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Colour Trends

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017

By 04/20/2016January 23rd, 201745 Comments

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

Blue + White Lillian August

I’m back home from High Point Market and I’m excited to share what’s new for 2017 and beyond:

Here are the top trends that I saw starting with florals:

Flowers

When flowers hit light fixtures? That’s how you know they are a huge trend. I talked about overscale flowers and flowers on fabrics with black backgrounds last Spring when I was here.

Kate Spade had an entire collection of lights with flowers including this bar light I posted on Instagram that reminded me of the ones we are still taking out of bathrooms from the 80s! What do you think? Yay or nay?

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

This wall at Thibaut was highly photographed because it was so fabulous! All these paper flowers on a dining room accent wall made out of wallpaper! Gorgeous.

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

Thibaut

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

 Thibaut

There was lots of fabric, drapery and upholstery throughout market with watery flowers.

And flower art in metals. That is getting pretty permanent if you ask me!

I say long live flowers!

Green

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

Kravet (This was their Kate Spade Collection)

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

Interesting shapes for cocktail tables at Thibaut

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

The front entry of Theodore Alexander had a fabulous green vignette in olives and fresh greens! I love this contemporary floral!

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

 Theodore Alexander

Blue & White

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

Lots of Indigo blues and whites at market! Thibaut

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

Loved this overscale light from Visual Comfort at Stanley Furniture

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

Thibaut

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

Toby Fairley for Woodbridge Furniture

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

Bungalow 5

Gold

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

Visual Comfort

This trend needs only one image.

Because can we really say it’s new for 2017? Gold is like the tuscan brown trend and the colour (grey) trend. It’s here to stay for 10 years. 15 by the time most people figure out that it’s dated.

In the meantime, unless you are spending $1800 on a faucet that will ‘patina’ over time, keep gold to light fixtures and hardware, easier to change. It’s not that a faucet is so hard to change, but often changing the sink is involved and then it just becomes a production. Keep your trendy elements to lighting and hardware and then you can ALMOST change it yourself when you feel like it’s OVER.

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

Arteriors

Okay one more (above). There was so much gold at this market that it had officially overtaken silver as the finish of choice that was prominently displayed.

Elevated Organics

Heather Eidenmiller the Director of Brand Development at Bernhardt started their tour by saying that last market was dark and dramatic and this year what we’re seeing is elevated organics. Organic feeling materials that feel luxurious. Like this Alabaster marble table with an uneven edge.

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

 Bernhardt

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

And this beautiful petrified wood coffee table at Palecek.

Colour

A designer at market talked about how tired he was of outfitting entire homes in grey on grey.

If your client asks you for an entirely grey living room, it’s your job to educate them about trends and let them know that this too shall pass. Just like the brown trend did.

So consider a colourful sofa for your next client.

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

Lillian August

Lillian August is one of my favourite showrooms because of the prolific colour everywhere!

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

Suzanne Kasler for Hickory Chair

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

Lillian August

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

Tobi Fairley for Woodbridge Furniture

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

Lee Industries

The Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2017 | Maria Killam

Oomph Ceiling Fan all Photos by Maria Killam

When colour moves to a fan? That’s how you know it’s the colour trend NOT the grey trend in full force!

Which one is your favourite?

I posted on Instagram all during the show, see the rest of the images here.

I was also a guest on Nick May’s Podcast, it’s an hour long episode talking about the business of design, I had approximately 10-15 minutes at the end, you can listen to it here.

If you would like to transform the way you see colour, become a True Colour Expert.

Related posts:

Trends you Need to Know Right Now for 2016 (Last years High Point trip)

Maria Killam’s Trend Forecast for 2016

Grey is OUT! (Maybe) The Colour Trend is IN

45 Comments

  • Squeak says:

    I love the coral on the petrified wood coffee table. The rest, not so much. So I’m going to be saving LOTS of money over the next couple of years. Yay!

  • Vicki Packham says:

    Maria, I was just curious if you still see a lot of undertone mistakes when you go to a place like High Point Market?

    • Maria Killam says:

      Everywhere always. But as I talk about in my events, excellent styling can hide a lot of colour mistakes 🙂
      Thanks for your comment!
      Maria

  • sandyc says:

    Green will always be my favorite color – I’d consider delaying my new floors throughout to have that gorgeous Theodore Alexander chair. The blues are always pretty but I’ve seen so much blue and so much toile, I’ve grown bored, even with my neighbor’s highly dramatic orange walls in the main rooms and vibrant blue in the bedrooms and toile all over, on top of wood-look porcelain tile floors in near espresso. Looks like a magazine shoot but so intense that I couldn’t wait to get out of there. She was smart enough to do a white kitchen, however.

    • Julie says:

      I’d love to hear Maria’s take on “how much color is enough” – in some regards I imagine it’s personal (particularly in how saturated the colors are), but I also expect that in her experience there’s some kind of minimum threshold to move a room from dead and monochrome to quiet/understated.

  • Pinkie Crabtree says:

    So…if gold will be dated in 10 years, what hardware color does not date? Do we need to just change it every 10 years?

    • Maria Killam says:

      Good question, silver based finishes seem to be much more timeless than gold, gold can look timeless but then it has to be custom to the space and expensive it seems.

  • Pami F says:

    Just when I was ready to switch out my outdated brass hardware for stainless. Maybe I should wait a few years….in any case, thank you for a lovely post and photos!

  • aprilneverends says:

    I’m into flowers to the point I’m embarrassed of myself. Textiles, art, real flowers..But lately because of the remodel I had to purchase abnormal amount of lighting fixtures (they want everything hardwired to be installed by the time of final inspection). It’s a huge expense, so I went with mostly vintage. And every time I’d fall in love with something flower-y. I didn’t want to overdo it, I tried really hard, I did.
    But not with much success. Right now, out of all chandeliers and sconces,7 have flower motives. They are different in style-ceramic, fabric, crystals..the quality is amazing, I’d pay thousands for new fixtures like these. But I still worry a lot-what people will say? They’ll think I went bonkers..
    Well, now when I read your post, I hope maybe they’ll just think I’m trendy in a very annoying way:)

  • Kathi says:

    Nay to the flower lights-also that Thibaut flower wall was impressive as a work of art, but would be very claustrophobic after 10 minutes of being around it-it was enjoyable to see the bright colors on the sofas,etc, refreshing after looking at Gray mini Restoration hardware furniture show rooms in lots of homes-that blah palette got really old quickly in my book-thanks for sharing-High point is always a High point to look at!

    • Maria Pereira says:

      I don’t care for the flower lights or all the gold fixtures. The flower wall was over the top. I can only imagine how difficult that would be to clean!

  • Rob says:

    Lillian August was definitely my fave!!

  • Robin says:

    It’s exhausting looking at all of the “on trend” examples lol. 🙂 Stick to what you LOVE and do your best to have it all coordinate (which with Maria’s awesome advice re undertones etc., shouldn’t be too hard lol!). If you have always loved florals, go with it! If you love earthy browns, embrace it. If grays make you swoon, good for you! You can always add layers of color to break up the gray if you choose. If your soul cannot live without bright expanses of vivid color, then bring it on lol! The keyword here is “IF”. There will always be a new trend–ready to pounce around the next corner. Fill your home with what you love and with what makes you feel at peace or fill it with what makes you come alive. We will never be able to “keep up” with what’s on trend in our homes (nor would we want to) as we would never ever be satisfied with anything. Find what it is that you really love. Add new things here and there to refresh and restore. Mix it up from time to time. Use Maria’s invaluable color advice as a lifelong tool…Therein lies the key to furnishing our homes with happiness. Thank you Maria for giving us insight to the goings on of 2017. Never a dull moment!!

  • Jo Galbraith says:

    Thanks Maria! I look forward to your trends forecast every year. I started collecting blue and white 25 years ago and love how “trendy” it has become. I am loving the greens and the fresh colours and floral patterns.

  • Darci Foshay says:

    It’s always nice to get a sneak peek into what’s trending at Highpoint market. Thank you for sharing the great pictures. Your Specify Color with Confidence class is #1 on my priorities list, sadly I’m unable to attend your June workshop. Will you be teaching again late summer or into the fall?

  • Mary-Illinois says:

    I love all the pictures you’ve posted from High Point. It’s always nice to see what’s new. You just never know what will stick when it’s all thrown out there.

  • Julie says:

    Since it is making a return, here’s a color tidbit I hope you’ll enjoy. The classic blue that you see on porcelain, like that beautiful collection in your Stanley Furniture picture, is often called cobalt blue, because it’s produced by using the mineral cobalt.

  • Julie Zygmontiwicz says:

    I feel like Black will never go away or become dated. I love the large floral by Theadore Alexander but of course would not look as fabulous without the black backdrop! I like to keep green in my fresh accents but I just could never get myself to be totally committed to using it completely in any home design…seems like green just keeps coming around and going out just as fast!

  • Susan Hubele says:

    Hooray for color and flowers! I use lots of both in my paintings at susanhubeleart.com. I’m so glad that they are now being embraced. Gray, gray go away and come again another day!

  • Maria, I love this post and thank you for keeping us abreast of what is new at market. I just love all of the color, flowers, shiny objects etc. Green certainly is big right now but I don’t think it ever goes out. I liked the Thibaut room and the way that they paired the same chair one skirted & the other with legs. Woodbridge had an invigorating room with all of the orange. High Point certainly is an invigorating event!

  • Heidi says:

    I don’t hardly any of these, they are just too much. Buy what you really like and ignore trends.

  • I’m ready to dive in to the Theodore Alexander green couch!
    As far as metals go, in the area of logevity, think of this: when you go to an historic home and see brass or any aged metal fixtures or faucets that were well oiled and preserved, do you not think it still looks good? Timeless ? Of course. To me, it’s the shiny finishes that will date the house later.
    Thanks for this photo journey with you to the market, Maria! It didn’t even cost me lunch money. Always love it when you share these morsels with us!

  • Liz says:

    I guess it’s time to unpack my great grandmother’s Blue Willow plates and hang them again. Not so much because blue is trendy, but because they are beautiful and deserve to be seen. I packed them away because I was tired of them, but I’m glad designers are appreciating the classics. That inspires me to bring them back out of hiding. 🙂

  • Blue, blue, blue. Those rooms are beautiful to me.

  • I have always loved florals, especially coordinated with stripes. It’s a go-to romantic look in a bedroom or fun and fresh cottage style in a living room. How exciting to add light fixtures to the mix of fabric and wall paper selections to take it to the next level! Thank you for the pics and sharing High Point experience, Maria! Loved it all!

  • Fran says:

    Thanks for the High Point update, Maria! It’s the next best thing to being there!

  • Jan says:

    I too am tired of the grey trend. Any thoughts on when it will go away?

  • Laurel Bern says:

    Hi Maria,

    First of all, it was so terrific finally getting to meet you! And wow! What a terrific post with the most gorgeous photos! I will definitely be sharing this with my readers. xoxo, Laurel

  • Mary says:

    Golden tone metals will always look dated to me. No thank you.

  • Mary says:

    LOVE green, my favorite color. My last 2 family room sofas were green and I’d love that T Alexander one to be my third!

    Also love flowers the real deal and in textiles, home goods, and clothing, however could use a tutorial on how to choose florals for my home that don’t end up looking Grandma, if you know what I mean.

  • Karen says:

    Thank you so much for sharing – refreshing and inspiring!

  • I’ve been feeling a warmer gray lately. The bluish battleship gray is looking so cold to me know. I really like SW Agreeable Gray, SW Accessible Beige and BM Revere Pewter. They are gray but warm.

    • Debbie says:

      I just painted our home office Accessible Beige! It’s wonderful in a room with a dark hardwood floor and dark bookshelves. It seems neutral yet warm. I’d love to know what the undertone is.

  • mrsben says:

    Flower power … I remember the era well … ‘If you are going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair’. As they say; if you wait long enough it will be in style again and sure enough here it is again but as for avocado hopefully not …. ☺. Love the indigo and of course anything by Toby Fairley. Thanks so much Maria for the tour and forecast. -Brenda-

  • On behalf of everyone at B E R N H A R D T, thanks so much for favoring our “Elevated Organics” intros, Maria ~ and for sharing with your friends here. We loved sharing our Spring Collections with you, and so enjoy following your insights on your blog and all of your social media channels. All the best to you and those you serve!

  • Katy says:

    I love this color trend but it was always around, masquerading as “cottage style” back during the brown trend. I have all my cottage magazines from 2000 to prove it 😉 so i think it is rather timeless.. The paper flowers on the wall will collect so much dirt and dust with no way to clean, so it’s purely a temporary art installation and should be seen as such. There’s my two cents 🙂

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