Interior Color Trends & Forecast
More than ever paint companies must serve a diverse palette of color options.
BY TIM WRIGHT
EDITOR
Every year color experts at paint companies develop color trend forecasts for
consumers and industry. There are
many variables that affect the
direction of design and color.
Trends develop over the course of
time. Demographics, changing consumer desires, social and economic
changes and technology all converge, or come together, to influence color themes.
When it comes to designing interior living spaces color is arguably the
most important aspect of an interior
design scheme. It helps coordinate all
of the design elements together to
create one mood that is trying to be
captured in a particular space.
Nothing changes a room faster
than color. Especially during hard
economic times with an unhealthy
housing market. Regardless of the
purpose, a fresh coat of paint remains
one of the most economical ways to
change our living environments.
What does color mean to you
as a color design professional
and to consumers?
Debbie Zimmer, director of communications and alliances, Paint Quality
Institute (PQI), Dow Coating Materials:
Color can be a catalyst for change or a
backdrop. By simply changing a room’s
hue, the mood of the space can be
altered. Consumers either embrace
Photo: Resene
color change or are fearful of it. They
need to be reassured that their choice
will work in their space. This applies to
both those that change hues often and
those that may change color with the
change of the decade.
Mary Lawlor, color stylist for Kelly-Moore
Paints: Color is very dynamic. It is essential in our lives and does more than just
beautify. Marketers have tapped into the
power of color to sell their products and
services. The consumer can be manipulated into buying products when marketers team known color appeal with
demographics. Consumers look at color
as a representation of who they are. They
will have little difficulty selecting a color
for their cell phone case, a relatively low
cost item, but when tasked with selecting
a color to paint their home, they experience great fear. They fear making a mis-
