Greenery

Last years duo combo of Serenity and Rose Quartz was very refreshing, highly sensitive and topical. A re-affirming of gender equality and how each colour blended into the other. It was a colour choice triumph! (for more info click here to read last year’s post). So what did they have in store for us this year? Well, this years colour of the year is Greenery…and it didn’t initially draw quite the gasp last years did. There was even, dare I say, an air of disappointment.

But quite quickly Greenery has begun to grow on us. If you look at it properly it has a zingy, spring freshness that does evoke feelings of hope and new beginnings. Which is perhaps what we all need after a fairly turbulent year of politics etc.

This is a fresh and zesty yellow green shade that literally smacks of Spring. It is a revitalising shade of green that makes you feel as if this colour Greenery is a symbol of nature. All the while reminding you of forests, grass, buds, botanical plants and breathing in fresh air.

 
So how do Pantone feel about the colour and what does it symbolise?

“We know what kind of world we are living in: one that is very stressful and very tense,“ said Leatrice Eiseman, the executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “This is the color of hopefulness, and of our connection to nature. It speaks to what we call the ‘re’ words: regenerate, refresh, revitalize, renew. Every spring we enter a new cycle and new shoots come from the ground. It is something life affirming to look forward to’.

Well! When put like that, you realise that this colour is therapeutic and could be used to great effect in our homes. Creating a calming, tranquil environment away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

“There’s a Japanese concept called ‘forest bathing,’ which says that when you are feeling stressed, one of the best things to do is go walk in the forest,” Ms. Eiseman said. “But if you can’t do that, what can you do? Bring green into your environment. Put it on your body, or in your house or near your desk. That symbolic message is very important.”

(I think I could definitely learn a thing or two about Greenery from Ms Eiseman….the colour is literally growing on me as I write).

As a company immersed in the furniture industry and all aspects of design, we spend months researching and forecasting style and colour trends. Happily we did see the ‘green’ thing coming, but perhaps as a furniture company we were really swayed more towards the more flexible Forest Green.

‘In the last 12 months we’ve seen a move towards darker, more powdered colours featuring both blue and green quite heavily. All out green, in an interiors context, hasn’t always been that mainstream. Although this green is maybe more acidic than we were expecting, I think the message from Pantone is, as last year, perhaps the most relevant. You can interpret their ‘re’ words however you wish to bring a fresh approach to how you use colour. If you look at the colour pairings Pantone at you can see how versatile this colour can be. My favourite of all hues is ‘Tree Top’ from the ‘Transitions’ palette’

Published  Date: December 2016