Colour Trends

What’s hot? The latest colour trends

The Colour Marketing Group conference was held in Baltimore the first week in May – and I have the goods on the latest colour trends you can expect now and into the future, and boy, do you want colour, colour, colour!

Purples are being hailed as the big story, and into 2007 they will explode.  All shades are hot right across the empire, and you can see the first wave of this trend in décor magazines featuring high-end silk upholstery fabrics in mauves mixed with straw yellow.

You are also really liking red right now. Most people tend to shy away from strong colours, especially in paint, but red is a bold colour you feel safe with. Our global village - Latin and Asian influences, and the Beijing Olympics are all partly responsible - in Russia, red is considered a neutral! Pinks are moving brighter and towards coral (just visit a high end department store to see what I mean).

Orange is expected to overtake red in 2007. It’s the colour of optimism, and it’s in because you’re feeling good.  Shades are deepening as they’re influenced by brown and metallic copper tones. As with red, orange is sliding towards coral, while terra cotta shades are coming on strong.

Yellow is North America’s neutral - 75% of us have at least one yellow room! The fashion pendulum is also swinging again; the gold of the eighties is coming back. You heard me right – metallic gold is in!

Yellow-influenced green continues to be popular as it offers an oasis in our busy lives, thanks to its strong association with nature. Greens will be moving in all directions, softer to brighter to more blue tones.

Blue has the most diverse personality, from the blue greens that pair well with browns, to yellow-green, cobalt and turquoise shades. Our search for relaxation and a spa-like feel will draw us to blues that are lighter.

The lighter neutrals of the past are shifting to warmer, darker, more saturated colours to balance the up-and-coming bold colours. Neutrals come to life when combined with a metallic or textured finish for added richness. We can see this in high-end appliances, where the new stainless is called carbon a stainless steel which has a teal cast to it.

Brown is not down, but on a diet… shifting form mocha and chocolate to more earthen and mineral tones. It’s still being hailed as the new black and the ultimate neutral.

So there you have it, the latest spin from our wheel of colour trends at the Colour Marketing Group!