2011 Color of the Year

I’m happy to report that the international color trends research team for Akzo Nobel (the manufacturer of our paints) has already posted their annual Colour Futures book! Once again, it is a beautiful book with an exciting palette of colors that they predict we’ll be seeing in 2011.  What I found most exciting was the key word they used to describe the overall influence for 2011, “APPRECIATION”! If you have been reading my posts and newsletters, you know that gratitude is the mantra I live by! Not only have I been keeping a gratitude journal for many years now, where each day I write down everything I’m grateful for, but lately everywhere I turn, I see constant reinforcement that there is nothing more powerful than the feeling of appreciation and gratitude. I know from personal experience, it is the major component in creating a life you love.  Here’s what the color futures team sees as the colour future for 2011:

“This year we see a continuing move towards colours that are cleaner in character and much more optimistic and hopeful in the feeling they create. Shades for 2011 bring joy and charm to our lives and create an overriding mood of clarity and freshness in all palettes.”

So, what’s THE color they predict for 2011? It’s the wall color in the photo below!

"Lime Twist" is Akzo's color name for the 2011 Color of the Year, a light, airy, citrus yellow

This yellow has a lot of green in it and in person, is a good bit brighter than what comes across on my monitor. The color trend team describes its slight green edge as giving it newness and freshness, reflecting our appreciation of nature and man made materials. Both organic and technological, “Lime Twist” is surprisingly flexible and works beautifully with the rest of the 2011 colour palette they created.  I especially like it paired with what they consider to be the “2011 Cool Neutral” known as Akzo’s paint color “Crystal Glimmer”, an ethereal gray much like our full spectrum “Lavender Mist”.

2011 Colour of the Year "Lime Twist" coordinates beautifully with "Crystal Glimmer"

The Colour Futures book also contains trend colors from eight colour families that they have chosen as “2011 Key Colours”, along with coordinating colors for each palette. The other trend “2011 Key Colours” are:  Red Red Rose (a juicy pink red), Apricot Ice (a stimulating crisp coral), Honey Frost (a zesty lemon), Fairy Tale Green (an electric blue green), Peacock’s Plume (a rich peacock blue), Midnight Cruise (a deep blackberry), Hiking Trail (a warm neutral brown).

Best of all, the 2011 Colour Futures book can be downloaded as a PDF by visiting their new website, ColourFutures.com!

Although color trends are very exciting, what’s trendy is not always timeless when it comes to coloring our interior spaces. You may want to add a bit of 2011 into your spaces with new pillows or pieces of painted furniture. However, I pulled several of our  tried and true full spectrum colors that are similar: Celery, Limone, Cornsilk, Watermelon Red, Coral, Albania Teal, Sable and Lavender Mist. Many of them can be seen on the Photos & Reviews page of my website, which by the way, is the most popular page of the entire site! I am constantly updating it with photos and comments from our wonderful paint customers, so if you haven’t been there lately, check it out!

Photos & Reviews

www.ellenkennon.com