Best colours of 2019

Better ways to use colour 
in your home 

Known worldwide as probably the standard for colour matching, Pantone has announced its 2019 Colour of the Year: Living Coral, so-named to raise awareness of the dire situation of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. 

Interior designers are already waxing lyrical about the colour, with www.bestinteriordesigners.eu calling it “a vivifying and effervescent colour [which] mesmerizes the eye and mind”. 
It certainly does that in this home but we prefer the softer shade used above. According to colour psychology, reds, oranges and yellows can make the home seem warmer on the inside – especially during the winter. 

Green has been used as a counterpoint to the Living Coral in both these images, and that colour is supposed to be calming, an effect that becomes more apparent the darker the shade you choose.
Unlike 2018’s colour trends – vibrant reds, modern metallics and black accent walls – 2019 is taking a more mindful, lifestyle-based approach to the development of new shades, according to Elle Décor magazine. 

We weren’t sure what that meant until we viewed the magazine’s gallery of interiors featuring aqua (at left), forest green and “optimistic yellow”.

This wall colour is called Reflecting Pool and is HGTV Home’s 2019 Colour of the Year. Elle Décor describes it as “vivid but calming”, which we didn’t think was a thing, but HGTV explains that “it takes on a sense of humour and power, and is perfect for a fun accent wall, front door or bookshelf.” 

Got it.

Purple in a kitchen? It’s another “power colour for 2019” apparently and to our mind, it works here – thanks to the way it tones in with the dark timber at the same time as contrasting with the pale tones. And the fact that there are almost no straight lines in this kitchen distract from what could otherwise be an overwhelming purpleness. 

If you weren’t sure about purple, you’ll really struggle with brown – or as interior designers call it, “terracotta hues”, “earthy tones” or “autumnal shades”.
  
But this may change your mind. Remember Alex and Corban Walls, winners of The Block New Zealand in 2014? They have turned their win into a home, wardrobe and gifting empire with A&C Homestore and this is their Easter Brunch Room Reveal.

We like.
If you’re still unconvinced about “earthy tones”, another Power Colour for 2019 is Woodland Shades, meaning the natural colour of timber. Once again, Alex and Corban demonstrate that they are right up with the play on “in” colours with their bach at Whananaki, Northland. 
A final word. Red kitchens are not only so last year, they’re also a terrible idea if you or any member of your household happen to be on a diet. According to colour psychologists, red stimulates your appetite. 

Just saying. 

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