Carolyn Seay, one of our favorite decorators, has graciously given us some insight on color. Take some time to read the information below and gain some understanding about color in your home.
First Some Definitions:
Hue
This is another name for color. It represents the family of color; red, blue, yellow. Words like “warmer” or “cooler” are often used when describing differences between hues.
Value
This is a color’s lightness or darkness. Terms like “lighter” or “darker” are used when describing value differences.
Chroma
This is the purity, clarity, intensity, or saturation of a color. We use terms like “clearer” or “grayer” or “depth of color” or “softened” when discussing differences in chroma.
Tints, Tones, and Shades
Tints are created by adding white to a hue. Tones are created by adding black. Shades are created by adding gray.
How Color Trends Are Forecasted:
There are two organizations that meet to discuss and forecast color on an annual basis. One organization, Color Marketing Group, holds two international conferences annually. At each conference, the members look at what’s happening with color today, discuss what’s happening in the next year, and forecast two years out into the future.
Another organization is The Color Association of the United States. This is the oldest color forecasting service in America. This is where experts from every area of home décor come together once a year to create a palette of the hottest colors, which will be used in home furnishings across the United States for the next two years.
These color forecasting boards affect the colors we see in all areas of consumerism: auto, clothing fashion, home fashion, industrial and commercial products.
Another interesting thing is that color forecasters are not trying to define a specific hue, or color. They are looking for directional changes colors may be taking, such as getting lighter or darker, warmer or cooler, clearer or grayer, or just the relative importance a color family may be expected to have in the future based on observation of many outside influences.
For the color forecasters, it is all about marketing products. Their tag line is “Color sells, and the right colors sell better.”
So, when we try to design in a timeless, not trendy manor, we can’t always find the fabric with the value or chroma that we are looking for. But, chances are, if we are patient, that hue with the value or chroma we love will again be in the color forecaster’s chosen palette. VOILA.
Design Hint:
Always view colors under the conditions in which they will be used. Colors that appear the same under one type of lighting can respond differently under another. Light from a tungsten light bulb (incandescent) has more yellow content, while light from a fluorescent lamp has more blue content. I strongly recommend that you not use fluorescent lighting in clothing closets. But, builders do this all of the time.
Home Page, Resources, Polished Moms, Professional Moms, Competent Moms, Recipes, Top Five, Simplifying Your Life, Daily Prayer Guide, News at a Glance