Sherwin-Williams 2007 Color Trends Forecast
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Content, photos, and color swatches courtesy of Sherwin-Williams.
"As technology continues to throw open windows to other worlds, we've become eager recipients, but also oversaturated audiences," says Sheri Thompson, director of color marketing and design for Sherwin-Williams. As a result, color trends for 2007 indicate a yin-yang polarity as we attempt to assimilate the constant flow of information, yet still maintain our uniquely personal place in the universe.
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Collection I: Balanced Living
“As the expression goes, we're thinking globally, but acting locally," says Thompson, who points to an increased interest in botanical-inspired decorating motifs, grass cloth wall coverings, woven leather accents and furnishings made from reclaimed materials. And while the inspiration is green, the colors in this trend reflect a spectrum of environmentally influenced shades, from deepest blue to washed aqua,
offset by bronzed gold, plum and sun-warmed yellow.
Collection II: Sultry Origins
Walk through any department store and you'll see the effects of technology's ability to show us clothing designs from other countries -- and make them available to us. "The beaded and batik looks that filled the runways two years ago have been mass-reproduced and are now filling racks and shelves in stores across the nation," says Thompson.
The second trend for 2007 -- Sultry Origins -- highlights how we're importing indigenous decor elements such as Eastern European folk art, Asian lacquer finishes and African carved woods into our surroundings and complementing them with deep wine, ginger, leathery brown and brassy colors.
Collection III: Understated Elegance
“Improved supply chain technologies are making once-high-end finishes such as granite, travertine marble and polished metals available to more modest budgets," says Thompson. "And those finishes are further enhanced with sumptuous textiles that include cut velvet, rich tweeds and luminescent weaves."
Understated Elegance, the third category for 2007, hallmarks the juxtaposition of clean straight lines and highly textured finishes, of contemporary furnishings and rich upholstery, and of tailored details and complex neutral hues. Colors in this category lean toward assertive but urban-cool tones of rice, greige, stone, ivory and java.
Collection IV: Virtual Remix
A marriage of yesterday and today, this fourth category relies on technology to connect the community culture of past decades with present-day attitudes and outlooks. Colors from the past seeping into contemporary decor include shades of orchid, black, deep coral and watery aqua.
Collection V: Kinetic Contrast
There's a crisp sharpness in both color and design that echoes how technology has trained our eyes to see, explains Thompson. "And this category reflects the influence," she says. Vibrant shades of green, blue and red against backdrops of deepest black and brightest white are commonplace on computer monitors and plasma televisions, so it follows that we're infusing our fashion and home decor designs with that same energetic appeal.
High contrast is the foundation for this fifth collection for 2007. Assertive shades of blue, gold, red and green play off the point-counterpoint relationship of black and white, creating a palette that vibrates with life.
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