30 July 2010

Sherwin-Williams' 2011 color forecast, part four: the last word

Here's the final palette of the four palettes that made up Sherwin-Williams' 2011 color forecast. I reviewed the previous three on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. To reprise, the palettes are called Bold Invention


Purely Refined,


Gentle Medley


and finally, we come to Restless Nomad. Here's the inspiration image.


Ahhh, finally. Something with some life to it. According to Sherwin-Williams, Restless Nomad can be summed up like this:

Thanks to the Internet, everyone now has a passport to wander the world, soaking up its flavors, images and colors, and stirring them into an eclectic global design stew. Morocco and Turkey are making their presence felt, but there’s no need to stop there. Today’s adventurers feel free to sample from anywhere and everywhere, pairing Persian paisleys with exotic animal skins and Indonesian batiks. Colors, too, wander all over the palette: from dusky darks, to hot vibrant pinks and reds, to earthy food-influenced hues that evoke eggplants and cabbages.
Sherwin-Williams took the following cultural cues to wrap up into this palette. They are:


  • Ethnic patterns
  • Exotic animal skins
  • Aged leather
  • Patchwork and tapestries
  • Moroccan and Turkish influences

I approve of this palette and the influences behind it. I think it's both lively and original. None of this is new, but it's been reinterpreted with a real edge. As with some of these palettes, this palette is broken into primary colors and support colors. The stars of Restless Nomad are:



SW 7602 Indigo Batik


SW 6551 Purple Passage


SW 6300 Burgundy


SW 6395 Alchemy


SW 6109 Hopsack


SW 6840 Exuberant Pink


SW 6354 Armagnac


SW 6691 Glitzy Gold


SW 7663 Monorail Silver


And in a supporting role, I present to you:



SW 6166 Eclipse


SW 6865 Gypsy Red



I wonder if this is the first step toward the rehabilitation of the color burgundy. Hmmm. With that aside, I think they nailed this one. Feel free to disagree if you're so inclined. I like the color mix here, I like the level of saturation and most of all I like the cultural influences they've identified and distilled into this palette. Kelly James there's purple here and Raina Cox they mentioned Morocco so be nice. What do the rest of you guys think? How well did Sherwin-Williams in part four of 2011 color forecast?

22 comments:

  1. Thank goodness for the last quarter!
    Part one I didn't like.
    Part two made me want to cry (but I did like that part of the inspiration was concrete - love concrete).
    Part three I thought was OK (though the supporting colours, which do not feature in the 'inspiration' picture, were the most important - without them this palette just had no anchor), but I acknowledge that most everyone else disliked part three in any case.
    But, finally part four has some 'chutzpah'.

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  2. Fleur: Thanks for the review and I'm glad you got something from this exercise. And yes, it's palette number four's chutzpah that draws me in and keeps me there.

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  3. Wish SW 6865 was called Gypsy Fire instead of Gypsy Red....

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  4. I'll see what I can do about that.

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  5. yep - there are some fierce colours in there - the gold and the pink for example - which I'd steer clear away from on their own, but they are actually what makes this work, I think, by sharpening the palette overall - without them the others colours risk looking a little drab or dirty.

    As for burgundy making a come back - i dunno - thats a big call - though I have seen a few burgundy cars (mercedes no less) around lately, so maybe...

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  6. The pink by itself is a bit strong and off-putting. I don't have an issue with pink, it's just that this version of it might be a little overwhelming to work with. Surrounding it with other saturated colors like this actually tones it down.

    When I think of burgundy I think of burgundy and light gray color schemes that I remember being all the range from about 1985-1988, although I could be wrong about that time period. What I do remember was that that combo was a horse that was once beaten to death and its a combo I hope never to see again.

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  7. I am reacting most favorably to this group by far. These colors make me feel energized. Oh, that might be the coffee I'm drinking though.

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  8. After three days of palettes that look like they've been laundered too many times, it's nice to see some saturation.

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  9. I love the blue, purple, and burgundy together actually.. and now I want to decorate my bedroom in a harem theme.

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  10. A harem-themed bedroom... that sounds exotic and fun. Better brush up on your Dance of the Seven Veils.

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  11. How many shades of gold-orange/yellow-brown/brown-yellow/yellow-orange does a person reasonably need? Surely four is too many. Other than that, I pronounce it acceptable.

    I still like Part I (I refuse to call it Bold Invention) best, though.

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  12. HONESTLY, though I prefer Sherwin William paint over above Benjamin Moore I really can't get excited about this palette combo either. With no stretch of the imagination do I consider myself as a 'coloUr' expert(you see I don't even spell the word the same as you) but to me the entire collection is like a scene from the movie, Back To The Future BUT without the adventure.
    Is that too harsh??????
    -Brenda-

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  13. I like that 4th Gypsy Chic one the best - very Dries Van Noten circa 1991 - but burgundy, only in tiny doses for me, please.

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  14. Mark: It's kind of retro but it doesn't give me the heebie-jeebies. That's an accomplishment on their part.

    Brenda: I don't get back to the future from this one. Maybe the Barbra Streisand/ Kris Kristofferson version of A Star is Born?

    Sarah: I'm with you on the burgundy. Gypsy chic sounds a lot better than Boho chic or whatever they're calling it these days.

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  15. Oh - just to clarify (for Brenda), I'm the only one putting the U in color - I'm in Melbourne, Australia and that's how we spell it here. And also I'm just a person who likes reading this blog each day - nothing expert about me either (actually I spend most of day working with numbers at the opposite end of the creative / art / design spectrum totally). everyone has an opinion and I'm happy to share mine and read about everyone else's. All good!

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  16. Paul re the Movie. The plot is basically about a Teenager who time travels to different periods in the history of ---- (Hill Valley California)". The colours; the saturated pink, various grays, glitzy gold (more like French's Mustard on my monitor) turquoise with red etc. just seem familiar and regardless that they are in various palettes, I feel they lack adventure.
    -Brenda-
    (Adventure n. an unusual, exciting and daring experience.)

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  17. Brenda's in Canada, you share the same spelling standards. You guys get full permission to add the U in color. It's only when Americans do it that my hackles get raised. Anon, I'm glad you're leaving comments and that you drop in every day. Another regular commenter is in Sydney. I love hearing from people from all over the world. It helps me keep my US biases in check. Keep coming around!

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  18. Brenda: I get the same vibe overall. I realize that the economy's in the toilet but that's no reason to look backwards for comfort. You won't find it there. Look forward I say. Bring on something new.

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  19. NOW we're talkin'!!! This is definitely my favourite palette. Love Purple Passage - of course! - and Exuberant Pink and Indigo Batik. And I love that all the colours are bold and rich - no wishy-washy pastels.

    I'll have to head to SW and pick up the 7000 chips - they're not in my fan deck.

    Thanks for featuring the four SW palettes, Paul. It was fun reading about them and seeing all the colours :-)

    Kelly

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  20. I told you this was the Kelly James palette. No 7000 series chips? Oh man, that's where most of the colors I spec come from. I be a dead man without their near neutrals.

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  21. I just had a revelation while I was swimming -- I'm going to use this colour palette as the inspiration for my dining room :-)

    I'm going to have to go to the local SW store and find out how to get the 7000 series chips.

    Kelly

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  22. Restless Nomad would make a terrific dining room. Most Sherwin-Williams stores stock 3x5 chips of the entire palette. If you strike out there. You can register on the the professional section of Sherwin-Williams' website and just order them. Designers and specifiers get chips for free.

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