Pantone Color Predictions for Home Furnishings and Furniture

Rich, sophisticated, dramatic and seductive, are the words Pantone uses to describe the 2012 fashion color of choice.

Anyone familiar with mixing colors knows that orange is derived from mixing two warm colors, red and yellow. The result is another warm color that is bold, powerful and high energy with the power to dominate any space. To use such a color effectively you have to harness that power and use the color judiciously.

Use Tango Tangerine in accents to wake up a room. Pillows, bedspreads and accessories are good places to use this color. If you feel brave enough try it on a wall.

Pantone calls this color confident, courageous, vital and uplifting. It is supposed to help us meet our challenges with courage and boldness.

This color can be delicious in small doses, but not every one will respond so positively to pink which is essentially seen as a feminine and romantic color. Honeysuckle is not a very delicate pink, yet pink it is.

In a home, pink can be used to lighten up a room and to introduce fun and whimsy. It is traditionally used to furnish rooms for girls.

2010 saw the return of a blue-green with Turquoise. Often associated with water, Turquoise is also seen as the color of healing and protective talisman in some cultures.

Turquoise also represents an escape to a tropical paradise for some people, surrounded by a tranquil ocean and most people respond to it positively.

Another attribute of this color is that both sexes respond to it favorably. Turquoise can be used easily with many other colors, and it is one of those colors that can wake up any color scheme, even a neutral one.

Mimosa brought in a more cheerful, forward looking note to 2009.

Yellow is the color of the sun, and one we associate with light, even optimism. It goes without saying that it is a warm color.

The choice of Mimosa also took the economy into consideration, but not by giving in to a climate of doom and gloom. It offered up an uplifting alternative.

However, yellow should also be used with caution, (think police CAUTION tapes) as with any other color, it has negative connotations as well. AS you know,it can also be the color of cowardliness or sickness. A lot depends on the particular yellow you choose, and the supporting colors around it.

Blue Iris is a mix of blue and purple combining qualities of both.

Blue is calming and stable, while purple is both majestic and mystical. Yet with all these qualities, this is a color that can suck light out of a room if used with a very heavy hand. It can become too dark and brooding on its own.

And that is where supporting palettes come in. We are usually in a breathless hurry to talk about the color of the moment and forget to mention that each color also has a supporting cast of colors. These colors help to complement, contrast, enliven or accent. If you are seriously interested in color for your home, you would do well to look at entire palettes for decorating ideas and translate them to your way of life as you want.

2007 again moved away from neutrals to what Pantone termed "complex and exotic" and Chili Pepper is certainly a rich, and exotic color.

Chili Pepper also shows a level of sophistication and complexity. Compare it to True Red, for instance. As the name implies, this color is also about flavor or taste.

It is not very often that neutrals take the place of honor. Just take a look at the colors on this list if you need proof, but forecasts for 2006 called it for Sand Dollar.

Natural environments such as the beach or the desert, and natural, organic materials, influenced this color choice, which also reflected the economy.

Say what you will about neutrals, but they will always be there. They amount to taking a pause. While quiet and unobtrusive, neutrals can still be warm or cool depending on which colors make up their composition. Sand Dollar seems to slightly lean towards a more warm effect.

2005 continued the trend of saturated colors that evoke nature and the outdoors with soft Blue Turquoise. According to Pantone the color simultaneously evokes the Mediterranean Sea and the American Southwest.

Blue Turquoise is a bit gentler than true Turquoise which has a bit more green in it making it slightly more intense and warmer.

The choice of Tiger Lily for 2004 went back to an exuberant mood.

Tiger Lily is an Orange, which is a warm color that has red and yellow in it. Both red and yellow are warm colors, but evoke different feelings. Orange is a mix of those, and can be described as rejuvenating and energizing, and certainly bold.

The inspiration for Tiger Lily came from nature, not just the flower with which it shares its name, but also the painted desert.

2003 saw a return to cool blue hoping to restore a calming sense of much needed serenity. The world seemed to need it.

Aqua Sky is a color you may have seen on Eames molded plastic chairs. This is a quiet, restful blue-green and cooler than many blue-greens which can be very intense and vibrant, such as 2010's Turquoise. (see below)