Greetings,
Welcome back to Matters of Style, a periodic newsletter from To a T Interiors. Winter is a great time to change up your decor, and paint is considered the easiest and least expensive way to make an impact. In this edition, we explore the staying power behind the proclaimed "Colors of the Year", plus offer tips for choosing the right paint colors for your home. Happy Decorating! |
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Colors of the Year: Are They Marketing Trends or Here to Stay?
|  If you pay attention to fashion and decorating trends, you've surely seen all the pronounce- ments about the 2015 colors of the year. Pantone was the first to proclaim them and now everyone has jumped on the bandwagon to promote their colors: whether right or wrong, it is great PR (check out Benjamin Moore's 2015 colors ).
A particular year's forecast begins several years before the final decision is announced. These colors typically influence fashion first and then decor follows. This graphic from Stout fabric correlates the 2015 Pantone colors with a new fabric swatch, so it's a safe bet that the interior design industry is paying attention.  | | The 2014 winner: Radiant Orchid |
Remember this 2014 Color of the Year? Do you think it has gone mainstream yet?
Here is the thing with these trends--they will have an impact on what you see from the interior design industry: in magazines and blogs, on-line and in stores. So even if you don't love a particular year's color palette, it will influence your options if you are shopping for furniture, accessories, rugs, etc. A lot of these bright colors have come in the wake of the gray trend which has had staying power since 2009. The bright colors pop against a neutral gray background or on a neutral gray sofa.
That is what makes trends so easy to follow and, at the same time, so dangerous. It's easy to get caught up in a particular trend and yes, dangerous because you need to make sure the particular trend relates, at a minimum, to what's going on in your room, and possibly, to the rest of your home. The latter is a consideration if you are picking permanent finishes (e.g., kitchen and bath counters/tiles, exterior materials such as brick and stone, or major furnishings such as a sofa).
It's also easy to think that if you love a particular color trend that you should just go with it and you'll be happy. However if you've not budgeted to refurbish an entire room, it's best to start small, perhaps with pillows and other accents. A particular color becomes an accent when its used three times in a room. Changing an accent color is a great way to freshen up a room without having to make a major investment.
But what if you don't want a charcoal sofa or a brightly colored area rug? That just means you may have to spend a bit more time shopping for something to love. Just because you don't see it in a showroom or in a magazine, doesn't mean it's not out there. Custom orders, second-hand shops, Craigslist and on-line shopping are all viable options for finding items that work with your existing furnishings.
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| Choosing the Right Paint Colors for Your Home | Paint may be one of the easiest and least expensive way to makeover a room but picking the right paint color can be a difficult decision. With the tens of thousands of possibilities, made up of shades and tints of every hue, it can be pretty daunting to hone everything down to the perfect color. Consider some of these facts before you decide:
- Orange, yellow and red are warm colors that appear to advance toward you and will make objects appear closer than they are in reality. They can be used to make a room appear more intimate and are often used for accent walls.
 | | Benj Moore's King's Red |
 | | Benj Moore's Damask Yellow |
 | | Benj Moore's Byzantine |
- Violet, blue and green are generally considered cool colors and will do just the opposite. They recede and make it look as if they are further away than they really are. These are good choices in very small rooms, such as bathrooms, where you want the room to appear larger than it is.
 | | Benj Moore's Enchanted |
 | | Benj Moore's Guilford Green |
 | | Benj Moore's Yarmouth Blue |
- Neutrals, which are most often selected for walls, are the trickiest because because their undertones make them the most changeable. Can you tell the difference in the undertones of these three beiges?
 | | Benj Moore's Brandy Cream |
 | | Benj Moore's Monroe Bisque |
 | | Benj Moore's Bleeker Beige |
What to do when you are unsure of the best color to choose?
First, gather all the swatches and samples you wish to consider and bring them home. View them in the lighting conditions of the room, both during the day and at night. This is important because of a phenomenon called "metamerism" meaning: colors appear to "change" depending on the type of light source they are seen under. If you look at paint chips in a showroom lit by cool fluorescent lights, and you bring the samples home and view them under warm LED lights, you may find the colors look different. Colors most likely to have a metameric problem are: tan, gray, taupe, lilac, mauve, blue/gray and celadon.
And it's not impacted just by the type of lighting. Other factors that will influence colors are: the time of day (morning, noon, late afternoon); the direction of natural light (north, south, east, west); the weather and season (summer, sunny, winter, overcast, rainy, snowy). Reflected light, say from large colored surfaces such as walls, ceilings, and floors can also change the way a color looks. Don't forget to also check the samples against the fabrics and other furnishings in the room.
Frustrated by the small size of your sample chips and not sure how it will look covering an entire wall? We can order 9 "x 7" paper samples in any Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams color for you. Then you'll have larger samples to tape on the wall and decide which you like best in the various lighting conditions of the room.
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As always, if you need help making your home the inviting, comfortable space you envision, call To a T Interiors. We can help you select the perfect paint color, find solutions to corral the clutter that accumulates for busy families or redesign your living spaces to enhance the beauty and function for the whole family.
Susan
Susan Keifer
301-467-3563
www.toatinteriors.com
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