By Tedra Schneider
Room 911
Tedra Schneider.
It’s said that the only constant is change.
This is certainly true in the world of fashion. There’s a new color of the month, a new style and length to a dress, and shoes of different heights and designs. But who can keep changing the color of their walls, their furniture and their accessories every year?
The short answer is no one. But those starting out may want to grab onto the latest trends and be on the cutting edge, chic, stylish, cool, hip, “with it.”
There is a company in Britain, WGSN, that is known as a forecaster of trends based on the latest use of color and materials in fashion, as well as political climates, world events and social media. While this concept sounds farfetched to me, there are those in the decorating world who put stock into such predictions.
Let it not be said that those of us in Milford and Orange aren’t in the know. I will let you in on a few of the latest color concepts swirling around in the trade journals and other publications.
The new color for 2020 will be “neo-mint.” This color is said to be a gender-neutral color that is in the words of the forecaster Jane Monnington Boddy, “an oxygenating, fresh tone that aligns science and technology with nature.”
If this particular color doesn’t float your boat, there is “purist blue,” which moves away from the darker blues.
“Cassis,” a fusion of pink and purple, is also on the horizon. Will it possibly replace “millennial pink,” which has been showing up in many of my interior design/decorating trade publications? From what I see the muted, grayish-toned millennial pink may still hang around for a while.
The other color considered the new “it” is “cantaloupe.” This color is not as strident as an all-out orange, but has milkier tones in it. It’s not quite the color of a creamsicle; it has a more softened hue than basic orange.
Last but not least is “mellow yellow.” This yellow will project a deep tone that fades into an earthier yellow with brown undertones.
Anyone getting out the paint brush, yet? Not me. I say this not to discourage anyone from painting a room in their house any one of these new colors, but rather to issue a caveat that every year there will be a new design, a new color and a new concept. We certainly see this in the fashion world. It’s just as evident at the big interior design/architecture shows featuring new forms for chairs, a three-legged coffee table, modular sectionals and carpeting on walls.
While it’s good to be in the know, it is equally important to enjoy what you have in your home. Trying a new concept can invigorate a room, but you will drive yourself crazy trying to stay up with the latest, the greatest, the newest and all those other superlatives.
Tedra Schneider can be reached at restagebytedra@gmail.com.