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Above:
The natural textures, warm colors and soft lighting, created
by O’Toole Design, provide an earthy welcoming environment to developer
Novus Companies.
The
Business of Color
Two designing women track the trends of business décor.
By C. B. Adams
In the fashion industry, all eyes turn to the runways in Paris,
Milan and New York to see what colors, fabrics and hemlines will
be the rage in the coming year. But where does a business owner
turn when he or she is building a new headquarters or renovating
an existing one? How can he or she be confident that the new mix
of carpeting, flooring, paint and signage will not be dated within
a year or two?
That is the responsibility of professional interior designers and
decorators, according to June Roesslein, president of June Roesslein
Interiors, a firm she started 25 years ago.
“When
I am making selections for a home or a builder, I want to be on
the cutting edge and put in the newest colors, so it will last as
long as possible. I don’t want a client to turn around in a year
or two and say, ‘Why in the world did you put in almond appliances?
Almond is dead.’ That is why it is important for professionals to
stay on top of these things. I am paid to advise clients of what
is new and different and what is going to be good,” Roesslein says.
For instance, almond as a color for appliances really is dead—as
dead as harvest gold and avocado green. So if it is time to chuck
the almond refrigerator in the company kitchen, what color is “in”?
Biscuit.
Biscuit is a soft, neutral off-white tinted with hints of gray and
beige. Biscuit has been around for a few years and can be found
on a wide range of products, from kitchen appliances to bathroom
fixtures, countertops and paint. The new, emerging color for appliances
is black. Another emerging trend is not so much a color as a material:
stainless steel.
Above: According
to Roesslein, the most popular neutral shades of 2002 will revolve
around khaki colors from beige to gold.
Color defines all aspects of society, from automobiles to bed linens
to brick. Color also defines certain times in history. For example:
- Yellow-based
hues reflected an era of caution and stagnation in the
late 1960s and early 1970s.
-
Bright hues and teal took hold in the 1980s, riding the
optimism of a bull market and entrepreneurial success.
- A
downturn in the economy in the early 1990s produced spice
tones, including sage greens, pumpkin and wheat.
- The
booming economy that ended the century with bold optimism
was reflected in rich red violets, magentas and plum tones.
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Trends in popular
colors happen organically as consumers respond to the current times.
Trends tend to last from a few to several years, compared to fads,
which last a year or less. In fact, mauve, another popular 1980s
color, lasted seven years, the longest trend ever recorded, according
to Roesslein.
Above:
O’Toole Design uses raw materials like brick and stained concrete,
toned down by warm colors, natural lighting and unexpected curves
in the ceiling and furniture at THF Realty’s corporate offices.
“Mauve enjoyed a long life span. It will be like harvest gold or
avocado green appliance. We can go back and tag certain colors and
associate them with a certain span of years,” she says.
Above:
The lobby of the 18,000-square-foot headquarters of homebuilder,
The Jones Company, in Chesterfield, Mo.
Roesslein predicts that the new colors in the coming year will be
raspberries, grass greens, yellow golds and mochas. She is confident
about these colors, thanks to her membership in the Color Marketing
Group, an international not-for-profit association of nearly 1,700
designers from all industries. Members of CMG meet twice a year
to compare notes and select which colors are current and which are
emerging and forecast to be popular within the next three years
for all hard and soft goods.
“The newer, more cheerful color scale will probably coincide for
a while with the earthy, easy-to-live-with spice colors. There is
no one direction that is a trend, but a multitude of directions.
But as long as we know what direction the colors are going, then
the industries can produce products that go with one another,” she
says.
Another trend in design, especially in commercial applications,
is named after a color, but is more about an approach. That is,
green, according to Michelle O’Toole, president of O’Toole Design
Associates, a commercial interior design firm.
Above:
Roesslein says that “relaxed” gathering rooms—opulent, but not
starchy—will be increasingly favored over formal living rooms in
the coming year.
“The new trend in commercial buildings is going green. More and
more clients are asking for wall coverings, carpeting and finishes
on the furniture to be more environmentally friendly and to be healthier
for the people who work there. Such green products used to be very
cost-prohibitive, but there are more resources available now and
the prices are coming down,” O’Toole says.
Concurrent with the green trend, clients are also seeking work spaces
that are not only pleasing to the eye, but also flexible and more
open.
“Colors cycle in and out, but it is always popular to have a design
that allows for a more creative, functional and productive work
environment. Where it used to be straight work stations, now there
are more curves and an emphasis on ergonomics. Opening up spaces
allows people to communicate more freely and get away from that
whole ‘Dilbert’ thing of confining people in row after row of straight
work stations,” she says.
C. B. Adams is a St. Louis-based writer, communications consultant
and adjunct faculty member at University of Missouri–St. Louis.
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