Neutral territory

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, June 7, 2006

C olors trends for home decorating, just like those in runway fashion, seem to be shifting at every moment.

Once you’ve settled on your hip new color scheme, another one comes along, making your bedroom, dining room, egad, even your living room seem ever so slightly out of date, and all because of … what?

Pop culture, celebrities, films, TV, fashion, social trends and even international instability all play a role in the variable combinations and intensity of colors in the retail world, said Bainbridge Island-based color expert Leatrice Eiseman, who spoke recently at the Seattle Design Center on colors for 2007.

“Shrek,” with two blockbuster editions out so far, made neon green popular during the past few years. Pink, once reserved for little girls and their precious princess outfits, now has stronger associations with the breast-cancer awareness movement. White, meanwhile, is a color that has resurfaced repeatedly during America’s most tumultuous times, including now.

“Color is taking on different meanings than it used to have,” Eiseman said. “The influence of color is so important.”

Not only does color significantly influence our sense of energy or well-being in the home, but it also serves in the retail world as a sort of subliminal “silent salesman,” urging us to buy more goods.

Photo Gallery Brown has been hot in home decor during the past few years and the tre… [ view gallery ]

Color is so important in sales, in fact, that designers and manufacturers have come to rely on color forecasts from various agencies to produce appealing goods every year.

Eiseman, who is the executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, is a leading color researcher and forecaster. She consistently keeps her finger on evolving palettes and influences in markets around the world.

Her Pantone View Home forecast for 2007, released earlier this year, is geared toward home furnishings trendsetters.

What does Eiseman’s crystal ball tell us?

“There is no one hot color,” Eiseman told a group of designers and consumers at the Seattle Design Center’s first public seminar series in May. “You don’t reinvent the color wheel every year.”

What’s more important in the year-to-year evolution of color is how the colors are played in pairings and palettes for a dramatic overall effect.

Eiseman’s home forecast, available for viewing online or for purchase in book form, includes eight palettes: Simply Elegant, Classic Chic, Lumens, Melange, Aux Naturale, Grass Roots, Fresh Air and Light Touch.

Each theme illustrates a mood or concept and features about nine colors each, 72 colors in all.

Of course, you can’t redo your entire home every year. You can, however, make smaller changes with accessories and accents.

“It’s not about the one hot color that everybody is force fed and that you have to have,” she said. “It’s walking into the den and looking around and saying, ‘I love this room, but it really needs a little adrenaline. It needs some excitement.’”

Why change things at all?

Eiseman says we need stimulation and change now and then.

“Research shows that humans are attracted by novelty,” she said. “And novelty can be provided, definitely, through color.”

Reporter Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037 or sjackson@heraldnet.com.

Get down with brown: Though brown has been huge for the past few years, Leatrice Eiseman said consumers can stick with it for at least one more. “Brown is definitely an ongoing influence,” she said. “It is not going away.” Gourmet coffee and high-end chocolates have turned brown from a provincial hue to a “city” color and most of the palettes in the forecast feature some form of chocolate, beige or mocha.

Go gray: Men’s fashion is driving this 2007 trend, Eiseman said, adding that some colors trends are purely cyclical and now it’s gray’s turn. Five of the eight palettes feature gray, nature’s “most perfect neutral” and an ideal foil to brighter hues.

Something shiny: Expect to see a continuation of pearlescent finishes, sparkling crystals, sheer silks and a mixing of metals. Keep an eye out for silvery blues and elegant purples as well as touches of deep bronze, pale gold and copper. You’ll also see iridescent hues laid over vibrant greens, pinks and blues.

Hot meets cool: While combinations of reds, oranges, hot pinks are big this year, you can expect to see the addition of cooling, balancing blues for contrast and excitement in next year’s goods. “Introduction of a cool tone is key,” Eiseman said.

Back to nature: Two of Eiseman’s 2007 palettes rely heavily on muted, more “organic” colors as well as a heavy use of neutrals. Creamy whites, sandy beiges and mellow browns mix with denim blues, lily pad greens and shaded roses in one, while wood and terra cotta tones mix with grape, rose and mineral blue in another.

Pastels: There will always be people who yearn for the precious and nurturing feeling only pastels can deliver. In 2007, look for new combinations of pastels injected with gray for a more sophisticated appeal.

Plastic: Polycarbonate is all the rage and it’s not just about Nalgene water bottles anymore. Expect to see increasingly more accessories and furniture in clear, colored and decorated plastic.

Sarah Jackson