The next few weeks, we’ll be inviting some top-notch design experts to join our guest blog series. And this week, it’s the lovely Fawn Chang, CFSC, Allied ASID, IIDA, NKBA. We recently had the pleasure of meeting Fawn, who’s also a Feng Shui expert, at an event for Pittsburgh Paints where she covered what’s hot in paint colors right now. Lucky for us, she agreed to write up Pittsburgh Paints’ color trends just for you, so you don’t even have to leave your house to get some of the best design advice in the industry. Ready for a home redo? Check out what Fawn has to say about creating a color environment that works for you and your family, makes you happy, and is trendy to boot. (Scroll down for color swatches!)
We’re honored you joined us, Fawn. Thanks for stopping by!
What are the biggest color palettes right now?
The Surreal/Real Color Palettes reflect the fact that as human beings we exist between two metaphors of Earth and Sky. Each one of us stands with our feet planted squarely on the earth, and our head in the sky. When exposed to the ever-changing events of life, we will use these perspectives to look at the new world around us. The Earth represents all that is logical, tangible and knowable and through discovery and observation it creates the world we know. We all share this knowledge through our vast store of accumulated collective experiences. The Sky represents our aspirations. Just as we need to breathe, we need to dream. This dream-like field is full of the magical, exciting, surprising and uplifting.
We have two Earth palettes: Journey and Indie which are two expressions that reflect our reality and are linked directly to our cultures and origins.
Our two Sky palettes, Wonderland and Avatar, illustrate what could be, the creative side of things. Wonderland stands for our dreams of harmony; Avatar for our dreams of adventure.
Earth Palettes
Journey
http://porter.voiceofcolor.com/en/inspicafe/trends/trends_journey.asp
This is a design theme that represents life’s most meaningful journeys: spiritual, cultural, philosophical. The spirit of this theme is the harmonization of urban, tribal, and mixed cultural references that create a melting pot of modern ethno-chic.
The Journey palette blends rich earthy tones which can be grouped together in saturated harmonies, or may stand separately as accents against dark browns and inky blacks.
Silhouettes offer an organic or human form, using dry, warm materials against clean and tactile surfaces.
Prints and patterns showcase an eclectic assembly of browns and inky blacks.
Indiehttp://porter.voiceofcolor.com/en/inspicafe/trends/trends_indie.asp
The word “indie†has come to represent fresh thinking and cutting edge creativity, as in indie rock bands and indie films. Our design story takes the name Indie as a reference to industry and the designs it influences. Basic machinery, standard materials, true craftsmanship, and even industrial packing serve as inspiration for today’s interior and product designers. In an era of fast fashions and cheap plastics, reverting to the backbone of design and engineering might be truly “indie†after all.
The Indie color range is a carpenter’s palette of railway blues, patinaed browns, and engineer’s green.
Silhouettes are simplified, referencing the earliest versions of designs.
Indie materials are sturdy, honest classics: leather, wood, metal.
Sky Palettes
Wonderland
http://porter.voiceofcolor.com/en/inspicafe/trends/trends_wonderland.asp
The Wonderland theme is a blend of contradictions – ornate and minimal, modern and vintage, classic and neo-classic. The overall look is soft, welcoming, and cozy (without appearing too casual) using calmer palettes and selective detailing.
The Wonderland palette is highly romantic and dreamy with four warm cosmetic shades and one sumptuous brown note.
Silhouettes that are rounded and circular in form prevail, while sheer and transparent pieces keep the mood light and airy.
From modern baroque to art nouveau and even a touch of rococo, prints and patterns play up the evolving art-based trend that Wonderland encompasses.
Avatar palette
http://porter.voiceofcolor.com/en/inspicafe/trends/trends_avatar.asp
Like an alter ego in a virtual world, the Avatar palette unveils a futuristic, cartoonish and fantastic version of reality. Art, architecture, furniture and fashion all succumb to this influence of playful fantasy.
Clean matte shades of green, yellow, and new blue vibrate together, exhibiting a luminosity stabilized only by flat black and white in this palette that represents the other side of reality.
Designs are made up of simplistic silhouettes and fun forms where color and/or quirkiness dominate.
Prints and patterns, often against backgrounds of white, are primarily abstract and boldly graphic.
Brief Bio
Fawn Chang, CFSC, Allied ASID, IIDA, NKBA is the National Color and Design Consultant for PPG Pittsburgh/Porter Paints. Fawn travels North America delivering the exciting news about color and design trends and the positive effect living with color has on our lives. Fawn is an expert on color and design and its affect on humans and their relationships. Fawn is an Interior Designer, Speaker & Writer, and contributing partner for Pittsburgh Home & Design Magazine, and a Feng Shui Expert. For over 20 years, Fawn’s designs have been the leading edge of the trend to live a healthier and happier life through conscious design of Home, Offices, Schools and more. She blends the best of East and West with her brilliant use of color, trends and styles and the impact they have on the humans who live and work there.
