Color Your Home Current

Tried-and-True Blue

“We find a cooling of the palette as we move into 2012,” says Sonu Mathew, senior interior designer with Benjamin Moore, “which reflects a sense of calm inside our homes and environments.”

And so blue—a calming, comfortable color family, and a longtime crowd favorite—will move to the forefront. (Wythe Blue—a “softer, more livable blue with a modern edge”—takes the stage as Benjamin Moore’s color of the year.) In a home, blue pairs beautifully with a variety of wood tones, whites and grays, as well as other shades of blue for a layered effect.

Also fitting for the times is the way the hue, as a cooler color, affects our experience of a room by rendering it more spacious. “If you come back to the idea of the economy and people scaling down, it’s interesting that blue opens things up.”

From left to right: Three Oven Cooker in Pistachio by Aga, $16,290 (installed), Thurston Kitchen
& Bath, Boulder, (303) 449-4001, thurstonkitchenandbath.com; New Traditional Arm Chair and Cocktail Table by Century Furniture, to the trade, Century Designer Showroom, Denver Design District, (303) 282-5000, centuryfurniture.com; Chandra Area Rug by Thomas Paul, $2,495, Watson & Co., Denver, (303) 777-8087, watsonandco.com; Windy Chair in Highland Leather
by Montis, $2,475, Alesso Modern Source, Denver, (720) 379-4672, alessomodernsource.com

Perk up with Persimmon

Copper, pumpkin, persimmon—whatever you want to call that vibrant rusted orange hue—is all the rage in 2012. As a warmer color, it balances those cooling blues because, after all, colors only make sense to us within a spectrum, Mathew explains. “You have to vary color so it doesn’t get boring. So we’re seeing fun injections of color like persimmon that warm up the palette.”

The spicy and provocative shade of orange will pair easily with cool gray for a combination that feels oh-so modern. On the flipside, the hue can just as easily swing retro. “In a nod to the 70s, it will work with brown as well,” says Michelle Lamb, internationally known color forecaster and editorial director of The Trend Curve. “That’s going to have legs—oh my gosh, that’s going to do well.”

From left to right: Moroccan Dessert Plate by Jayson Home, $18, (800) 472-1885, jaysonhome.com; Amoebe Chair by Vitra, $2,375, Mod Livin’, Denver, (888) 833-2884, modlivin.com; Faux Bois Pillow by Thomas Paul, $95, Watson & Co., Denver, (303) 777-8087, watsonandco.com; Altamura Armchair by Casamidy, $950, casamidy.com; London Bridge Fabric in Fire by Schumacher, to the trade, Schumacher, Denver Design District, (303) 733-2591, fschumacher.com; 5-Quart Tilt-Head Artisan Series Stand Mixer in Persimmon by KitchenAid, $349.99, Compleat Gourmet & Gifts, Centennial, (303) 290-9222, compleatgourmet.com; Martini Side Table in Persimmon by West Elm, $129, West Elm, Denver, (303) 320-1001, westelm.com
 

Gray: A Modern Neutral

2012 is a pivotal year for gray, Lamb says. “The newest grays will fall on two different sides [of a spectrum]; they’ll be counter trends: One gray will be so cool, you might mistake it for blue. On the other side are grays that warm up almost as a taupe.” As a neutral, the hue will make a handsome backdrop for bright trend colors (think cool gray with spicy persimmon, synthetic yellow or vibrant purple).

While gray may be an of-the-moment neutral—which has been embraced in many different iterations by consumers over the past couple years, according to Mathew—it’s also a classic hue. And classic neutrals will always be in style. So slather your walls with gray, opt for some punchy accessories and fear not that the look will fast become dated.

From left to right: Herring Cone Vases, $179 (large), $89 (small), Ashley Campbell, Denver, (303) 996-6195, ashleycampbell.com; Custom Arne Jacobsen Swan Settee in Dove Remy Ikat by Madeline Weinrib, price upon request, madelineweinrib.com; Kirk Buffet by Oly Studio, $2,375, HW Home, Denver, (303) 394-9222, hwhome.com; Gozo Tables by Leolux, starting at $1,579, Studio2b, Denver, (303) 298-0900, studio2bdenver.com; Amagansett Zig Zag Pillow in Steel by Madeline Weinrib, starts at $175, Tweed Interior Design Studio and Boutique, Telluride, (970) 728-8186, tweedinteriors.com; Lirio Chair by Leolux, starting at $1799, Studio2b, Denver, (303) 298-0900, studio2bdenver.com; Nixon Dinner Plate by Jonathan Adler, $16, Tweed Interior Design Studio and Boutique, Telluride, (970) 728-8186, tweedinteriors.com

More hot products in the year's freshest hues, exclusive to coloradohomesmag.com: