Today we are pleased to have a guest post from Sally Hammond! Ms. Hammond is an interior designer and owner of Sally J. Designs. She also writes the often irreverent blog, Divine Distractions. Sally is an artist, interior designer, and Master’s level educator with over 12 years of experience in interior design, home remodeling and interior decorating. Blending her expertise in these disciplines, she brings a unique and creative touch to functional design. Today she brings to Amish Furniture Home a look at the Color Trends for the coming year!

Color Trends for 2011

So you have your paint brushes out, you’ve got the drop cloth on the floor, and you’re standing in front of the color swatches at the paint store trying to decide what color to choose. It’s not like you don’t have a bazillion options!

If you’re up to speed on the color trends for 2011, this is a much easier task.

For the new year, color favorites will run the gambit from cool and sophisticated to bold and BOHO. Each of the major paint companies have collections of colors that are hot for the new year and fall into about 4 categories… Pale neutrals….organic naturals….bold and bright….and ethnic and global.

Neutrals with a Touch of Glam

Gray, white and taupe step it up in 2011 with touches of metallics, shine and sparkle.

Muted purples in shades ranging from soft lavender to deeper wines have become neutrals this year when they are paired with gray, natural whites and creams and more intense browns.

And you thought that gold was gone! Well look again! It’s being used in large does to add some glamour to a space. Shimmering softly, there’s no brassiness to this gold tone….just soft and luscious. Use it with other neutrals or more bold and beautiful….It’s baaaaack……

Organic Naturals

Going green, both literally and figuratively, is a hallmark of interior design for the present and the future. The colors or 2011 carry the theme along and present with colors of nature…think vegetables from the farm, rocks in a natural spring and clear summer skies mixed with milky whites and creams.

Color Brights

Remember how you loved the 96 count box of Crayolas? It had the sharpener and it made you hot stuff in kindergarten. You won’t need quite so many colors with the resurgence of primary colors in the 2011 color palette.

When the economy goes down the colors go bright! Even with the recovery, we gravitate to colors that enliven us and and elevate our moods. Paint the walls, bring in pops of color in accessories and mix it with bright whites and clear neutrals.

You Go BoHo

Global influences and ethnic designs are a big influencer in colors for 2011. Rich, earthy, bright and clear, the tribal colors and patterns bring inspiration and imagination to our spaces. Ancient Suzani, Ikat, Dhurrie patterns bring a rich array of textures, colors and energy to spaces, and their influence will continue to be felt throughout 2011.

The colors for 2011 speak to every person and every mood. Color is always personal, and there is plenty of room for everyone’s personality to shine in these varied palettes. Most importantly, choose color based on how it makes YOU feel and what you love. When that’s your measuring stick, there will be a design and a color to fit it!

Tags: Color, Color Design, Color Trends, Decorating Inspiration, Interior Decorating, Interior Design, Interiors, Trends

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 at 11:13 am and is filed under Guest Post. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.