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Benjamin Moore Releases 2011 Color Forecast

Monday, October 5, 2009

“Balance” will be the new watchword in color trends next year, according to Benjamin Moore’s new annual analysis, Color Pulse 2011.

This is the company’s seventh annual color trend report, designed for architects and interior designers. Priced at $75, it is available from www.benjaminmoore.com and is intended for use throughout North America, with text in Spanish, French and English.

The new volume has been designed to be a “workbox,” loaded with useful components, according to Doty Horn, director of color and design and an author of the volume.

It includes:

• A “PanSpectrum” foldout that allows the user to view the full array of the 46 forecasted trend colors and finishes, which are drawn from Benjamin Moore’s collection of more than 3,300 colors.

• A “RetroSpectrum” that graphically diagrams how the trend colors have evolved over a three-year period, noting influences and changes in tonality and saturation.

Both tools are freestanding and can be posted on a wall or fully opened on a worktable. Color pairings and couplings are proposed, as are textural complements that reflect the four trend themes. A digital translation of all the workbox materials on a USB thumb drive is also available.

“Balance is about being rooted and grounded,” said Horn. “So, the emerging color palette reads more organic than ever before. We’re looking at a gradual progression from the gray scale of the past few years to the browns and earthier tones, warm neutrals and mineral hues. Look for hay-like coloring, light beiges, camels and terra cottas but offset and exquisitely balanced by splashes of brights.”

Benjamin Moore cites four distinct influences on the Balance theme:

• The Farm, reflecting “a seismic shift back to basics and primal roots.”

• Order, reflecting a backlash against “the global chaos of the past decade—politically, economically, culturally.”

• Escape, reflecting a desire for physical and psychic journeys.

• Tribe, reflecting the “tight-knit world of ethnic, social and cultural beings.”

Benjamin Moore is also planning a series of one-hour webinars in conjunction with the rollout of Color Pulse 2011. For more information, call 866-708-9181 or visit www.benjaminmoore.com.