Ruth Parlour Personal Skills and Enterprise: Colour and Wallpaper Trends for 2012

I’ve being doing a little bit of research into current trends to help my professional development and the designs for this project.

Wallpaper Trends

Information gathered from; Resene the paint the professionals use.

Sophisticated patterns.

Coordinates colours, textures and fabrics

Making a statement

Feature walls (key trend)

Bold patterns

Interesting textures

Paintable papers

Botanicals (locally inspired)

Large silhouettes – pure glamour

Dainty flowers – dainty sophistication

Wind rustled bamboo and larger than life leaves

“When wallpaper first started coming in it was very floral,” says Sarah, “because women were the ones who were using it. Now there are some that are really quite masculine, like bricks and tiles, even schist. There are some quite geometrical patterns as well.”

Metallic; gold, copper, rich bronze and silver. Cream and pearl.
Intricate patterns, tone on tone, subdued look for busy patterns

Geometric patterns and vivid colours for strong vibrant energy but not overpowering.

Detailed designs – classic or retro inspired vintage floral and motif

Stripes bold and softly elegant tones

Grey juxtaposed with contemporary hues like orange, turquoise, mustard green, and salsa red

Textures like flock – large floral or damask design

Striped, retro optic patterns

“That’s an excellent reason for using these wallpapers,” says Sarah. “You get that texture. Whereas sometimes, when you do a scheme of wallpaper, it’s still quite flat. Just like you might use different gloss levels to make your paint scheme interesting, textured wallpaper adds interest. Textures are really good for walls that aren’t good enough to be painted, that don’t have a level 4 finish.”

Textures like Grasscloth for sustainability and warmth