These pictures from Habitat illustrate well the trends I saw at the Interior Design Show (IDS) Toronto 2008 last month. It also demonstrates that a little color goes a long way.
Deep Dark Luxury
The purples, chocolate browns, deep blues and khaki greens of 2008 are colors that you do not have to be afraid to commit. Darker hues feel luxurious. In fact, most of the luxury market favors the darker tones right now.
You will see purples mixed yellow greens, gold and lilac in 2008. Whenever you select a color for your home, choose the tint in function of the type of room, the time of the day where you use it and the lighting. For example, the purples of the casual outdoor room are of medium values because they sit outside.
Punch Colors
I feel that the most interesting lesson that you can learned from these fabulously styled rooms by Habitat was is that the big expensive pieces can stay pretty neutral. The top picture is the perfect example that you do not need a huge investment to follow the trends.
Khaki green is perfect for a family room. Yellow green feels fresh in the kitchen. If you live in an open concept kitchen/ dining room / living room, you can mix the two colors but always give more importance to one or the other in each room.
Defining Your Open Space
Even though you want to create a cohesive look in a concept space, you need to clearly define each space. Otherwise, your house will lack dimensions. For that reason, I do not recommend to carry around the same, identical color palette over the entire open space.
As I told you in my review of 10 years of design, successfully decorated rooms mix several trends. It is the end of the package theme. You sculpt your design by playing with the shapes, the finishes, the textures, the contrast, the lighting, the symmetry and the styles of what everything that fits into the room. The goal is to create dimensions in an eclectic but harmonious way.
Sourcing:
Learn more: Living and Storage at Habitat
RELATED POSTS:
+ Spring 2008 yellows
+ Home Color Trends for 2008
Jenn Lee
March 10, 2008 at 10:53My brother has an obsession with deep purple these days and when I came across this post I must admit I fell in love with it a little myself 🙂
At Home with Kim Vallee
March 10, 2008 at 14:41Jenn Lee: I also found a beautiful really dark purple room on Sico Paint. It provides another viewpoint on rooms decorated with dark colors. Check it at
http://www.sico.ca/en/Couleur_Tendances.asp
At Home with Kim Vallee
June 9, 2008 at 23:26A Glimpse at Winter 2008-2009 True Blue Collection by Koziol
A study on color interactions via the Spring 2008 yellows | At Home with Kim Vallee
August 31, 2009 at 13:55[…] not everybody is ready to commit to these lively hues, my next post will be about how a small amount of a punch color can go a long […]