I look forward to Pantone’s yearly announcement. It’s a stimulating challenge to see how I can work it into my art and designs. It’s also a fun way to switch up you or your clients’ style. We’ll start to see tons of beautiful product inspired by the natural “Greenery”. Here, I want to share a few of my favorite ways to incorporate the Color of the Year into my designs. I’ll give you some examples that are much more of a commitment and others that are just enough to switch it up without a major overhaul.
1. For the bold: A new feature wall.
In your own space, if you’re feeling bold, or for a risk-taking client (lucky you!), you can do the Color of the Year really big with a freshly-painted feature wall. This is also a great opportunity to refocus a room that feels off and shift the focal point somewhere new.
This color, with its natural tone and associations, I feel is particularly wonderful for calming spaces such as a spa-style bathroom or bedroom. It’s really well accented with natural accessories like real greenery or details in other earthy tones in the nude-brown range. Even playing up the green with natural wood and metal accents is gorgeous.
One of my favorite “feature walls” to play with is the backsplash in a kitchen. With the right client and the right space, committing to a daring backsplash in something like Greenery can be incredibly impactful and a winning design.
Greenery is wonderful because it’s versatile for both a modern or traditional kitchen. Take a look at this idea below as well as a less expensive (but just as bold) alternative to the backsplash – painting cabinets. It’s traditional, it’s warm, it’s incredibly natural but it’s still bold and a great use of this color. I can’t imagine this kitchen any other way.
2. Switch up the art.
A slightly less permanent method to incorporating a new color (and a little bit of an easier sell to clients) is to bring in some brand new art to guide the eye around the room. I really love large, oversized art. It’s a bold effect and completely changes the entire feel of the room. Any art with an influence of this natural green would be stunning in a clean, modern room or add an earthy element to a industrial look. There is bound to be plenty of art influenced by Greenery popping up! Take a look at this beautiful Greenery-marbled piece from Leftbank Art.
3. The quick fix: accents and nicknacks.
For a very simple, inexpensive, and temporary way to include Greenery in a design, sprinkle in accessories to draw the eye around the room. Pillows, vases, books, throws, glassware look so nice in this color. It’s also beautifully accented with real live plants. You can even repaint small nicknacks and accents in Greenery. This can be difficult to do with other colors; sometimes adding in colored accessories can look like an unfortunate afterthought. But Greenery is such a natural and versatile tone, it fits into many modern and traditional looks nicely. It’s also bold and unpredictable enough to make a strong impact.
I hope these suggestions give you some inspiration! Continue to check here or connect with me on Instagram for how I use Greenery in my designs and art throughout 2017.
-Kelli
