By Marica
Just like last year, Rose and I sat down earlier this week to discuss our favourite trends of the past year. We might not be good at predicting future trends (yet) but we love to observe the evolution of current and past trends – we call this little exercise “trend watching”.
As predicted many of the 2011 trends we wrote about last year continued on into 2012. Since most of these trends are still relevant and to refresh your memory you can read the 2011 trend reports here: Part 1 (Style), Part 2 (Colour), and Part 3 (Pattern).
Interesting to note that the primary style trends have not changed much over the past year. Trends like Industrial, Mid-century Modern, Scandi, and Vintage are now more popular than ever – especially since trend-related items have finally reached the retail market. More and more emphasis is also being place on designing green and buying homemade.
Rose and I also read a fascinating article on Freshome recently concerning the link between fashion and interior trends. In recent years the world of interiors has seen about a 2 year lag from runway to living room. Now that gap seems to be closing in at a much faster rate. The article also addresses Pantone’s Colour of the Year and its trend influence – it’s a very interesting read.
Now, today we’ll be looking at our favourite colour trends of 2012…
The most surprising colour trend of 2012 would have to be Neon! First hitting the runways as part of Spring/Summer 2012 fashion collections – my first instinct was to run for the hills. However, this current neon trend is not a rehashing of the horrible, unmentionable neon trends of the 80’s. It’s contemporary, it’s refined, it’s balanced – it’s interesting!
Within months (maybe even weeks) this bold trend made its transition into the world of interiors and décor. Vibrant and eye-catching, pops of fluorescents adds an unexpected element to any interior. I’m not saying you should go paint all your walls a shocking pink – just add one or two bright accent pieces. It’s cool, it’s brave, it’s not for everyone – I totally love it.
Pastels are by no means a new trend – it has been around for yonks. However, we have noticed a pastel evolution over the last handful of years. No longer restricted to kid’s bedrooms or fluffy girly spaces, we have moved away from the predictable cotton-candy pastels. The current pastel palettes – including those of 2011 & 2012 – have a lot more depth. We saw the introduction of “bright pastels” – think corals, salmons, mints and aquas. These spring-coloured pastels where much the rage last year.
A new addition, which I’m sure we are going to see a lot more in the year to come, is what I like to call “dusty pastels“. Not as saturated as “bright pastels“, it has an almost time faded appearance – think dusty lilac, faded rose, or powdery moss.
Another delicious current trend is to combine pastels with pops of neon – the result is absolutely stunning!
Various metal finishes have once again made a comeback. However, it is not the shiny, glam, and gaudy metallics of trends past. It is an aged, faded kind of metal trend – no blinding, polished golds and silvers. Old gold, antique silver, and especially brass and copper have seen a revival. There is just something about these rich, warm-hued metals that adds dimension and a sense of vintage luxe. I have seen some gorgeous brass and copper light-fittings and décor accents, and it works so well with our other colour trends!
Stick around for Part 2 of our 2012 Trend report where we discuss the past year’s pattern trends…
{So, what colour trends did you notice in 2012? We would love to hear about your favourites colour!}
Related articles
- Pantone Colour of the Year 2013: Emerald (thedesigntabloid.com)
- 2011 Trend Watching – Part One (thedesigntabloid.com)
- 2011 Trend Watching – Part Two (thedesigntabloid.com)
- 2011 Trend Watching – Part Three (thedesigntabloid.com)
The Design Tabloid 
Interesting to see how interior trends and fashion trends affect wedding style. I am particularly looking forward to seeing the introduction of metallics into our wedding decor.
[…] week in Part One of our 2012 Trend Report we discussed our most-loved Colour Trends of the past year. Today, we […]
[…] seating, furniture and those gorgeous warm metals that we have written about before. He touched on neons, which by the looks of things has no intentions of going away any time soon, as it morphs to take […]
[…] Like previous years, I was once again surprised by Pantone’s selection for Colour of the Year 2019. My first reaction (and Rose’s too for that matter) upon hearing “The Chosen” colour for this year was: “Coral, really?! – been there done that!” That is so 8 years ago. In fact, we have actually mentioned coral in not one, but TWO blog posts in the past – both trend reflection articles – in 2011 and 2012. […]