Colin Campbell & Benjamin Moore Design Event
Sharon Bortolotto

I recently attended a Benjamin Moore Presentation hosted by Colin Campbell & Associates.
The “Colours for Your Home 2009” colour forecast was presented by Kim Pfeifer the Benjamin Moore Architectural and Design Representative.

She stated that the Benjamin Moore Design teams scour North America looking at fashion, auto industry, politics, media 18 months to 2 years in advance to produce these colour/trends cards. So here is a quick synopsis and the latest inspiration for paint colours as forecasted by the experts;

Individuality, Nature and Unexpectd Synergy.

Individuality - in order to be heard we express ourselves through our spaces calling on the return of bold and expressive colours such as blushing red and a bronze toned orange. Apparently black has returned, edging out accent walls of brown. I particularly like the striking new cover of BM’s colour card, illustrating a dramatic dining room with black satin walls and mouldings, highlighted with creams, mint greens and rich wood tones.

Nature’s Essence -is serene, expansive and understated. A minimalistic palette inspired by nature, easy to live with. Love the new white, “Chantilly Lace, OC-65” and the “Pale Avocado” and “Sea Haze” colours got me thinking about using an accent colour on a ceiling rather than a wall for a change.

Unexpected Synergy - requires us to think beyond the white box with rich, complex colours. The “Gray 2112-10” is just Gray without a fancy name. I’d like to give that colour a go on one of our projects as it has a lot of depth. As for “Dried Mustard, Vellum and Dry Sage” they are little too retro for me however I do see those paint colours working well in many resort locations in BC.

At the end of the day, they are just trends and as trends they come and go but there are still some great new paint colours and products that are well worth trying and will stand the test of time.

Also be sure to check out the Aura and Natura Products by BM for low VOC’s and better performance.