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HUE NEWS Consider color for your seasonal décor refresh
The décor of a home — like the set of a stage — helps tell the story of the people who interact with it. Beyond the function of furnishings, their style is often what gives the most clues. A homeowner who prefers a bone-colored wall with antique furniture and a classical still-life painting is telling a different story than the homeowner with a mirrored wall, black-leather furniture, and bold Neo-Geo art. But no matter your style, there’s one component of décor that largely lives by its own rules: color. As homeowners freshen up their décor this season, we’ve checked in with local experts to find out what role color should play. First things first — are color trends important? According to Grace Kaynor, owner of Grace Kaynor Designs, color trends are likely to affect us because of their place in the collective consciousness. While color trends don’t always define our color choices, we see them in the world, media and catalogues, and they evoke a response, conscious or not. Right now, Kaynor notes that green is emerging everywhere and not just because of its color properties. “When people are thinking about sustainable design, the color green just seems to reinforce the concept of sustainability,” she says. Designer
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Chad Graci has also seen a rise in greens and blues and even notes a recent openness to black. While these designers acknowledge color trends, they don’t suggest homeowners live or die by the tones of the times. “I try to choose colors that are in my client’s comfort zone,” says designer Marian DeMeyers. “Think of the colors you like to wear and that flatter you — you usually still like them down the line.” Designers use a lot of methods to define décor color schemes, often pulling from homeowners’ choices of fabrics and rugs. Sometimes color is pulled from personal belongings and artwork. On rarer occasions, designers start with the wall paint itself — this is often the case with rooms that don’t have a large fabric presence such as bars and bathrooms. “Every project is different, but some colors can help brighten a room, some make a room feel cozy, and sometimes they can be the thing that connects all the rooms to each other,” says DeMeyers. If a client wants the overall color palette to be neutral, DeMeyers likes to give one single room — perhaps a dining room, office or library — a color of its own. “For as long as I can remember, my parents have always had a deep dark red library, and the color reminds me of them and of home,” she says. If you’re getting started on a décor refresh and you want to update color,
