Interior Design: Colour Trends for 2017
Citrus colours, grey neutral tones and retro furnishings are making a huge comeback this year to liven up our homes with a vengeance.
Watch our latest podcast on the hottest colour and design trends for 2017 with Interior Designer, Simone Gillespie of Essence Interiors:
Hot colours for 2017
Gone are the days of boring brown colour palettes with muted beige neutrals. For interior design expert, Simone Gillespie of Essence Interiors, this year is all about creating contrast.
“Subdued colours have been quite popular over the past year but now we’re seeing a return to bright colour and vivid colour in lots of different, exciting hues,” Gillespie said.
The latest trend in the interior design world is set bright and bold colours against dull greys to make them really pop.
“Instead of neutrals being of a brown tone we are now seeing a neutral background in hues of grey, from very light grey through to dark grey and this forms the background for brighter colours to take centre stage,” Gillespie said.
Retro resurgence
A resurgence of the retro styles from the 50s and 60s is now coming back into vogue throughout homes across Australia.
“Anything that’s from the 1950s and 60s is actually really stylish at the moment,” Gillespie said.
“Don’t throw out grandma’s old telephone table or grandpa’s art deco sideboard because these things are being restored. We’re seeing replica and mid century designs popping up everywhere,” Gillespie advises.
Younger generations driving trend
Younger people are more likely to be reviving the retro style and investing in furniture from the 1950s and 60s.
“I don’t think it’s something that older people have really cottoned on to,” Gillespie said.
The macramé hangings and other designs pushed into baby boomer closets, only to be forgotten, are now coming back with a vengeance.
“They’re kind of wondering why on earth we’d want to hang on to Aunty Mabel’s old macramé hanging,” Gillespie added.
“It’s a trend that I can see continuing for at least 3 or 4 years and as long as the retro styles of furniture remain popular, so will these citrus colours as well.”
Citrus colours totally in
Anything of a citrus colour that reminds you of limes, lemons, oranges – especially anything yellow – are now being used as accent pieces to liven up our living spaces.
“Citrus colours are going to be really huge and they go really well with the light grey background or a dark grey background. They really seem to pop right out of the picture at you these vivid yellows and oranges and beautiful lime greens so combining these with the greys is going to be a major trend,” Gillespie advised.
“The citrus tones of yellow, orange and lime green go really well with that retro theme, with things like your arc lamps and funky egg chairs and the butterfly chairs which are beautiful, iconic pieces of furniture” Gillespie said.
Wallpaper textures and prints
Textured wallpaper and funky prints are also returning to pop culture, with new and exciting designs being used to create interesting works of art directly on walls.
“I’m seeing more and more of it everyday,” Gillespie said. “Not on all four walls but on feature walls.”
They range from flocked which has a raised sort of feel to it, with very busy patterns, and monochromatic colours with a type of sheen to it.
“We’re seeing loads of funky styles which are harking back to that retro era.”