Hot Paint Colors for 2013 - do color trends matter?

Every year color forecasters announce what the HOT colors will be for next year for everything from cars to fashion to home interiors.  Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore both do paint color forecasts with much fanfare.  It's great fun to go to the color forecast events and see what is trending, but how much does it really matter?


This year at the Sherwin Williams color forecast they laid out four color moods that are supposed to be trending in 2013 - Midnight Mystery, Honed Vitality, Vintage Moxie, and High Voltage. In my experience, each year the paint colors shift ever so slightly from the last, and over a decade they morph into something "completely new."  I put completely new in quotes because one of the things that I always notice is that 'old' colors always hae a way of sneaking back in.  Anyone remember emerald green from the 80s and mint green from the 50s?  Yep, they're on the way back.  And plum and mauve from the 80s? Back in full force!  What we pair the color with changes, but often time it's just 'what old is new again.'

So, am I excited about this years color trend forecast?  Well, I did love the presentation of Midnight Mystery - bold, sensual, and masculine, but then I have been a fan of rich, deep, dark, moody wall colors for quite a while now.

My best advice to all of my readers and clients is to enjoy the trends, but in the end, choose colors that you love and that suit the geography and architecture of your home, and the personality and habits of your family. Truly, all that ever matters is that you love what you see every day when you wake up, and every evening when you come home from a long day at work.