September 4, 2013
Make Showrooms Pop
The most wonderful thing about my job as a retail store planner is where it takes me. It is one thing to visit and work with retailers around the world, but it is quite another to attend the Maison Objet furniture show in Paris each year to sniff out the latest color and style trends! This year, armed with a high-powered camera, I returned with well over 1,200 photos of fabulous ideas to discuss and implement.
One thing is for sure: Pink was the favored color from Cologne to Paris, and also during the latest High Point and Vegas furniture shows. It ranges from blush to rosy red and has a dominant presence in many showrooms. A perfect deep rose color match from Sherwin Williams Paints is SW6843—it matches exactly with Pantone 18-1741. This color will have a long life in your showroom complementing the fashionable blush and light pinks seen around the industry.
The next international favorite is navy blue pared with Asian and antique motifs and designs. This themeis mixed with urban, transitional pieces instead of the expected traditional designs for a very modern look. Huge lifestyle graphics add additional drama to showroom vignettes. The Sherwin Williams color match is SW 6966 and Pantone is 19-3964; this blue is perfect for updating any showroom.
The hottest colors this summer have been bright and vibrant. Yellow has dominated, followed by green and orange, only to be complemented by the oh-so-fashionable rosy pink. Williams-Sonoma devoted the first half of their latest big book catalog to yellow paired with taupe and gray. The second half spotlights navy blue. At a recent furniture show, Softline did a great job selecting colors for their furniture that simply sucked you in to their space.
My personal favorite this summer has been black and white. This classic combination is seen in every house of fashion throughout Paris and Milan, often paired with yellow for a fresh new and modern look. While a staple for many, a combination mixed with stripes, polka dots, chevron and houndstooth patterns is simply fabulous. Wittman featured a black and white color-blocked leather sofa partnered with fashionable gray. I was so wild about the combination that I chose to introduce one of my latest IMAX decorative accessory collections, Essentials by Connie, to black and white this summer.
Color motives us to change each and every season when it comes to clothing; we all want to be dressed in the latest fashion colors. Our homes are the same. No one wants to come home to an old, dingy or drab environment—much less shop in one. Updating your store with fresh new products and paint colors are a sure-fire ticket to a ringing cash register. New always wins!