Hirshfield’s Hosts Benjamin Moore Color Expert Doty Horn

Last week, we hosted Doty Horn, Benajmin Moore’s director of color and design, for two nights at Hirshfield’s Design Studio. Doty, a renowned color trends expert, offered insight into Benjamin Moore’s predictions for color trends in 2011. She believes that the overall theme is balance, saying, “the emerging color palette reads more organic than ever before.” Here are her predictions on the influences for 2011:

• The Farm: Doty predicts a shift back to basics - think textures and patterns such as gingham checks, plaids, hopsack and burlap. The color palette is likely to include hues reminiscent of milk, hay and earthy tones, such as Benjamin Moore’s Oat Straw and Grassy Fields.






• Order: The chaos of the past decade has created a desire for structure and balance, which will present itself in the form of geometric shapes, stripes and definitive outlines and borders on design pieces. The black, white and gray scales, including Black Tar, will balance bold primary hues, like Utah Sky.

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Tags: 2011 Color Trends, Benjamin Moore, Color Pulse, Doty Horn

Best Uses of Yellow in Your Home

Yellow was one of the most popular colors of 2009, and with good reason - it is considered to be bright and cheery, and who couldn’t use some cheering up every once in a while? Here are some of the best ways to use yellow in your home and some things to consider when doing so:

• Liven Up A Cold Room: Yellow can be very effective in a north-facing room, adding warmth to a space that might usually feel cold due to the lack of natural sunlight. It also works great on the walls in a lower level to help warm up and bring life into the space.
• You Are What You Wear: It can be tough to find the right shade of yellow to adorn your walls, so a good rule of thumb is that if you wouldn’t wear it, you probably won’t like it on your walls.
• Natural is Best: When contemplating using yellow in a room, think natural - shades like straw, butter and sunshine yellow are best. I love Hirshfield’s Good Looking (#0918), and Benjamin Moore’s Safari (AF335) is a great butter tone.


Hirshfield's Good Looking



Benjamin Moore's Safari




• Accent Pieces: Yellow is a great accent color to liven up a room without making drastic changes or overwhelming your senses. It’s amazing what bringing in just a touch of yellow will do for a room — think pillows, art and fresh flowers.

Also, remember that when you look at colors online, they’re always a little off, so it’s best to check out samples in the store to determine what shade is perfect for your home.

Tags: Benjamin Moore, Best Uses of Yellow, Hirshfield's Paint, Yellow Accents, Yellow Paint

Next Year’s Color Inspiration? Think Neutral

Though the new year is still several months away – at this point, you might be more focused on getting through the holidays – experts are already forecasting 2010’s most popular trends in design and décor.  I spoke with Kathy Basil of Hirshfield’s Design Studio last week about what we can expect – and what kind of trends we can implement in our own homes.  She predicts that where 2009 was full of bright, vibrant colors, 2010 will see a shift towards safer neutral tones, and believes this transition may be related to the economic situation.

“Neutrals seem safe in uncertain times,” said Kathy.  “People may not feel comfortable changing their whole room, and neutrals provide a great backdrop to pull in other colors.  If you nail the perfect neutral in your main living space, you can use more adventurous colors in other areas of your home.”

While neutrals – such as Benjamin Moore’s Ashwood – will dominate the main areas of many homes, plums like Autumn Purple, peacock blues and leafy shades such as Terrapin Green will be popular as accent pieces.  Metallics will remain popular, but be more subtle – pearlescent tints rather than pieces reminiscent of mylar or foil.

Neutrals - like Ashwood - are a good base for any room.

Plum shades like Autumn Purple make great accent colors.

Adding in an accent piece in a bright shade of peacock blue can really spice up a room.

Try a natural, grassy green as an complement to your neutral base.

Kathy predicts that a desire for safety may influence all realms of design, including furniture and accent pieces, where handmade and reclaimed items – think quilts and heirlooms – will remain popular.  Carpets and rugs also will make a comeback, providing another avenue to make homes cozier.

For walls, wallpaper is the trend to follow.  “Not only does wallpaper look great, especially on accent walls, but it’s extremely user-friendly,” said Kathy.  “You can get removable wallpaper so you can change it out easily and as often as you like.”

Tags: 2010 Color Trends, Benjamin Moore, Green, Metallics