What’s New with Hue?

A little known group creates a roadmap for traversing the rainbow.

Written by Marion Butterworth

Photo courtesy of Benjamin Moore

Cool doesn’t mean cold, and neutral doesn’t mean bland. Hip hues include shades of plum and sophisticated creams for a room with style and just a hint of attitude. Benjamin Moore’s Wet Concrete (2114-40) on the ceiling compliments Dark Purple (2073-10) on the walls.

What’s “in” depends, in large part, on who you ask. Luckily for clueless consumers, there’s a group of designers dedicated to predicting which colors will be popular over the next three years. Not soothsayers but trained professionals in interior design, marketing, visual communications, floor coverings, fashion, home appliances, and electronics, to name just a few, members of the Color Marketing Group (CMG), headquartered in Alexandria, Va., gathers twice a year to analyze what’s hot, what’s not, and where tastes are headed.

Photo courtesy of Benjamin Moore

Berries in the floral arrangement and the lamp shades
share a similar fiery punch of reddish orange with
walls painted a sunny August Morning (2156-40) by
Benjamin Moore. Clean lines and black leather
chairs anchor the room.

Meeting of the Minds

Founded in 1962, this 1,300-member-strong, nonprofit association forecasts color directions for all industries, manufactured products and services. And they don’t just make it up! 650 CMG members come to these semi-annual conferences prepared to exchange prognostications from their specific fields at Color Forecast Workshops. The resulting “color directions” go to a steering committee where the process is repeated until a consensus palette is reached. The input of so many color designers from such a wide range of backgrounds affords the palette its validity.

Orange You Glad

For 2006 the group predicted that colors will be “warmer, clearer and brighter” and that reddish orange and yellow “gain importance.” 2007 sees colors becoming “richer, cleaner and deeper,” and “purple explodes.” Orange remains significant; “blues gain increased presence.” They go on to say that “warm neutrals cluster together as deep rich browns.”

Black and Blue

So what does this mean for homeowners that want to redecorate or rescue new homes from the lethargy of builders’ beige? Doty Horn, Director of Color and Design for Benjamin Moore and CMG chair holder, declares that the 2007 palette “is all about skin. Skin tones are a neutral base on which to build a color story,” she says. “We have been in a bright phase for a while. The end of the decade will usher in a more neutral trend.” All shades will be toned down by the addition of black.

Photo courtesy of Sherwin-Williams

Think warm chewy brownies. Brown is the
comfort of chocolate in living color-rich and satisfying.

“The ‘graying’ of hues is a result of many different influences including globalization and our multiculturalism,” believes Horn. Sherri Thompson, Director of Color Marketing and Design for Sherwin-Williams and CMG member, agrees: “Cultural influences have a huge impact on home interiors. Hispanic, Asian, Indian and Moroccan influences are the strongest contributors, introducing consumers to richer, more saturated hues.”

When it comes to blue, the Sherwin-Williams camp disputes the CMG opinion that in 2006 “Blues will dramatically recede,” only to regain preeminence in 2007. “Blues are back,” says Thompson. “We see blue becoming the single most important color in years to come.” She explains, “Colors never just drop off the radar. Instead, there is an evolution of colors. Chroma, values and saturation change rather than a color completely going away.”

Cappuccino Anyone?

Consistent with CMG’s prediction of a more neutral, muted palette, Thompson identifies brown as a color with long-term appeal. “Browns have been strong for the last few years. Brown has become a classic color, no longer thought of as ‘dirty.’ Rather, now adjectives such as ‘robust’ and ‘rich’ reference brown. An extremely versatile color, brown mixes well with oranges, yellows, blues, greens, pinks and corals.”

Renee Hytry, Senior Vice President of Global Design at the Formica Corporation concurs, saying that “warm tones such as gold, copper and brown” will be popular in 2006 and 2007. “This color palette was not even a consideration in the late 90s. Formica could not sell a countertop design in brown! Our Jamocha and Butterum Granite are the most popular countertop designs today and were inspired by CMG’s color directions.”

Photo courtesy of Sherwin-Williams

Globalization brings the vibrant colors of the world
into our homes.

Travel and Turnover

Directors of color and design for multinational paint companies travel the globe, attending trade shows for everything from textiles to tech finishes to cosmetics and shop the streets of fashion capitals like Paris and London to track trends as they unfold, the better to translate them into cutting edge colors. A trend shift takes about a decade from birth to acceptance to decline. Designers are aware of new influences several years ahead of consumers.

Horn explains that the more disposable the item, the faster its style and color changes. Accessories, makeup, and interior accents have a more rapid rate of turnover than clothing. “Fashion turns twice a year,” declares Horn. We trade our cars about every two to four years. Local designer, Federico Roman, head of the decorative painting division of Benchmark Painting Inc. in Kensington, Md., says, “People paint their interiors about once every five years.”

Although we replace our computers every few years and our clothes every six months, the National Association of Realtors reports that Americans stay in their homes about six years. We’re all searching for hues we can live with for awhile. The CMG is here to help us stay on the cusp of color trends.