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Interior Trend Forecast For 2010 by Margi Kyle

By Margi Kyle, IDS, ASID, WCAA, WFCP, DCI

An understanding of consumer mindset and emotions can shed light on the colours, textures and materials that will be hot for next year. Interior space is changing too and furniture designers must be able to bring the garden to the rooftop, and the view outside indoors.

To know where we are going with colour, we have to know where we have been. As a member of CMG, Colour Marketing Group, we forecast colour twice a year for both the consumer and contract markets. Some of the workshops are:

• Home
• Consumer goods
• Transportation
• Visual communication
• Hospitality
• Transportation
• Health care

We are always two years ahead and bring to the workshop, at least six new colours with trends that back up the colours and feelings of the world, two years from today. Not an easy task but a colourful one. Let’s look at where colour has been and then where it is going.

• 2004 Turquoise brought balance between mind and body.
• 2005 Orange symbolised vitality, optimism and mental well-being.
• 2006 Yellow/Green brought a strong ecological and natural feeling.
• 2007 Pink brought contemporary design urbanism.
• 2008 Yellow brought respect for the past and optimism for the future.
• 2009 Grey will ground all colours to accent nature. It is natural and brings stability.
• 2010 Blackened Purple Brings a regal downsizing, smart sizing and a better life under depressed times. HOPE!

Let’s look at what hype and trend is and why we need to know them.

Hype is something that emerges suddenly and takes a group of people by storm. It dissipates as fast as it comes.
Trends are drifts, inclinations and movements in a prevailing direction. We are seeing trends lasting far longer than before and a major influence in colour.

As both a designer and consumer, it is important to understand the trends and colours they bring. Almost all manufacturers follow the colour forecast so they can produce products that will work during that period of time with all the other products. Colours are also forecasted in colour combinations, showing the manufacturers how to use them.

So what do you do if you don’t like the forecast colours? Don’t use them! When a client wants to know the up and coming colours and perhaps use a few of them in their space, the best way is through accessories. Such as: Pillows, towels, silk flowers, pictures, dishware and other small colour statements. The best way to follow a colour direction is to look to fashion first and then it moves to home furnishings.

So let’s look at some of the things that are driving the market: No. 1, the economy. I would like to introduce you to www.Trendcurve.com. Michelle Lamb is the editor and owner of trendcurve.com and travels the world studying the trends and the colours that they carry.

What sells according to Michelle:

• New colours
• Odd shapes
• New line and texture
• Multi-tasking furnishings
• Humanising of dogs and cats
• Classics with a new update or twist
• Colours that convey a message (Healing Colours)

As executive director for www.wemakecoloureasy.com, The Dewey Colour System, we have incorporated many healing colour palettes that heal many problems. An example of one:

Accomplish your goals. In the Dewey Colour System, yellow represents ‘Know It’. Blue denotes ‘Dream It’. And Red means ‘Express It’. Using all these three colours will help you accomplish your goals. In our system, we have vibrant tones, white tones, brown tones and black tones. All four colour-tones will work if you are having problems getting things done. There are colour combinations for helping you relate better to others, stimulate directive actions, believe in your potential, nurture your life, appreciate your accomplishments, initiate passionate fun, etc.

During these tough times it is important that we feel good at home and colour will accomplish that. Let’s look at what all the colours mean in the Dewey Colour System.

A really hot colour combination is lime green and brown. For their colour meanings ‘Question It’ and ‘Realise It’ are really where we are today. We are still questioning the war, economy and what we have lost. We need to realise we have to change our lifestyle and start living in much different and smarter ways.

A look at Sherwin Williams and how they are viewing colour from a webinar on Colour TrTrends with Christie Delciotto and Jackie Jordan.

The first category is Refreshed: We are all re-evaluating our priorities, needs and wants. What do we value most? We are in a time of reflection. We are re-discovering ourselves in new and very different ways to survive. What are the meaning and purpose in life and what is our inspiration? A lost society needs to find its passion again. As for colours, the forecast goes back to the 70’s to jewel tones, tie-dyed, Jackie O, exciting colour. Violet, regal and on the red side. Fresh green, a true green without a yellow influence. Lemonade yellow, coral and brilliant blues lead the way for this exciting category. Combine stripes and dots and you are ‘in’.

The next category is Rooted: Returning to the safety of our tribe. Looking at South Africa, where the football World Cup will be played, we look at the tribal colours of purple, teal and brown. ‘Think It’; ‘Believe It’ and ‘Realise It’ are the meanings of these colours. This tribal theme brings a surge of trade beads, love beads and tribal beads. Notice how hot they are in fashion. Flowers, feathers, twigs and animal tusks are used in fashion and home furnishings. Lace becomes stiff and we are in an anything goes era of our lives. We want individualism; we want to go back to our roots.

Simplified is the category of less is more and the return of form following function. We lost that design element for a short time. The ‘McMansions’ are on the way out and the return of the ranch style home is in.

We want a sophisticated, translucent and transparent look in design. We want to know what we are getting and how it is made. We want value for what we are buying. A relaxed feeling that creates a romantic feeling, the return of feminism, we are tired of gender blurring. We need to be who we are and proud of it.

The hottest fabric is felt. It is organic and stainable design where we need to be. Do you remember macramé? It is hot again. We are all uptight and in knots.

Colours would be in the muted shades of lots of whites, light blue greys and a light green grey tone. Remember: Less is truly more.

The last category is Treasured: We are no longer a Throw-Away Society. We are shopping at flea markets, buying used stuff, recycling and X-shopaholic’s! We want to see the flaws, re-purposing our treasures. Mixing woods with acrylics; rough with smooth finishes to create interest. We want to reclaim our cultures, we are proud of who we are and where we came from. We want warm and fuzzy and not stuffy. The kitchen is the greatest room in our home.

The colours that fill this look are faded and aged colours of: Patina green, hazy blue, muted coral, rusty brown and a very chameleon yellow that goes from yellow to green.

Other trends that we are watching: Urbanism: We return to the city not only to work in but also live in. We are tired of rushing to wait, that slow moving parking lot, only to rush home to turn on our computer to do more work. We want time for gardening, cooking, entertaining and so much more. Our gardens are moving to the rooftops, while we relax in our new recycled beanbag chair. We can’t afford all the furniture at once, so we will draw it on the floor until it comes. We don’t have a view from our home, so we will paint it on the fence, building or outside our houses. We are renting hotel rooms that are made out of cinder blocks and dining in the dark. We are truly rethinking, reducing, reusing and recycling our lives. And isn’t it time?

About The Author

Margi Kyle has over 40 years experience in both residential and commercial Design. She enjoys working with clients, teaching designers, working as a consultant, and reaching out to the public via her television appearances as well as newspaper and magazine articles.

Kyle’s credentials include professional level of ASID (American Society of Interior Designers), IDS (Interior Design Society), WCAA (Window Coverings Association of America), WFCP (Window Fashions Certified Professional) and CMG (Colour Marketing Group). She is the VP of WCAA and is an active member on the executive board for IDS.

Kyle received her Masters in Interior Design and is the Executive Director for We Make Colour Easy - The Dewey Colour System.