Interior Design/Interior Decorating

INTERIOR DECORATING: COLOR TRENDS 2019

2019 Color Forecast for 2019

Karen Mills' blog
Photo courtesy of Pantone Color Institute

Color is an equalizing lens through which we experience our natural and digital realities and this is particularly true for Living Coral.  With consumers craving human interaction and social connection, the humanizing and heartening qualities displayed by the convivial Pantone Living Coral hit a responsive chord.  Lea Eiseman, Director of Pantone Color Institute

The impact of the annual color forecast by the Pantone Color Institute reaches much further than what you might imagine covering a wide range of industries from interior design and fashion to cars and appliances to name just a few.  Why?  Because their forecast is considered to be the one to follow for what’s new and next.  But today I want to include a couple of other color forecasts for 2019 along with sharing color trends I see as an interior designer for the future.

As you read through this color forecast look for similarities because I think you might notice an overall trend this year for color.

 

Karen Mills' blog
Photo courtesy of Benjamin Moore

 

Calm, composed and effortlessly sophisticated, Benjamin Moore’s Color of the Year 2019, Metropolitan AF-690, exudes glamour, beauty and balance.  

Benjamin Moore company

 

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Interior design by Karen Mills

 

Karen Mills' blog
Photo courtesy of Sherwin Williams

A warm terracotta color with ancient, elemental roots, Cavern Clay SW 7701, is our 2019 Color of the Year. Cavern Clay is a nod to midcentury modern style, but with the soul of the American Southwest, which together creates a desert modern aesthetic.  Sherwin Williams Company

 

Karen Mills' blog
Photo courtesy of Sherwin Williams

 

My Color Forecast:  Warm Vibrant Colors

 

Red, black and white color scheme

Karen Mills' blog
Photo courtesy of Ralph Lauren

 

Even though I’m still a big fan of warm grays, I have to admit I’m a little bit excited to see warm vibrant colors and bold color combinations coming back into vogue.  Red has been huge trend this year in fashion, especially with black, white or other vibrant colors like golden yellow, bold blue, and persimmon.

Karen Mills' blog
Interior design by Karen Mills

Golden yellow or mustard will be popular also along with a return to more traditional tobacco colored in leather, suede, and other materials like this wall pictured above.

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Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Design: Bold Color Forecast for 2018

Karen Mills' blog
Photo courtesy of Century Furniture

 

If you’ve been paying attention to interior designers or the fashion runway this fall you may have noticed bold colors popping up everywhere from red and yellow to bold blues.   Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore have announced their exciting bold new colors of 2018 but Lea Eiseman with the Pantone Institute has yet to reveal their color of the year which impacts all types of industries from fashion and design to autos and appliances.

Do you think Pantone will select the hot new mustard yellow color or something else?

Karen Mills' blog
Photo courtesy of Sherwin Williams

Benjamin Moore’s color of the year 2018 is a bold hue and one of my favorites!  I especially love it contrasted with white like the room shown above.

Bold blue hues like this also look great with beige colors, red, and orange along with citrine, a yellowy green.

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Interior design by Karen Mills/Photography by 29Pixel Studios

In the room above we incorporated a bold blue hue on the ottoman to give the space pizzazz.

 

Karen Mills' blog
Photo courtesy of Benjamin Moore

Benjamin Moore selected Caliente Red AF-290 as their color for 2018.  Of course red has been a favorite color of mine forever because its such a vibrant unexpected color that instantly creates drama!

What’s your favorite color for 2018?!  Post in the comments.

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Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Design: The Making of a Beautiful Bathroom

Karen Mills' blog
Interior design by Karen Mills

After working  as an interior designer on over 1200 projects , I’ve realized that most homeowners have no idea the amount of detail that goes into successfully creating a beautiful bathroom.   That’s why today I’m sharing an award winning bathroom project we designed in a collaborative effort with our clients that’s currently being featured by Elle Decor magazine and MSN.

The clients had a wonderful vision of a Hollywood Glam style bathroom and we helped them turn that vision of a timeless classic into reality, while ensuring the bath was also warm, inviting, and up to date.

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Since we already had a vision for the Hollywood glam design style, we began by selecting a color scheme from Benjamin Moore.

shower-layout

Then we discussed requirements for functionality including layout/space planning, storage, electrical requirements, and more.  And even though we loved the glossy marble finish on the floor, we opted instead for a matte finish to minimize slippage.

Karen Mills' blog

Karen Mills' blog

The existing fireplace was not being used, so we decided to replace it with a fabulous custom make up cabinet where our client could relax and get ready.

 

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As we began designing the beautiful custom vanities, we made sure they were functional with drawers deep enough to fit requirements for storage and built in electrical outlets for recharging toothbrushes/razors.  We did the same thing for the custom make up cabinet, opting for mirrored fronts  instead of glass on the upper cabinet doors to hide toiletries and make up.

finishes

Marvel floor tile by Atlas Concorde

Once the beautiful custom cabinetry design was finalized, we begin selecting the other finishes for the bathroom including a gorgeous stacked stone with embedded crystals for an accent wall behind the tub, a free standing tub, counter tops, back splash, floor/wall tile, plumbing fixtures, pulls, and light fixtures along with a lighting plan.

shower-tile-configuration-2  shower-in-progressKaren Mills' blog

But we didn’t stop there.  Once the walls were up, we sketched plans on exactly how to layout all the different colors and sizes of tile we had selected so  we would have just the look we wanted.

master-bath-bench-1

master-rock-wall-with-lighting-edited-for-website

The result?  A beautiful one of a kind award winning bathroom that our clients enjoy every day that helps reduce stress and make life better!

Karen Mills' blog
Interior design by Karen Mills

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Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Color Trends 2017: A Global Perspective

Screenshot
A sea lion in the Galapagos Islands by Karen Mills

As I’ve watched the the interior design color trends 2017 unfold, I’ve been anxiously anticipating this year’s blog on color trends which I find to be one of our most popular blogs annually!  Last year I predicted white as color of the year and it has definitely dominated the interior design scene along with taupe grays and watery blue colors.

But this time instead of predicting my color choice for 2017 as usual, I wanted to give you a more global perspective on color trends 2017 based on my travels around the world including a trip to the Galapagos Islands where I got an opportunity to encounter this wonderful sea lion pictured at top that shows the burst of color coming next year.

Every year seems to bring a slightly broader palette of colors into the forecast and this year is no exception.  For 2017 Lea Eiseman of the Pantone Color Institute gave a wide range of color predictions, but one of my favorite color groupings for spring is aptly named Florabundant  with bursts of fuchsia, green, and purple pink colors.

Karen Mills blog
Lea Eiseman of Pantone Color Institute
Karen Mills' blog
Italy trip – Karen Mills
Karen Mills' blog
New York City – Karen Mills
Karen Mills' blog
Benjamin Moore color of the year

Benjamin Moore narrowed their top color for 2017 to “Shadow”, a grayed out amethyst similar to the the purple colors in the Blue Mosque below where I visited in Istanbul.   Imagine how sexy that color could look in a dramatic living area or romantic bedroom.

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Blue mosque – Karen Mills

Sherwin Williams decided to play it safe with a wonderful taupe color which as an interior designer, I love because of its ability to adapt to almost any color palette.  Sherwin Williams calls it ” modern and classic… a beautiful balance of warm and cool,”

Karen Mills' blog

Karen Mills' blog
National Geographic resort in Galapagos Islands by Karen Mills

Of course white will still be popular next year along with warmer shades of red, wine, purples, vintage pastels, greens, blues, and even yellow.

For more great color trends and interior design ideas, sign up for our weekly blog here

plus become a fan of Kansas City’s interior designer and former host of Living Large, Karen Mills, on Facebook here!

Karen Mills' blog
Galapagos Islands – Karen Mills