Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Step aside earth tones, bright retro colors are making a comeback in home decor trends
Urban Living
Posted By Babs De Lay on February 14, 2024, 4:00 AM
Architectural Digest (AD) has come out with interesting home trends for this year that feel a lot like the '70s are coming back. Here's a few of them.
Peach and apricot are the dominant color forecasts for this year, also turquoise. Pantone's color of the year is Peach Fuzz, a light peach color as the name implies.
Chrome, steel and aluminum are hot as a "natural consequence of the early 2020's overload of earth tones." AD reports that people are rediscovering color in their homes and putting in jewel tones in surfaces and furniture.
Romantic design isn't just for the 19th century or the 1980's. "From pillows to bedding to area rugs, we're seeing botanical inspiration creep into all textiles. Floral patterns in weaving and block prints are popular with bigger than life blooms in wallpaper."
The Digest also suggests that homeowners will be mixing and matching styles from historic eras and they report that there is a precedent for this in the early 20th century, when modern artists and their avant-garde patrons created the market for what is known as "Americana."
"When viewed through a social lens, Americana feels just as fresh," AD reported. "The Shakers, for example, didn't have much sex, but they were anything but tame, pushing functionalism toward an ecstatic edge the Bauhaus could only dream of. Who wouldn't want to own a piece of that radical American history in 2024?"
At our house, we have colonial-era chests of drawers alongside Mid-Mod living room furniture. It all works and makes décor more interesting to decorate around.
Why is the Pantone color of the year so important? Each year, the Pantone Color Institute picks a single hue that encapsulates current cultural trends that influence both fashion and design. The Institute was founded in the 1960s and is the global authority on color. Well, someone had to do it, right?
Standardized color swatches ensure consistency over a huge variety of industries. If you were an interior decorator charged with picking colors for lobby furniture in a new high rise apartment building downtown, you'd pull out your Pantone swatches to show the developer what look you have in mind for their new project. If they were doing projects in several states and wanted uniformity in the look of the lobby furniture in their buildings, the Pantone swatch is exacting and creates consistent color threads and material.
If you shop at Nordstroms or Macy's this spring and summer, you'll find Pantone-colored clothing and accessories for sale based on this year's color of the year. One fashion article applauds the Pantone system as a "reflection of the current zeitgeist." There is always a connection between culture and color, globally and locally.
The last four years of Pantone colors have been: 2023—Viva Magenta; 2022—Very Peri (a periwinkle shade); 2021—Illuminating (yellow hue) and Ultimate Grey (gray color).
About The Author
Babs De Lay
A full-time broker/owner of Urban Utah Homes and Estates, Babs De Lay serves on the Salt Lake City Historic Landmark Commission. A writer and golfer, you'll find them working as a staff guardian at the Temple at Burning Man each year.
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