Decor trends take us on a little emotional journey every season. Some speak to how we’re feeling, some to how we want to feel.
For 2017, trend-spotters say we’re looking for ease and comfort. Even at the luxury end of the decor spectrum, the look is less stiff suit, more velvet smoking jacket.
‘Ephemeral’
‘‘When you look at this palette, it’s a Sunday morning,’’ said Laurie Pressman, a vice president at Pantone Color Institute. These delicate hues — what she and others are calling an ‘‘ephemeral’’ trend — evoke airiness and light.
Gentle whites and chalky pastels, which gained popularity over the last year or two, now combine with darker-yet-soothing neutrals like marine, earth, moss, and heather. Textures are soft. Woods are low-luster.
‘‘You can fall into it and relax,’’ said Tom Mirabile, a New York-based consumer trends expert.
Crate & Barrel’s spring collections include generous dollops of pistachio and aqua, bringing these nostalgic hues into kitchenware and accessories.
Kitchenaid’s newest mixers and bowls come in pretty shades of cornflower and buttercup.
And watch for lots of yellow, said Stephanie Pierce, design director at MasterBrand Cabinets. ‘‘From pale butter to dark mustard, yellows are cropping up everywhere’’ in styles ranging from midcentury modern to country farmhouse, Pierce said.
Some motifs are getting reworked in subtler ways. California-based designer Alison Palevsky points to animal prints like antelope and cheetah done in gray and beige instead of the traditional colors.
‘‘The pattern adds immediate interest and texture to any room,’’ she said, citing Stark Carpet’s Antilocarpa in smoke, stone and silver.
Luxury’s new look
If ‘‘ephemeral’’ is decor’s languid glass of lemonade, ‘‘luxe’’ is a goblet of heady merlot.
Jewel tones, lustrous leathers, and heftier, colored metals appeal to a new ‘‘visually expressive’’ generation, Pantone’s Pressman said. ‘‘It’s all about the finish — shine and luster.’’
Shiny brass and copper have been growing more popular, noted Mat Sanders and Brandon Quattrone of the Los Angeles-based interior design studio Consort. ‘‘But 2017 will be about embracing the beauty of aged metals in furniture, hardware, and fixtures.’’ Look for burnished finishes in pieces large and small.
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