Interior Design Trends and The Pantone Color of the Year for 2021
This year, instead of taking our usual tour of the many opinions and variations of the color of the year for next year, we would like to keep it simple and stick with one, and the most important: The Pantone Colors of the Year for 2021.
There’s a reason for this that you may already have guessed if you’ve read our recent post on goal setting for business in 2021. In that post, we suggest that you try to keep things simple, with modest goals for your design or furnishings business next year. The idea being that, following the turmoil of this uber crazy year, staying calm and lowering expectations in case of crisis would be not only helpful to your business but also less stressful for you.
This type of thinking blends perfectly with what the color experts at Pantone have come up with for us in the New Year. In a somewhat remarkable shift for them, we’re being presented with not one but two colors for 2021.
Unprecedented Times Call for Extraordinary Color Choices
As you may have noticed in the opening paragraph, the newest entry into the traditional annual unveiling by the color matching experts has been made plural. That is, the decision to go with a pair of colors in an extraordinary move to match the unprecedented time in which we find ourselves.
As explained on their website, the choice of these paired colors exudes, “A message of happiness supported by fortitude, the combination of Ultimate Gray + Illuminating is aspirational and gives us hope. We need to feel that everything is going to get brighter – this is essential to the human spirit.”
Indeed, whether your design clients are seeking a hopeful space that is warm and welcoming, or strong and supportive, or perhaps a unique blend of both, you can make that happen. Because these colors offer the chance to bring together what some might think of as conflicting elements, the opportunity to make novel and uncommonly complimentary design choices is unique and exciting.
“[As] two independent colors that highlight how different elements come together to support one another… Ultimate Gray + Illuminating best expresses the mood for Pantone Color of the Year 2021. Practical and rock-solid but at the same time warming and optimistic, the union of Ultimate Gray + Illuminating, is one of strength and positivity. It is a story of color that encapsulates deeper feelings of thoughtfulness with the promise of something sunny and friendly.”
Take a Spiritual Approach to Complimentary Colorways
It should come as no surprise that a need for spirituality is on the rise this year. As an increasing number of Americans express the need to be more “spiritual but not religious” (according to Pew Research), these complementary colorways can be used to enhance that sense. In other words, this unusual pairing can be used to increase the senses of peace, wholeness, and balance among the physical, emotional, social and spiritual aspects of our lives that many seek in the pursuit of healthy spirituality.
“As people look for ways to fortify themselves with energy, clarity, and hope to overcome the continuing uncertainty, spirited and emboldening shades satisfy our quest for vitality. Illuminating is a bright and cheerful yellow sparkling with vivacity, a warming yellow shade imbued with solar power. [While] Ultimate Gray is emblematic of solid and dependable elements that are everlasting and provide a firm foundation. Ultimate Gray quietly assures, encouraging feelings of composure, steadiness, and resilience.”
While choosing these colors for your client’s spaces may not be the only answer to their need for newfound peace, the calming influence combined with the strength of purpose can be promoted in subtle but influential ways.
Whether you're an interior designer or furnishing store owner, Ted has the experience and knowledge to help you adapt to unprecedented times and to employ the latest Pantone Colors of the Year to enhance your client’s home or office environment. Get in touch with TD Fall today.