What’s the long range colour forecast?

What will the most fashionable homes be sporting in the next couple of seasons? Think shimmer and glitz, white with black accents, unexpected colour combinations and iridescent as well as toned-down hues. Luxe metallic finishes, whites with charcoals and earthy greys, dusky tones, and exuberant pops of bright colour are all on trend for the coming months.

While it may seem like only yesterday we were celebrating the new year, colour forecasters are already predicting our palettes for 2017 and 2018. Dress your walls with earthy hues or dusky tones and you’ll be right on trend. Dusky pinks are here now (think Resene Ebb), but we’ll also see a rise in popularity of dusky blues and greens.

“Dirty, dusky undertones of colours,” says Resene colour consultant Deanna Hills. “Like Resene Duck Egg Blue, Resene Snapshot – a dusky blue – and the frosted dusky green of Resene Secrets. Any kind of dusky undertone to colours, whether that’s dark or light.”

Colours like Resene Secrets are bang on with the trend for cool Nordic landscapes, where icy colours come to the fore. And the Scandinavian look is here to stay, with a continuing trend towards whites and off-whites, with earthy tones.

“We’ve had the off-whites,” says Deanna, “but now the earthy tones are coming in to soften them. Colours like Resene Sea Fog, Resene Half White Pointer and Resene Eighth Thorndon Cream. The warmer earthy tones and the grey earthy tones are coming in. Resene Quarter Tea is coming back in, and Resene Quarter Ash is becoming quite popular. Even the darker tones like Resene Quarter Ironsand, a smoky brown-grey, is popular.”

Colour consultant and interior designer Wendy Elers, of Wendy Elers Colour & Design, has also noticed a move towards the ‘Scandinavian whites’.

“I’m noticing a definite shift to a white interior, white walls, off-white walls, like Resene Alabaster, Resene Quarter Sea Fog, Resene Half Sea Fog, that sort of thing,” she says. “We’ve been going through the recession for so long, where we wanted everything cosy, cosy, and now we want to be more positive and come home to a cleaner palette with brighter accents.”

Wendy is finding our lounge suites are getting lighter too.

“More people are moving towards fabrics, and natural fabrics in natural colours, like the linen look. They are more earthy, with the bolder accents alongside that. It’s a lighter, happier, more modern look that is not so heavy.”

Natural accessories will follow suit, from soft sheepskin rugs to chunky knit wool throws and floor cushions. And while modern, clean lines are still popular, the retro look is not going anywhere.

“We will still be upcycling,” says Wendy. “Using quality pieces from the past. Items from the fifties, sixties and seventies. People are getting furniture with nice clean lines but painting them in whites and pastel colours.”

“I’m also noticing a lot of houses have low-e glass and solar panels, so people are really future-proofing now with their energy usage,” says Wendy.

Darker stains are giving way to more natural, lighter stains, like Resene Woodsman Natural, and lighter rimu colours.

“At the beginning of this year there were lots of people staining their interiors black; now there’s a definite move to warmer exterior and interior timber colours,” says Wendy.

Terracotta tiles are also making a comeback alongside the dusky, burnt orange paint colours, like Resene Ayres Rock and Resene Mojo.

Wallpapers are becoming more adventurous, providing a lush, stylish backdrop along with a playful ambience.

“The wallpapers are quite graphic, quite textural, quite strong colours, like teal blues with pink butterflies, things like that. Uplifting, happy, positive,” says Wendy.

Glamorous, shiny wallpapers are also on trend, with metallic finishes and a hint of shimmer.