WHAT’S YOUR COLOUR?
Paint your home in palettes that reflect your personal style
What colour(s) should you paint your house to be on trend? That depends ... on you.
Gone are the days when everyone and their brother is expected to duplicate a specific look to be fashionable. Today’s focus is on creating a unique, personal space, as opposed to cookie-cutter-style, impersonal living areas.
In turn, homeowners are no longer restricted to only one “it” colour annually to be stylish. Instead, various colour palettes are being featured as on trend for 2017.
“You want to create a look that is on-trend, that’s in style, that’s fashionable, but is your space and your space alone,” said paint colour guru Nancy Bollefer of Behr Paint. “And that’s what’s fun — to build a space that is your space, that nobody else has, that’s unique, just like you are.
“I like to do that in my home by painting, by creating my own art. And I think that that sort of sets me apart ... I do it for me, because I enjoy it. I’m living there; I’m doing it for me to feel good.”
Figuring out what you like has become much easier, despite the sometimes overwhelming variety of choices. Today’s technology allows homeowners to experiment with colour before ever dipping a brush into a paint can. All you need to do is take a photo of your room, download one of the handy apps provided by leading paint and home-improvement companies and, with the click of a mouse, you can change a room’s colour — trying different variations until discovering just the right colour for your space.
“A room takes on a different persona when painted in a different colour,” Bollefer said. “So play with colour. Have some fun!” Reflect your style. “Instinctively, most of us want that. Most of us want that space that, when you walk into it, feels like a show home, but it’s not a show home that everyone has. It’s your show home,” she said.
Design your space for you, Bollefer says. “And then, you want your friends to come in and be impressed by it. You want them to like your space. But more importantly, to feel good, you need a space that you feel comfortable in, with colours that are reflective of who you are. And that can change over the years. That can change as you change.
“You can consider it an evolution. It is never really final. It is an evolution because we are affected by so many things that happen in the world, and we might see something new that we like better than what we have, which might be the inspiration to change.”
As the seasons change, Canadians have a tendency to want to change their home decor, too, Bollefer said. The arrival of fall, for example, may motivate homeowners to transform their living space with colour.
For 2017, Behr is offering 20 new hues, in addition to its vast array of chore colour options. The collection of “livable, harmonious colours” is sectioned into three palettes — comfortable, composed and confident. The comfortable palette is made up of soft, tran- quil, versatile colours that can be used with any decor style and in any room. The composed palette features colours with depth and intensity “for those who desire greater colour presence,” Bollefer said. And the confident colour palette is “crafted for vivaciousness and impact ... colours are saturated and bright, capturing attention and enlivening spaces.”
The palettes are designed for mixing and matching to complement the homeowner’s unique vision, she said. “Grey has an influence over most of the trend colours. The palette feels a little bit dusted by grey.”
Experiment with colour in your home, Bollefer recommends.
The top colour trends for the year ahead are inspired by the current trends in fashion and decor. Tastes vary.
“It’s about what appeals to each individual,” Bollefer said. “Colour is very personal.”
Most of us want that space that, when you walk into it, feels like a show home, but it’s not a show home that everyone has. It’s your show home.