Pantone just announced their 2016 colors of the year, Rose Quartz and Serenity, so we’ve all got colors on the brain. We’ve got your guide to the top trending colors of this year and a look forward at what will be trending next season with help from Shutterfly’s team of top designers and color gurus.
See more color tips + inspiration in Shutterfly’s fab color guide.
Top Tips for Decorating with Color
Color is the first thing you think of when redecorating a room. It can add pizzaz whether you’re painting a whole room, giving furniture a new hue, or updating your window treatments.
We asked Keerie Kelly the Interior Designer behind Keerie Kelly Design Lab to share her best advice for incorporating color into your decor.
When should you embrace a trending color and when should you stick with a timeless neutral?
Embrace a trending color for small, accent furniture pieces, like a side-table or chair. Trendy colors also work well as accent wall colors, while classic and timeless colors anchor a home’s look, especially when used for couches and dining room chairs, as well as the core palette for your wall color
Via Society Social
How often should you rework your room’s color palette?
Feel free to swap out accent wall colors every year or so, to freshen up your look. Change smaller bursts of color with seasons, such as fall and spring.
What’s your favorite unexpected place to use color?
A great piece of wall art or a throw pillow is always a great place to start. You could even swap out the hardware on your cabinets and drawers with a colorful accent for added drama.
Via Lost and Found
How can you bring color into a room with window treatments?
Patterned curtains are so beautiful when balancing classic and trendy colors. A large-scale vertical stripe is always clean and classic, while a bold plaid can be more fun for holidays or cooler months.
Get the look with Blinds.com Premier Grommet Drapery Panels in Broad Stripe.
What is your go-to window treatment look? (tell us general colors and styles, we’ll find specific to match.)
Roller shades are great for a simple and clean look, and work well in the bathroom and kitchen. Curtains boasting bold colors like fuchsia and emerald green are great statement pieces for the living room or bedroom.
Get the look with Blinds.com Architectural Roller Shades in Harlequin Cornflower.
What Colors Are Trending Now?
Rose Quartz / Blush
Soft pink isn’t just for little girl’s rooms. When paired with modern accessories and clean lines, it provides beautiful contrast and doesn’t look too frou frou. It’s so popular that it’s one of Pantone’s Colors of the Year for 2016.
Design often follows fashion, and soft, romantic neutrals were on every runway last year; they were dubbed “ballet” colors, and pale pink quickly became the unexpected color of the moment. – Wendy Wrzos, Interior Redesign Specialist
Photo via Casa Vogue.
How To Use It:
It would be perfect on the walls of a bathroom, with gray stone accents, or a feature wall surrounding a fireplace. Or, if you are brave, a gorgeous, vintage sofa. – Wendy Wrzos, Interior Redesign Specialist
Bring blush to your windows for a soft, warm glow with Bali Roman Shades in Ludlow Powder.
Cobalt
Give your home the pop of painted porcelain with a cobalt and white palette.
Blue is still America’s favorite color, and I think cobalt takes that color to a whole new level with more energy and intensity. I love this color because it’s approachable but risky. In other words, it seems daring, but is still in the blue family, which for most people is ultimately a pretty safe choice. – Tobi Fairley
Image via Nancy Nolan / Shutterfly
How to Use It:
I love this color in fabrics, like on a wing chair or some big gorgeous pillows in an otherwise neutral space. It’s also gorgeous in glass, whether that’s a ceramic lamp base or in accessories. And don’t be afraid to use it on the walls! – Tobi Fairley
Take bold colors and patterns to your walls with Blinds.com Premium Roman Shades or Easy Drapery Panels in Medan Banda Sea. The Roman Shades get a polished look with perfectly coordinated edge banding in Wheat.
See more tips for what to pair with Cobalt from Shutterfly.
Coral
This bright pinky-orange is statement making, cheerful and looks good nearly everywhere. But how do you work it into your space?
This is a happy and bright color that also happens to be quite natural. The secret to the perfect coral is to find a shade that has a tiny hint of pink, like the inside of a seashell. Coral isn’t necessarily orange or pink; it’s just the perfect marriage of the two. – Diana Timmons, Color Consultant at About.com
Image via Sherwin Williams / Shutterfly
How to Use It:
Coral is a versatile and warm color that works with a variety of styles, and is one of the few brights that works well with gray and navy blue. Try upholstered accent furniture, throw pillows and painted accent tables as stylish ways to incorporate coral into a space. – Diana Timmons, Color Consultant at About.com
This coral roller shade fabric is a bit more toned down and can be incorporated into any space like a neutral. Ginger, as it’s called, is available for Blinds.com Architectural Blackout Roller Shades.
Navy
Navy walls and furnishings bring a warm moodiness to your space – like a cozy library. We love if for a formal dining room or home office.
Navy blue is a classic. Pair it with citrus tones or a saturated magenta for a fresh summer look both indoors and out. Contrast navy with white and add in metallic lighting and hardware and you suddenly have created a look of sophistication and timelessness. – Kerrie Kelly Design Lab
Image via Kerrie Kelly Design Lab / Shutterfly
How To Use It:
I would always recommend pairing navy blue with some element of contrast for the best effect, such as white countertops with blue cabinets, navy walls with white trim. This type of pairing is when navy blue is at its best. – Kerrie Kelly Design Lab
Complete your blue and white kitchen (or any space) with sleek navy roman shades. These are the Blinds.com Designer Roman Shades in Camden Dark Storm as seen in Brittany Makes’ kitchen.
Mushroom
Move over greige! Mushroom is a warm brown that looks good anywhere. Meet your new go-to neutral.
For so many years, the design world viewed white, black and gray as the three neutrals to pair with. As lifestyles have become more casual and the idea of using organic textures and colors took hold, so did the realization that neutral colors don’t have to be so stark. Mushroom helps show off rich colors in homes yet it doesn’t compete with other neutrals beside it. – Ronique Gibson, Shutterfly Home Decor Blogger
Image via Shutterfly.
How To Use It:
I love seeing mushroom in textile patterns, window treatments, area rugs, and home decor. It lends itself well to rustic homes that incorporate wood, metals, and plenty of organic textures. On the other hand it looks equally as stunning in a penthouse high-rise apartment with Regency-style mirrored furniture and ornate decor. – Ronique Gibson, Shutterfly Home Decor Blogger
Bring some rich texture to your windows with Architectural Wood Blinds in Vintage Driftwood. They have a gorgeous scraped wood finish that adds even more dimension to the color.
Aubergine
Bring some drama to your walls with Aubergine. This color looks just as good in small powder rooms and large living rooms. Amp up the jewel tones with a sparkly chandelier.
I love aubergine because it’s funky enough that it hasn’t been over-used in a trendy way. It’s a color with staying power and versatility. It’s a deep purpley eggplant color, but can range from a bright, almost fuchsia hue all the way to a more subdued tone that verges on warm brown. – Rachel Perls, Architectural Color Consultant
How To Use It:
The sky is the limit; it just depends upon how much of it you want surrounding you! I’ve done dining room walls painted in aubergine, paired with rich oriental rugs and dark wood. I’ve also used it more sparingly as touches in rugs, upholstery and throw pillows. – Rachel Perls, Architectural Color Consultant
Take this rich color to your walls with Blinds.com Premier Roman Shades in Velvet Sheen Royal. Velvet not only gives your windows a lush look, but they also trap air in the rich piles for extra insulation.
Raspberry
Rich Raspberry is versatile enough for casual bohemian decor or a tailored, preppy space with a feminine edge. Wherever you use it, it’s sure to bring life to your room.
Raspberry is an intensely theatrical color that radiates with high energy, exerting a youthful and sensual force. Using this color makes a bold statement that can’t be ignored. – Maria Killam, Decorator and Stylist
Image via Shutterfly
How To Use It:
Most people will use raspberry as an accent color in a living room like I did, but then you could paint the walls in your dining room or powder room raspberry, for example, to create flow. – Maria Killam, Decorator and Stylist
Bring in a slightly subdued, but no less lovely raspberry touch with Bali Soft Roman Shades in Kayo Indulge. Raspberry flowers flow across this fabric in a traditional chinoiserie pattern.
Pale Jade
If your afraid of making a major color statement, pale jade is for you. This soft color is unassuming, but will bring a sense of calm to your home. Its subtlety means you can get away with it in larger doses. Try as a whole-room wall color or for a large piece of furniture.
Green is a perennially popular color, but I think the popularity of pale jade can be attributed to people’s current interest in achieving a sense of calm at home, and in referring to the simpler days of the past in their decor. Pale jade is a soothing, calm green that has a chalkiness suggestive of history. – Meredith Swineheart, Remodelista Editor
How To Use It:
Pale jade is an excellent choice for walls; it’s not bold and doesn’t announce itself, but is sophisticated, chalky, and serene. For largely neutral homes, pale jade is a good way to ease into color because it shines next to white and both light and dark woods. My favorite approach is the way we’re seeing architects use the color, as built-in cabinets (in the kitchen and elsewhere) in an otherwise white or neutral room. It’s a very high-end look.- Meredith Swineheart, Remodelista Editor
Botanica Turquoise is delicate and lovely. Soft dandelions flow across the pale jade fabric. It has a slight sheen that picks up the light beautifully. It’s available for Blinds.com Premier Roman Shades and Premier Draperies.
Want More Color Inspiration?
Head over to Shutterfly to see their complete color guide with tips from top interior designers and more!
