Sherwin-Williams' 2011 color forecast, part three
What follows is the third of four color palettes Sherwin-Williams published recently as a forecast to what they see as emerging trends for next year. I profiled the first one on Tuesday, the second one on Wednesday, feel free to go back and review them.
Sherwin-Williams is calling this third palette Gentle Medley and here's the inspiration image that sums up the palette.
In Sherwin-Williams' personal phrases:
Hard times call for soft colors: the hint of green in a spring leaf bud; the chalky blush of a seashell; the time-etched beauty of a vintage fabric or photograph. Fashion has turned a romantic, nostalgic corner, bringing pastels and parchment-pale neutrals back into the palette. The hues are innocent without being sweet — flirty, yet not feminine. They reflect not just a yearning for youthful innocence and gentler times, but also a refreshing honesty and lack of pretension that are thoroughly modern.I'm calling this one the Apartment Therapy palette. It's not really a dig so much as it's an observation that this palette's aimed squarely at a youthful demographic that doesn't include me. There's a nostalgia at work here, a nostalgia for a time I remember from having experienced it first hand. As interesting as the 1970s were, they were troubled times and the unfortunate aesthetic sensibilities popular then make me wince when I remember them.
This palette takes the subsequent cues Sherwin-Williams recognized as ascendant trends.
- Vintage florals
- Dragonfly, butterfly and leaf motifs
- Mismatched flea-market finds
- Hand-tinted photos
- Maps
I'm not seeing this one at all and it pains me to put in writing that. I even have a logo loyalty to Sherwin-Williams that may not stop and though this palette hasn't modified that during any way, I can't shake the feel that this is a palette I can not relate to.
Here are the colors. As with yesterday's palette, today's is split into primary and support colors. I'll start with the primaries.
SW 6121 Whole Wheat
SW 6086 Sand Dune
SW 6463 Breaktime
SW 0073 Chartreuse
SW 6353 Chivalry Copper
SW 6442 Supreme Green
And in a assisting position
SW 7743 Mountain Road
SW 7509 Tiki Hut
So, what do you guys make of this one? I'm trying to generate some enthusiasm but it's just not coming. I could see Tuesday's Bold Invention and yesterday's Purely Refined, even if they didn't resonate with me but this one's escaping me all together. I'm not questioning Sherwin-Williams' research and I don't doubt for a second that these colors are an identifiable trend. It's just that they leave me cold. Copper and minty green are an unsettling color combination regardless of time or trend. So who's with me or am I just out of touch?
Mercifully, tomorrow's palette is one I can get behind but I think this one strikes out. How does Sherwin-Williams' Gentle Medley forecast land with you?