone when choosing a color of the year? Leatrice Eiseman, executive director at Pantone, explains it’s not as simple as noting what’s hot on the runways or which makeup is selling, “It has to resonate around the world, to express in color what is taking place in the global zeitgeist.”

Marsala’s role in expressing the spirit of the times, according to Eisman, is to enrich “our mind, body and soul, exuding confidence and stability. Marsala is a subtly seductive shade, one that draws us into its embracing warmth. ”

Like the fortified wine that is its namesake, the 2015 color of the year is described by Pantone as a “tasteful hue embodies the satisfying richness of a fulfilling meal, while its grounding red-brown roots emanate a sophisticated, natural earthiness.”

Marsala is universally appealing and very adaptable with complex undertones that give it a chameleon-like quality to convey different looks: use a matte finish to emphasize the earthy nature of the color, or add sheen to create an sense of glamour and luxury. Marsala becomes rich and plush when used on textured surfaces, making it a good choice for rugs and upholstered pieces.

Whether Marsala is used on flat or textured surfaces, and regardless of the finish, the hue pairs dramatically with neutrals, including warmer taupes and grays and “because of its burnished undertones,” states Eiseman, “sultry Marsala is highly compatible with amber, umber and golden yellows, greens in both turquoise and teal, and blues in the more vibrant range.” Click here to view Pantone’s color pairings for Marsala.

Marsala was seen on the spring runways and is already showing up at the cosmetic counter. With its warmth, earthiness and richness, Marsala may well have a broad appeal that will make it a go-to in residential and commercial interiors in the months to come.