Paint colour trends in 2018 and beyond

What will the most fashionable homes be sporting in the next couple of seasons? Colour experts are already predicting the palettes for 2019. The new ambience includes the latest on trend paint colours.

Nuance

Not so long ago, there were just a handful of paint colours to choose from. We were used to seeing life in just a few shades. But with the development of tinting technology, we have a much wider choice. Our eyes have learnt to appreciate subtle nuances that we would once have glossed over. What once was off-white might now be beige, ivory, magnolia, cream, soft white or ash. Colours are deeper and complex, layered with subtle undertones. Dusky tones develop as multiple colour ways and weathered undertones merge. As our knowledge of colour grows, so does our confidence to use and experiment with its subtleties and power.

Feel

Our experience of colour becomes more than just visual. As an all-encompassing sensory experience, we ask that colour become the messenger of broader concepts – texture, silk, matt. Texture and the colours of nature go hand in glove. Warm browns carry echoes of roughened tree bark, loamy soil, porous lava rock, a creviced cliff face. Burnished metallics and subtle glittering effects add mystery and depth. Browns are becoming earthier and richer, and bronzed hues are emerging. Use metallics to enliven the walls with texture.

Rescue

Forget recycling, think rescuing and upcycling. Look at your old treasures through a new lens and see the endless possibilities. Today’s interiors are not about perfection. They're about seeking the handmade, seeing the beauty in uniqueness and that “flaws” can be memorable, beautiful and the ultimate definition of character. Take a walk down memory lane and feel the countless memories wrapped up in a single piece of furniture or accessory, the stories of times gone by.

We can bring the memories with us, reinvented for today and tomorrow. Washed blues and dusky nudes are nostalgic and easy to live with: dawn pink, violet dust and blue wainscot.

Inscape

Time to escape indoors. Nature has always had a strong influence on our choices, and especially today. With many addicted to technology and more time spent indoors, the great outdoors is coming in – on our surfaces, finishes, colours and accessories.

Clear finishes and natural wood stains protect against modern life and allow the natural beauty to be seen. Teamed with greens, blues and pops of colour that would be at home in a flower garden, nature provides a beautiful palette to choose from.

We are also taking our indoor spaces outdoors with “outdoor rooms” with all the luxury of the interior but protected from the harshness of Mother Nature; enjoying the great outdoors without being exposed.

Even the younger generations who have grown up with technology are welcoming the outside in.

The new colour collection has an abundance of greens, from sharp and clean to muddied and botanic. Green is not the only colour of nature. Think of the splendour of sunsets and sunrises, the bright blooms of a spring garden. Uplifting colours that fill us with hope: Pike’s Pink, Riva red and Golden Charmer.

Clash

The world continues to shrink. Not only are people nomadic, ideas also flow freely across borders and space. Exposure to new cultures encourages mixing and matching of colours in unexpected combinations. Colours that would once have never been seen together are now happy partners; it’s colour clash with a purpose.

When you break the old colour rules, there is no going back: true blue, all gold, bermuda blue, chartreuse and mouse grey.

Tailor… it’s all about you.

Yet with this choice sometimes comes a fear of getting it wrong and the temptation to repeat other colour schemes as a safe option. We look to others to see their choices to help narrow down our own. Every project is different – the light, the space, the combination of materials. Use other people’s choices as an inspiration for your own, not a rulebook: it’s your project, so choose your colours because they work for you.

The latest fashion colours don’t mean you have to completely reinvent your entire home every year or two. Think of them as fresh inspiration that add to your options. Just as you might add a new jacket or shoes in the latest colours to complement your wardrobe, so too, can you add a touch of new fashion colour as a feature to freshen up your home.

To help you complement the new colours, whites have been introduced: intimate white, wisteria white, and white lace to name a few. Enjoy your colour journey and take your time to choose colours you love.

Blend

Neutrals are dusky and earthy too, with grey and beige co-mingling and blackened white, such as pebble grey, popular as a backdrop. If you love the feel of grey but need a touch more colour, look to the dusted tones of grey blended with blue for a timeless look that can be easily accessorised to suit each season. Look for grey grape.

Our love of greyed browns has been put to one side as truer greys emerge, from silvery shades to slate charcoals: quaker grey and stoker grey.

Pop

Want more intensity? Pops of colour remain strong – bold coloured front doors, blocks of colour coordinated into a single wall or as random blocks as accents. Art meets design, and both meet colour. Whether it’s a feature wall, ceiling or area in a single striking colour, a colour block effect or a freehand painted design, bold saturated colour is becoming the artwork, taking centre stage on walls, floors, ceilings and furniture. The colour doesn’t stop where the wall starts or ends; it sets the space. Whether it’s bold table legs, a vertical strip of colour from ceiling to floor, or a block of colour peeking out of a cupboard, pops of colour are becoming more creatively placed.

Who said life had to be serious all the time? How did most of us go from loving colour as children to living in a world of whites and neutrals as adults? Don’t worry about the neighbours or what others might say; indulge your inner creative streak and paint that optimistic colour. Look to coronette orange, yellow canary, spring vigour, fascination and sultan blue.

Share

The concept of ownership is changing; we don’t have to own everything we use. We can borrow, share, donate and barter. Freed from the constraints of owning everything, there is a sense of a weight being lifted and a greater freedom of choice. We learn to be resourceful and we learn to share. Reinventing the way we see possessions and space is a key underlying theme where anything can become multi-purpose and multi-use if the will is there. As we change and evolve as we age, so too can the things we own take on a new look and a new purpose. Just as our families, grow, then spread as children leave the nest, so too can the things we own have journeys of their own as they change hands. It’s a human connection, a sense of community wrapped in hazy warmth of nostalgia. Look to golden grail, seal grey and silhouette grey.

The writer is the head interior design at Crown Paints Plc