Photo 1
Wild Apple Organic Shapes palette showcasing Of Clover I and II, Danhui Nai.
Colors are richer, warmer, and more inviting than the past few years. Brown and beige are all over Europe, so brown is back with warm earthy colors from taupe to dark chocolate being the hot new style, with white still around too. Add to that the natural textures of leather, linen, cotton, and woodtones for furniture, floors, and framing. The beauty about brown—as tint, tone or shade—is that it crosses most style lines fitting in from minimalism to maximalism, and mixing styles makes our spaces more personal, sensual and steeped in history—ours and others. What's out are gray decorations and accessories, rustic barn wood, flamingos and pineapples.
Trend Impacting Color
Interior design style trends influence the layout, furniture and overall feel for a room. Style decoration trends are what impact how that intended room is accented and enhanced, and both trends and decoration impact custom framing. Style trends are giving greater preference to recycled materials, manufactured with low environmental impact, and from certified forests. The most popular materials are wood, glass, and stone. Wood is earthy, versatile and eco-sustainable, offering beauty and warmth, while glass offers opportunities for highlights, shadows, shapes and colors.
Boho is still very much trending, but reaching maturity as more graphic, influenced by North African motifs with Berber cushions and rugs, Moroccan poufs and pottery mingling with antique or vintage furniture. Industrial styling and decoration also remain a style trend this year with structural elements always in view as exposed brick, wood beams, metal pipes, iron, and concrete, along with vintage furniture. Grand Image is anticipating a palette that is saturated yet with a slight gray undertone, and bold artwork of celebratory imagery focusing on play, as well as nostalgic colors. Yes, nostalgia is still around.
"Look for Coastal Modern Mediterranean influence which transports you to the Greek Isles with fresh palettes that echo the bright blue Aegean Sea and whitewashed architecture of Mykonos, Santorini, Cyprus and Amalfi," says Moira Hershey, Art Director, Wild Apple. "Gallery walls and large statement pieces with elaborate, dramatic frames are popular, as well as rounded, organic shapes in wall decor, furniture, rugs, mirrors and lamps. (photo 1)
Photo 1
Wild Apple Organic Shapes palette showcasing Of Clover I and II, Danhui Nai.
Color Impacting Style
Deep, dark and muted tones remain in vogue for walls, furniture, cabinets and accent pieces. Beige and its tints, tones and shades, remain a classic and run the gamut from off-white to a near brown, and fitting into the dominance of the year's earthy colors are textural fabrics like cotton, silk, wool, flax, linen, and burlap all with colors ranging from white to tan, which will in turn impact both art and framing choices. (photo 2)
Photo 2
Wild Apple inspirational neutral room with textures, and Toned Texture VII and VIII, Chris Paschke.
"We still see blues and greens trending into 2023 for the serene quality they add to interiors. We are planning print collections dedicated to nostalgic Americana and wildlife art in 2023, and other subjects as people seek warm and comforting images." says Katy Daly, Director of Art Acquisitions, McGaw Graphics. (photo 3)
Photo 3
McGaw Graphics, At the Edge of Time, Nancy Ortenstone.
Trend Style + Color = Art
Art publishers are still looking to neutrals, bright colors and dramatic colors as rooms accents. Artists who work with publishers are often sent assignments based on requests from their retail clients, called mood boards, resulting from current or anticipated style and colors trends. With the coming of the new year the demand for abstract art remains strong, as well as minimalism, but the color palettes have changed. Themes and colors featuring browns, beiges and greens featuring earthy neutrals with dried plants and grasses, and florals remain strong. (photo 4)
Photo 4
Earthy neutrals with dried plants and grasses, Vase Branch, Chris Paschke.
Current brightly colored style palettes also showcase more primary colors and jewel tones, which is translating into art requests, mostly as abstracts and abstracted landscapes. (photo 5) Pantone's Tropical Refresh palette was the color inspiration for Rainbow III. (photo 6)
Photo 5
Pantone's 2023 Tropical Refresh color palette.
Photo 6
Rainbow III, Chris Paschke is alcohol ink on Yupo for Wild Apple.
Color Palettes
Though at the time of this writing not all paint companies have launched their COTY, we do have a good idea where color is going. There are strong tendencies toward more use of deeper terra cotta tones drifting into rust—showing the influence of brown. Yellow is strong too, from bright and sunny, through non-metallic golden yellow, to darker yellow beige both as furnishings and wall décor. Rich cognac brown, caramel, camel, butterscotch, even orange—going back to the terra cotta—are all working well with the new darker woodtones.
Benjamin Moore palettes are showing warmer tinted whites moving toward warm grey and cream. Dark and neutral colors will become classics, and when combined with other neutral colors, they make the space warmer while adding drama. In contrast, cooler tinted whites accented with gold and warm grays, are better for quieter spaces. Dunn Edwards has launched a series of four palettes. Sara McLean, Color Expert + Stylist says that high-impact and nostalgic colors are making a comeback, along with earthy natural shades, and delicate neutrals.
Valspar's palettes include everything from muted hues, like creamy white, soft brown, and earth tones, including blue and green. The company's statement notes, "By turning to nature-inspired design, this year's collection is all about finding new comfort, embracing a flexible lifestyle, rediscovering joy, and leaning into the growing DIY movement," says Sue Kim, Valspar Color marketing manager.
International trends are also important. WGSN (formerly Worth Global Style Network), a global authority on consumer and design trends, has announced Digital Lavender as the global Color of the Year for 2023, and it is strongly felt that Pantone may follow suit with the same. Design West, Naples FL says, “Color psychology has proven purples are romantic, peaceful and luxurious. Digital Lavender as the (global) COTY has reassured us that purple (and its tints, tones and shades) is a definite for 2023 design.” (photo 7)
Photo 7
WGSN COTY palette Spring Summer 2023.
Paint COTY
Behr's Blank Canvas is just that, the perfect backdrop for any décor style or palette. Erika Woelfel, Vice President of Color and Creative Services says, "This white harmonizes with a wide range of hues, including neutrals, earthtones and pastels for a charming and cozy appeal…or with black for a dramatic impact.”
Dutch Boy's Rustic Greige is an understated warm color working well with warm or cool tones, helping bridge passing design trends from cool grays into warmer colors. It works well as a foyer color, on textured walls, or even as kitchen cabinets, furniture or framing accents. (photo 8)
Photo 8
Paint COTY from Behr, Dutch Boy, SW, and PPG only.
Sherwin-Williams' Redend Point; "It's subtle pink undertones make it easy to incorporate into any space…building on its earthiness by using it alongside natural-looking textiles and wood accents to create a desert oasis by layering terracotta shades and clay materials." "The color Redend Point is a natural choice for those looking for a warm and joyful neutral in both interiors and exteriors," says Sue Wadden, director of color marketing at Sherwin-Williams.
Sherwin-Williams' HGTV Home launch of Darkroom, a dimensional black with purple undertones, establishes a romantic elegance. This year's Colormix Terra palette moves away from the grey toward warmer neutrals like bone, beige, and greige with natural terracotta and sand earthtones moving more towards brown.
PPG and Glidden, have all three selected Vining Ivy this year. It is a deep, shaded, Caribbean aqua with a turquoise undertone that is energizing yet grounding. The color's jewel-toned hue can be used to set a calming mood in spaces, as its blue offers tranquility the emerald evokes feelings of balance, and it pairs well with deeper wood tones.
Color & Style Impacting Framing
Matboard companies continue to modify and launch new colors to their inventory as new trends demand, with neutral always remaining at the top of the list. Moulding companies also strive to stay viable and give designers what is needed for new and emerging styles.
New metallic based collections remain very popular, supported by Crescent's newest Nielsen Tuscan Linen additions of Slate, Raw Steel, Pewter and Carmel to Profiles 93 and 97. Studio Moulding released their Lumiere soft metallic and Lyra collections; Arquati's Signature II Stella textural metallic; Nurre Caxton's Castile of forged and hammered finishes; and Omega's York line. Framerica continues to offer both metallics and woodtones that align with current trends, featuring their Swirled™ collection of gold and silver for traditional or minimalism, and Rusted™ Bar collection, perfect for Industrial styling, not to forget their Terra Cotta and Cathedral lines too.
Woodtones continue with grain and texture are seen in Studio Moulding's Chalet; Superior Moulding's Corolla in two profiles and four hammered, rustic finishes, and Rustler with earthy visual texture; and Roma Moulding has released their Organic and Tabacchino collections, of grained Oak, Maple and Walnut woodtones and made of rich olive wood, respectively. And the bold colors are back with Studio's bright, solid primary colors in Poems II, Superior's color stained woods, and Fox Moulding's textural Cosmic collection.
All in all, framers should have plenty to choose from to help with accenting all upcoming and continuing trends for 2023.
END
Copyright © 2023 Chris A Paschke
For more articles on mounting basics look under the mounting section in Articles by Subject.
Additional information on all types of mounting is found in:
The Mounting and Laminating Handbook, Second Edition, 2002,
The Mounting And Laminating Handbook, Third Edition, 2008 and
Creative Mounting, Wrapping, And Laminating, 2000 will teach you everything you need to know about getting the most from your dry mount equipment and materials as an innovative frame designer.
All books are available from Designs Ink Publishing through this website.
Chris A Paschke, CPF GCF
Designs Ink
Designs Ink Publishing
785 Tucker Road, Suite G-183
Tehachapi, CA 93561
P 661-821-2188
chris@designsinkart.com