Gunter & Co - Paint Stories Part 1
Paint Trends for 2021 and beyond
Irene Gunter, London Interior Designer, looks at the current and future trends for paint colours and finishes, and also spills the beans on some of her favourite colour schemes!
Paint is the base component of every interior scheme, whether it’s for the walls, the joinery, the plasterwork or the decorative details. Yes, several walls may well end up being wallpapered, but the ‘framework’ of each room is defined by the paint used for the skirtings, coving, panelling and window woodwork. So, paint is always important – and here we’re having a look at the current paint colour trends we’re enjoying in the interior design world now, and of course, the ones that will be coming up for 2022!
On paper, you will find that plenty of designers claim not to follow trends and not to be influenced by them. However you’ll find, much like trends making their way from the high end fashion houses to the high street, designers across the board (whether knowingly or unknowingly) are influenced by trends. Whether this is by the conscious paint choices they make, by purchasing colours that the leading paint companies curate as part of their selection, or by selecting products such as wallpapers, fabrics or tableware which feature these selected colours.
Trends don’t always adhere to the ‘colour of the year’ concept though, but it’s fascinating to see how colour trends develop and expand. Each time we look at trending paint colours there’s an opportunity to work with that trend whilst adding a jolt of contrast too! There’s been a lot of interest in warmer neutrals over the past few years, such as Heartwood from Dulux for 2018 and Spiced Honey from Dulux for 2019. Those warmer colours were a reaction to all those cool greys and silvers that were everywhere for a few years previously and although not deliberately we’ve used them our schemes many times over the last few years.
What are the paint trends this year?
So, what are the paint colour trends for 2021? Each year brings us a new ‘Colour of the Year’, promoted by various brands, and of course, by Pantone. The Pantone Colour of the Year ends up being a bit of a benchmark for everyone involved with colour choices, but it can be difficult to pick out just one colour to focus on. Which may be why the Colour of the Year for 2021 as defined by Pantone was in fact two colours, Ultimate Gray and Illuminating. These are a ‘concrete’ grey and a vivid, acidy-sunshiny yellow. As these shades were announced in 2020, our year of lockdown and grey moods, perhaps the combination can be explained by the ‘opposites attract’ vibe, with Illuminating yellow providing the optimism and sunshine after the grey!
The Colour of the Year 2021 from Dulux was Brave Ground, a colour described as a warm and earthy tone, a foundation for change and creativity. This is a great, warming shade, a step away from cooler greys and cold whites, but welcoming and inviting. It’s a colour that is of course, on-trend, but which can be combined with other focus shades, such as warm pinks and rusts. It’s also a shade that can balance cooler colours, such as darker blues and blue-greens, without making the scheme ‘cold’.
We wanted to also take a look at some recent colour trends, as we know that once that momentous ‘paint colour’ decision has been made, it’s not usually in the plan to change it a year later. Although it’s worth saying, with the benefit of experience, that very occasionally a paint colour doesn’t work quite as well as one would wish. In which case it’s best to bite the bullet straight away and repaint fairly quickly. This sometimes happens with the rather more subtle shades of white, off-white, pale grey and the ‘greige’ shades. It’s absolutely vital to always use a tester pot, and paint several areas – the sunniest wall, the North-facing shaded wall and the ceiling too! The way the light falls throughout the day will change the more subtle colour tones, perhaps adding a blue or grey ‘cast’. It can also make a shade look different on every wall.
We’re fond of soft, subtle neutrals for a lot of our schemes in combination with shades of green and navy. Navy blue has been an interior colour trend in the kitchen for many, and we love a dark blue, black, off-black or blue-grey shade. Try Hague Blue by Farrow & Ball, or 'Basalt' Luxury Blue Black Paint Online | Little Greene. Bold shades of burgundy and pale shades of blush also appear in many of our schemes. Our design ethos is to create beautiful homes that are nuanced and invigorating and using those little extra shots of colour, pattern, texture and imagination are some of the key ingredients.
