Global Consciousness in Color and Design Sets The Tone
For Trends in Home Fashions

From the runways of Paris to the sidewalks of Shanghai, today's home fashions designers are drawing inspiration from all over the globe. Color and design trends have become increasingly international, as savvy consumers eagerly seek the latest styles for home décor.

"The neutralization of color has been happening for a couple of years." --Doty Horn, director of Color and design, Benjamin Moore

"People are looking for colors they can instantly connect with, suit their personal comfort level and excite the imagination," points out Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute and founder of the Eiseman Center for Color Information & Training. "At the same time, there is the practical need to connect to products or settings they already own. As always, it is the introduction of new or renewed themes and colors or unique combinations that will create these essential connections."

Manufacturers are drawing on a wide variety of influences to appeal to today's more educated consumers. "Suppliers are not limiting themselves to following apparel trends," notes Donna Boyle Schwartz, veteran home furnishings editor and vice president of DDS Enterprises. "Global travel, international politics and environmental issues are all having an enormous impact on the color palette, design and construction of home fashions."

Doty Horn, director of color and design for leading paint producer Benjamin Moore, points to "sophisticated and chameleon" color as a d

"The strongest areas of interest throughout our eight color palettes are the purples."--Leatrice Eiseman, executive director, Pantone Color Institute

irection. "There is a nuance of color running underneath another color," she explains. "The neutralization of color has been happening for a couple of years, but the newest fusion of neutrals is in the grey and taupe scale. Black and white are fusing and becoming the wide spectrum of the gray families. And the taupe family is gray plus beige plus a bit of purple influence."

Eiseman points to purple as an important direction, especially paired with neutrals. "The strongest areas of interest throughout our eight color palettes are the purples, including fuchsia and plum tones," she says. "In our Nuances palette, we see unexpected and intriguing combinations, such as rose paired with earthy browns or reddish plums highlighted with a green-tinged bronze."

Purple suffuses Pantone's 2008 "color of the year," Blue Iris. "This is a rich blue with overtones of purple, and we feel it will continue to be strong into '09," Eiseman says.

"Purple hues are especially important as accents," Boyle Schwartz notes. "Suppliers are using shades ranging from pale lilac and lavender to rich tones of plum and aubergine. These purple shades look especially fresh when paired with grays, including dove, pewter, steel and charcoal."

Pantone color palettes are filled with purple hues, including these shades of plum and rose.

Design and style trends reflect a global consciousness, especially in terms of environmentally friendly fashions. "Bamboo and other eco-based alternative materials are driving textiles today," points out Horn. "Carbon footprints drive the need in the fashion area and then trickle into the domestic scene in application...with recycled materials, as well."

"Patterning is making a comeback with botanicals and the outlining of forms and shapes," Horn continues. "Environmental and economic conditions, the influence of nature, and paring down are key to new textures and motifs. Blocks and plaids add structure in an unsure environment. The mixing of florals and geometrics lends a twist to the traditional uses in a space."

Eiseman notes that many traditional design elements are being updated with a modern twist. "The whole idea is a mix of classic, traditional design elements done in a more contemporized way," she says.

Environmentally friendly fashions are making an impact in color, design and construction, according to Boyle Schwartz. "Green is now much more than a color, it's a way of life," she points out. "Consumers are becoming more concerned about their personal impact on the planet, and home textiles suppliers are turning to or

Organic fibers and natural motifs influence both color and design, according to Pantone.

ganic and sustainable fibers in an effort to appeal to this growing environmental consciousness. Fibers derived from wood pulp, corn and bamboo have a wonderfully soft hand and are naturally anti-microbial, making them suitable for a variety of home textiles applications. At the same time, design is turning to ecologically-inspired subjects, including botanical renderings of leaves, ferns, flowers and even coral and sea life."

Horn points to handicrafts as another important style trend. "Hand-worked accents on pillows, bedding, sheers, etc., all add a human touch to our environment...away from the technical part of our lives," she remarks. "The attention to detail reminds us of human crafts long forgotten, and mark a return to 'slow living.'"

Pantone's Agrestic color palette also reflects this trend toward simplicity. "Rooted in rural origins, the palette reflects the culture of individually crafted materials that are going more in the direction of upscale than down-home," Eiseman states.

Suppliers also take a somewhat more lighthearted look at color and design. "In a world filled with stress, schedules, commitments and concerns, it is important to have some unadulterated fun in at least one area of living space," Eiseman says, pointing to youthful brights as an example.

"Bright shades and novelty designs always have a place in home fashions assortments," Boyle Schwartz notes. "Consumers enjoy injecting a bit of wit and whimsy into their everyday lives."