Our blogs are an excellent resource to keep you up to date on the latest industry developments, color trends, new products and more.
Skin the Cat?
Those of us who grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River like Mr. Clemons share a rich heritage of colloquialisms and colorful...Stuff That Works
We here at Specialty Tile have a number of grand noble traditions and some not so noble, but they absolutely rock. One thing...Annual Barbeque Blog & Recipe
We here at STP are serious about a lot of things, customer satisfaction, speedy service, mind-bending products and encyclopedic...Rocks Or Mud-pies
I once had a friend who liked to tease me that my industry was simply made up of those kids who perfected the mud-pie...They Might Be Giants
Bigger, Faster, Bolder, Stronger! It sounds like a description of an NFL dream athlete or a hyped up ad campaign. It happens to...Vieuphoria
The other day I rented an automobile in Atlanta. Years of diving reefs and cataloging tropical fish across the world could...
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Specialty Tile Blogs
Our blogs are an excellent source of information to keep you informed of all things tile related.
Skin the Cat?
“She was wise and subtle and she knew more than one way to skin a cat” - Mark Twain, “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”
Those of us who grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River like Mr. Clemens share a rich heritage of colloquialisms and colorful language. We like to think it gives us a certain “Je ne sais quoi”. Fact is, if anyone in my family reads this they would have just chuckled “Je ne sais quoi”, “The hell you say.” That comment, in and of itself, makes my point more than a dozen essays could ever do. Delta folks are a people of spicy barbeque and raunchy blues, Friday night dances and Pentecostal stomps, souped-up Cameros and sleek Duece and a Quarters, we would watch Otis Redding and Jerry Lee Lewis the same week, at the same place, with the same people, on numerous occasions. We reference and reverence Faulkner, ( which may well explain my last sentence). Friends had parents who still worked cotton fields where horses and tractors shared gravel roads only a few miles from the opulence of the Orpheum Theater. There was character to be distilled from the diverse parade of farmers, and preppies and neighborhood winos and eccentrics. Each had their own way of expression and most expressions were quite poignant and seldom reverent.
“More than one way to skin a cat” was a saying we heard frequently. As a boy, I found some hope in that if ever called upon to skin a cat at least there would be options.
Howard Pryor is living proof that there is more that one way to skin a cat. He is a man to whom our entire industry is proud to be associated. His path to success is atypical. He chairs the CTDA green committee and is the most qualified person in the industry to do so. It is an honor to share with you an interview with one of the good guys.
http://www.tiledealer.org/archives/2009/green/one_on_one.shtml
Stuff That Works
June, 2009By Gary Moore, Specialty Tile Products
We here at Specialty Tile have a number of grand noble traditions and some not so noble, but they absolutely rock. One thing we try to do is catch some good live music when we are out on the road peddling our wares or perhaps being lavishly praised or even summarily executed by one of our suppliers. One night in Nashville we squirreled our way in to see Guy Clark at the Douglas Corner Café. Now Guy Clark is one of America’s treasures, plain spoken, majestically poetic, with something good to say. One of my favorite Guy Clark songs is “Stuff That Works.” It is homage to anchors in life that can be counted on, an old guitar, a trusted friend or even a bone handled knife. I was reading this article written by our good friend and customer Dina Belon who owns Rush Hospitality and was struck by her examples of simple things that we can do to actually help our environment. I get confused sometimes by all the linguistic gymnastics that are employed when “sustainable’ is quantified. I like to deal in stuff that works. Enjoy!
CAN SUSTAINABILITY SURVIVE IN HARD ECONOMIC TIMES
By Dina M. Belon
NEWH Sunshine Chapter Sustainable Director
Pricipal at RUSH Hospitality, a sustainable hospitality renovation company based in Titusville Florida
Dealing with sustainability during these economic conditions is a lot like what you might feel when in an airplane traveling with your child and the oxygen masks drop from overhead. Instinctively your first thought is to help your child and ignore yourself. Most airlines advise you to help yourself first so you are more capable of helping your child. Right now everyone is instinctively trying to survive this recession and individual sustainability issues are secondary. But if we ignore the environment for a few years while we deal with the economic hard times, the problems with the environment just become more extreme. We will have survived the recession and still be faced with much more substantial problems.
It is very commendable that there are so many professionals in the hospitality industry supporting sustainability. But what happens if you cannot convince a client that a sustainable design or process is the best direction to take. Are you done being ecological until the next opportunity to convince a client to utilize a sustainable design or process? Instead of worrying about convincing a client, we as individuals should have a personal sustainable program in both our personal lives and in our business. Like NIKE say’s “JUST DO IT”, stop asking for permission. Why does it take a clients interest to “allow” us to provide the best sustainable project that we can within the time and budget. Instead think about the sustainable options that you could use within a clients existing budget, schedule and standards. As you make decisions such as; does a material meet the functional requirements, aesthetic desires, and budget limitations, add one more consideration, IS THE SELECTION SUSTAINABLE. The answer may be “no” due to the balancing of one of the other considerations but at least you have made a conscious decision.
The sustainable questions can be:
If everyone does something, the results start to add up.
Think about all parts of your life; professional, public, and private, many of us recycle at home, but don’t think about it at work. This is not like a diet or exercise program. It is easy, if you spend some time just thinking about it. You are already practicing sustainability in your lives. Just keep at it.
On a personal basis there are many options that will make a difference. Start a recycle program. My family bought four plastic storage containers. We recycle plastic, newspaper and cardboard, aluminum cans, and glass bottles. We live in a condo that has a recycle center so it is very easy for us to recycle. As an interior design, I was not happy about four new containers taking up space in my kitchen, but I got over it. We have cut our garbage that goes to the landfill in half. My husband’s favorite ecological program is what he calls “stick it to the power company”. He adjusted our thermostat and refuses to turn on the heater this winter. We live in Florida so it’s doable. We are saving about $50 per month. I would not recommend my husband’s approach in colder climates but my point is that making a game out of using less power makes it fun for the whole family and saves some money.
Doing something sustainable on a public basis is equally easy. Our family does not throw into a landfill any clothes, toys, electronic gadgets, appliances, furniture, or anything that is reusable. We have several favorite charities that we recycle through, mine is the SPCA Thrift Store. If you are looking for an equity investment in this crazy market, look at green equity stocks. Co-op America.com has a section on their web site that is a comprehensive list of green companies. You will be surprised at the performance of these stocks compared to non-sustainable companies. Charitable work is another way of practicing sustainability because we are helping each other. Remember that one part of the triple bottom line is people, and helping your neighbors and community is just as sustainable as recycling.
Just one simple sustainable activity in your professional, public, and private life will make a tremendous difference. You can do something for the people and planet as well as save money. You do not have to compromise your sustainable beliefs in tough economic times.
Dina M. Belon
NEWH Sunshine Chapter Sustainable Director
Principal at RUSH Hospitality, a sustainable hospitality renovation company based in Titusville Florida
Annual Barbeque Blog & Recipe
June, 2009By Gary Moore, Specialty Tile Products
We here at STP are serious about a lot of things, customer satisfaction, speedy service, mind-bending products and encyclopedic knowledge of our industry among them. We are also dead serious about barbeque. So we will take a break from tile and stone and talk about Mr. Brown for a bit. We thought it would be fun to share a recipe with you every year when we have our annual barbeque. So today’s is ‘slap yo grandmammy sauce”
My Grandmother, lets call her Lucy Jones, is 98 years old and the Queen of North Mississippi. We think B.B. King named his guitar after her, but that is another story for another day. She waltzes around her kitchen whopping up soufflés that would be the toast of Paris (well Paris, Tennessee anyway). She recently suggested a hard squeeze to the groin as a way to shed yourself of an alligator attack. Her prayers are some heavenly voodoo. She has a way with the truth. So when I happened upon this recipe, I thought to myself, “I will have to find another grandma to slap , mine is to dangerous”. Well don’t slap your grandmother but fix up a batch or this sauce next time you feel the need for ribs.
Enjoy!
Click here to download the recipe for Slap Yo Grandmammy Sauce
Rocks Or Mud-pies
May, 2009By Gary Moore, Specialty Tile Products
I once had a friend who liked to tease me that my industry was simply made up of those kids who perfected the mud-pie. In a sense he was on the spot. Sophisticated porcelain tiles are very much a collection of clay, minerals, and glass that are shaped and baked. The methods by which this occurs are nothing short of astounding. The clays and minerals are pure. The glass is pigmented and melted and applied with an array of machinery that is ingenious. Multi-million dollar glaze digital printers and vertical presses are but a couple. The temperatures at which we bake approach molten states. The pace is quick. The precision of measurement and calibration is minute. The design is world class.
Yet, nature rules. The beauty of creation is unsurpassed. So we are sometimes left with a choice. Do we want natural stone or porcelain? There are many times where each has a distinct advantage and great benefits over the other. The following article sheds some light on these.
Choosing Stone or Ceramic: Educate Customers to Choose Well
Tile Dealer Magazine, November - December 2008
Beneath the Surface
When humankind goes up against Mother Nature, the outcome is usually predictable. Despite the best efforts and greatest technology of man, nature triumphs.
Some would argue the same holds true in the world of coverings. When man-made tile competes against natural stone forged through the ages by geophysical forces, they say, stone’s unsurpassed beauty, strength and uniqueness carry the day.
Makers of ceramic and porcelain tile would beg to differ, however. In recent years, breakthroughs in materials and technology have yielded man-made coverings that boast stone’s beauty and uniqueness, and surpass stone in hardness and durability. And they do it with greater quality control and more attractive pricing.
This issue, TileDealer goes beneath the surface to probe the rivalry between the natural and man-made materials, finding the former’s superiority no longer set in stone.
Stone: Natural Selection
Authentic natural stone has one great head start on any other covering material. It is nature made and millions of years old. “There are stone structures and floors that are still performing well after thousands of years,” says Donato Pompo, consultant with Ceramic Tile and Stone Consultants Inc. in San Diego.
Moreover, stone has an innate beauty that’s hard to match. Whether it is marble, granite, limestone, slate, travertine or any other type of natural stone, stone’s beauty alone imbues a cachet that makes it increasingly a favorite of homeowners.
Stone also has a huge advantage over man-made materials in its status as a one-of-a-kind covering, says Lynle Hawkins-Struble, owner of San Diego’s Lynle Ellis Design. Upscale homeowners she serves in San Diego condos and nearby suburbs such as Delmar and Carlsbad appreciate the stone they add to their homes is uniquely different, and unmatched by any other covering. “Part of the beauty of it is it’s not all the same,” Hawkins-Struble says. “No two stones are exactly identical.”
Add to this the fact that stone can be given a “tumbled effect,” she says. To create a tumbled look, stones are actually tumbled with other stones to produce a worn, walked-on and ageless appearance that makes it look as if the stone has been part of a French chateau for centuries. A similar tumbled look has been tried in ceramic through forming, Hawkins-Struble says, but without the same stunning effect.
Finally, with stone tile available in various sizes from mosaics to 18- by 24-inches and larger, stone offers new levels of choice. Part of its surge in popularity, she says, results from the emergence of different colors and textures, as well as patterns such as Versailles or herringbone. “There’s a lot of flexibility,” she says of stone’s designability.
Ceramic: Carefree Choice
For all its advantages, stone is not for everyone. If freedom from scratching, staining and other maintenance is a priority, if there are children whose hijinks may do damage to a covering, if certain types of creativity are sought, or if the concern is cost, it’s likely the choice of surface will not be stone but ceramic or porcelain tile.
As a sub category of ceramic, porcelain offers much of the beauty and even the appearance of stone. At the same time, it is even harder than many types of stone, and requires less maintenance to ensure it continues looking great.
“If you have someone choosing ceramic, it’s typically because of maintenance issues and cost issues,” Hawkins-Struble says. “If you have a family with four children, ceramic tile is easier because it’s more durable and less porous.”
Porcelain’s lack of porosity, for instance, helps ensure wines or dark-colored fruits like strawberries won’t stain a tiled surface. Moreover, the age-old problem of ceramic chipping has been solved with porcelain’s through-body colors, she says.
Like stone, ceramic and porcelain tile can provide great beauty. “Lots of times, [clients] come to me and they want the look of stone, but in ceramic,” Hawkins-Struble says, noting dramatic improvements in the industry’s ability to add color and texture to tile. “But the people who go with ceramic don’t want anyone to know it’s ceramic.”
Cost can also be a factor, Hawkins-Struble says. The fact that ceramic tile is easier to install often results in lower installation costs. For instance, ceramic tile allows for a comparatively simple thin-set installation. But the irregularity of stone frequently requires a thicker “mud” adhesive installation involving more effort, she notes.
Stone Vs. Ceramic Head-to-Head
As noted, stone and ceramic have distinct pros and cons. Therefore, a head-to-head comparison is the best way to illustrate the plusses and minuses of each.
Maintenance. Good quality ceramic floor tiles will not easily wear out, and tend to be resistant to both stains and scratching, Pompo says. Porcelain tiles are very durable and generally perform better with less maintenance than natural stone, he says.
Noah Chitty, technical services director with Chicago-based StonePeak Ceramics, which specializes in porcelain tile, agrees. “We like to think of porcelain tile as providing the same aesthetic as stone, without the same problems,” he says.
By contrast, natural stone requires far more maintenance, which can include sealing and repolishing every year or so, depending on conditions, Pompo says.
Dave Gobis, Racine, Wisc.-based technical director with the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation, echoes the opinion that careful attention is essential to keep stone looking great. “We get calls all the time from people about stone tile cracking,” he says. “That’s the nature of the beast. A lot of people like the beauty of stone, but aren’t prepared for the maintenance stone requires . . . Every vein in marble is a crack waiting to happen. If you don’t have a supporting structure, then there’s going to be cracks.”
Within natural stone, significant variation exists in terms of durability, says David Butler, president of Nantucket, Mass.-based Cornerstone Granite Company. Some stones, such as granite, are highly stain and scratch resistant. Others, such as marble and limestone, are softer and more susceptible to damage.
“In my opinion, marble and limestone should not be installed as a polished surface,” he says. “Instead, they should be installed as a honed surface, so they can be maintained for years to come.”
Appearance
Stone is acknowledged as being naturally beautiful. Its wonderful veining, rich colors and varied textures have made it a favored material for eons.
But porcelain tile makers have perfected technology that helps provide similarly stunning looks. For instance, StonePeak Ceramics is a leader among U.S. companies in creating glazed, unglazed and colored-body materials. “Using one of those three types, you can replicate virtually anything available in stone,” Chitty says. “Obviously, the better your technology, the better it gets. But the technology is there.”
Moisture resistance
Natural stone is often moisture sensitive, Pompo reports. Ceramic and porcelain tile vary widely in moisture resistance. Ceramic tile tends to have a moisture gain of about three to four percent, and can reach seven percent. By contrast, porcelain tile is considered impervious to moisture, meaning it is limited to a moisture gain of no more than one-half of one percent, Gobis says. That impervious nature can make it harder to bond in some cases. “You have hardly any pores at all in porcelain, and cement bonds by grabbing on to the pores in a tile,” Gobis explains.
Chitty, however, disagrees. “With the technology these days in the thin set, we don’t get issues of de-bonding due to lack of porosity,” he says of porcelain.
Creative Shapes
In stone processing, a straight-line cutting method is often used, says Stephen Powers, president of Keene, NH-based Trikeenan Tileworks, internationally renowned for its award-winning ceramic tile. “That means if you have a hard material and need to cut it, they are set up to make straight cuts like squares and rectangles,” he says. “It’s really hard to get an undulating shape with stone.”
Ceramics provide a far more malleable material with which to work. “You can create three-dimensional tile, round shapes and undulating edges,” Powers says.
Finishing and Refinishing
Stone tiles can be easily ground and polished to provide a finished edge. Porcelain through-body tiles can also be ground and polished, but other ceramic tile cannot be. Natural stone can be finished to look like new, Pompo says. On the other hand, glazed ceramic tiles, once worn, can’t be repaired.
Consistency
Stone boasts natural variations in color, texture and appearance that help make each piece unique. Ceramic tile, on the other hand, is a product that is generally manufactured to be consistent. “Stone has more variation in color, and some stones vary so much in color that the buyer believes it’s a different tile,” Pompo says.
“The buyer of stone has to like natural variation. While some stones are very consistent in color and texture, there is always some variation.”
Not all buyers appreciate that characteristic, Butler notes. “Some people do not like variations—in color and pattern—in natural stone,” he says. “For these people, a synthetic stone like a caesarstone or a fifestone are much better products.”
All the same, in the area of consistency, technology has again helped eliminate some of the differences between stone and porcelain. StonePeak’s technology allows it to make consistent tiles from piece to piece, as well as a completely random and different tile every time. In the marble-look porcelain tiles it creates, for instance, the company can produce completely unique veining with each marble tile, Chitty reports.
“In some cases, unless you turn the tile over and look for a back-stamped pattern, you could not tell the difference from the face,” he says. “Side by side, you couldn’t tell the difference between that and genuine marble.”
Installation Cost and Difficulty
Stone is often more expensive to install because it tends to be less consistent in size, Pompo says.
“In other cases, the stone is cut to size, gauged and is very consistent [in size], but because the homeowner wants small grout joint widths, more time and effort is required for installation,” he notes. “Because stone can be ground and polished after it is installed, some people will pay extra to have the tile installed first, ground flat and smooth and then polished to provide a perfect looking floor.”
While the line has blurred a bit in the past two decades, tile installers still don’t tend to install stone, Gobis says. “Stone has very special considerations,” he says, noting black, green and red marble tiles are so moisture sensitive that if a thin set used for ceramic tiles is used to set these pieces, the marble will absorb moisture and curl. “Good coverage is more important with stone than with tile. It goes back to support. If you have a vein without support, you will have a crack. If you bond two sides of stone, and there’s a vein unsupported in the middle, it’s a crack waiting to happen.”
Quality Control
Stone’s hugely increased popularity over the past two decades has fostered not only an enormous surge in stone imports, but serious quality issues as well, Pompo says. “People bring in stone from India, for instance, and these products are being used in applications for which they aren’t suitable,” he observes.
“Buyers think they are purchasing a stone of a certain grade or classification, but when it’s tested, it’s found to be substandard. And the trouble is it’s not generally tested until there’s a problem. People think they are getting a good deal with a great price on a travertine, for example, but the physical properties are lacking.”
In some cases, the physical properties are substantially less than those specified by ASTM International for each classification of stone, he adds. One stone may be significantly better quality than another, based on which country, quarry or even part of the same quarry it emanated from.
“You can’t tell by looking,” he says. “With experience, you may see symptoms suggesting this stone may not be up to standards. Importers are not testing the stone they’re buying to substantiate [that the] products they’re selling are meeting minimum standards.”
Cost
For years, the high cost of mining, cutting, shipping and processing stone left it beyond the budgets of the average American. But improvements in technology, as well as an increase in the number of exporting countries and the greater affordability of cutting machinery, have brought it within the budgets of more and more homeowners.
Butler believes the cost to produce stone has come down in recent years. But that reduction has been more than offset by other dynamics.
One is the devaluation of the dollar versus other world currencies. An even more crucial factor has been the increase in energy costs required to ship stone from quarries worldwide.
“The result is that there’s been an overall increase in prices,” he says.
Ceramic and porcelain are considered more affordable than stone. But Powers cautions buyers shouldn’t assume price advantages extend across the board.
“Ceramic is a less expensive product,” he says. “But they’re making higher-end mosaics and ceramics, so there’s a broader range of costs than ever before.”
Interior and Exterior Applications
Stone is often considered superior in outdoor applications vis-à-vis ceramic tile, Pompo says. Most stones can be used both indoors and outdoors, while many ceramic tiles are too slippery to be used outdoors. Most stones are freeze-thaw stable, a characteristic not shared by all ceramic tile.
Educating Customers
Tile dealers can take a number of steps to make sure their customers are fully informed and educated about stone and ceramic tile, Pompo says. Among the more important guidelines he recommends are the following:
Stone and ceramic tile must be displayed to show full range of colors.
Samples from new shipments of stone should replace showroom samples.
Dealers should require stone suppliers to provide test data demonstrating the stone meets the respective minimum ASTM International physical property standards.
Ceramic and stone suppliers should furnish dealers with high quality installation products that come with guarantees, as well as guidelines for use.
Dealers should also provide maintenance guidelines for all their stone and ceramic tile products. “This helps buyers properly care for [the products] and have a happy experience,” Pompo says. “The dealer makes added sales and profit by selling maintenance products, and the buyer keeps coming back to buy the products, spurring additional sales.”
What does the future hold for stone and ceramic coverings? Hawkins-Struble applauds the strides of ceramic and porcelain tile makers, but believes it’s a stone-cold lock one segment of the buying populace will remain highly partial to stone.
“As the tile industry gets better, as they make tile look more like stone, there may be a shift of the middle to upper-income homeowner to ceramic and porcelain,” she says. “The super-wealthy are always going to want stone. It’s unique and natural.”
They Might Be Giants
April, 2009By Gary Moore, Specialty Tile Products
Bigger, Faster, Bolder, Stronger! It sounds like a description of an NFL dream athlete or a hyped up ad campaign. It happens to be the truth when we are talking about ceramic tiles. New engineering techniques are making it possible to press tile in very large formats. It is now COMMON to see 24” by 48” tiles. We were looking at a 48” Hexagon (thats right) the other day. There are flooring and cladding processes that are producing 3’ by 9’ dimensions that are 4mm thick. When you couple this with new glaze printing techniques that exactly reproduce thousands of digital images of stones, we are beginning to see quite a quantum leap in new applications for porcelain tile. Exterior cladding, seamless /groutless wainscoting, long corridors in airports without bumpy joints all in the gemstones and limestones, or any other precious materials you can think of, and with the sustainable bonus of lasting forever. Wow, that was a mouthful. These are wonderful new design options. It follows then that new installation procedures and skills will be needed or some old ones will need to be resurrected in order to properly affix these new giants. These two articles are fine examples of just how the installation and setting materials industry is facing up to the challenge.
Large Format Tile Installation
by Michael Byrne, www.tilemagonline.com
Large Format Tile Installation (Expanded/Part 2)
by Bill Griese, www.tilemagonline.com
Vieuphoria
March, 2009By Gary Moore, Specialty Tile Products
The other day I rented an automobile in Atlanta. Years of diving reefs and cataloging tropical fish across the world could not have prepared me for the electric shade of blue I would be sporting up I-85. The staff at the hotel I was staying in draped a tarpaulin over the thing at night so guests could sleep without the disturbing eerie glow of the paint job. There was a three fold increase in the usual myriad of Gwinnet County UFO sightings. Wise men from the east began to show up with gold, frankincense and mir. You get the idea. If only the manufacturer had the vaunted advice of the Color Association of the United States to guide them. The following article by Barbara Schirmeister in this month's Tile Dealer magazine offers a look at this years color pallets and the inspiration behind them.
Color Fusion: The Blending of Color Philosophies
Tile Dealer Magazine, First Quarter 2009
By Barbara Schirmeister, ASID, CAUS, DC
"Color dichotomy” best describes the color forecast for 2009-2010 for residential and commercial interiors from the Color Association of the United States (CAUS), a forecast of color trends used by manufacturers of environmental and interior products. The palette exhibits both contrast and contradiction, reflecting uncertain and chaotic circumstances as we approach a new decade of the 21st century.
In searching for meaning and order, we are looking for a new attitude—a new design aesthetic. A desire to break away from the norm has helped to create new color solutions for today’s co-existing philosophies:
Classic versus Contemporary;
Moderation versus Excess;
Energetic versus Relaxed;
Reality versus Fantasy;
Urban versus Rural;
Playful versus Serious;
Sensationalism versus Rationalism; and
Exotic versus Simple.
Individualism reigns and is responsible for the diverse emergence of mini trends, seen at all of the leading international trade shows and fashion runways. These mini trends incorporate all eras and cultures, and strive to introduce visionary, futuristic concepts.
The Palette The palette for 2009-2010 has the following characteristics:
A fresh, balanced approach fusing warm and cool hues;
The complex neutrals are more saturated and refined;
Brights are more confident;
Technology coexists with romance;
Reflections of an entrepreneurial spirit;
A redefinition of luxury.
Urban Neutrals
Urban neutrals are the core and dominate the palette. They are pivotal swing colors that become a springboard for interesting new accent hues. These neutrals consist of:
No-colors—a bit off kilter and moody, such as sepias, taupes, tobaccos, bronzes and off-browns;
Whites—a strong story that speaks of purity, luxury, the ethereal and a new start; it acts as a stage set for beautiful color combos.
Gray—Definitely the new leading family. We see “techie” grays alongside of elegant taupes, metallic silvers and graphites.
These neutrals are the perfect vehicle for understated elegance in classical environments or contemporary spaces. These more somber hues are the perfect foil for bright spurts of color, or they work beautifully together in more monolithic schemes, playing off one another. The layering of neutrals in varying textures and lusters utilize a play of light as an essential part of the scheme.
Graphic Brights
These vibrant, energetic colors are represented with new neons, acid and fluorescent brights, electric primaries, and the bold contrast of black and white. They can be characterized as:
Somewhat eccentric or bizarre;
Retro—Flashback (as in time-travel), Edwardian, 80s Pop Art, Steampunk and Art Deco;
Surreal—a rebellion of sameness and corporate culture;
“Techie”—Electronic media used in patterns, textures and grids, micro-mesh, 3-D, and precise laser techniques;
Preppy—Mid-tone brights;
Olympic fever and Asian influences.
This segment of the palette will be used to punch up the urban neutrals and the black and white story.
Eco-colors
The most current driving influence on color and design is sustainability and ecological concerns. There is a great deal of confusion as to what is truly green. Honesty has become a driving force, fostering a new purism and neo-nature movement. In addition, honesty in production is value-added—recycling, neoadaptation, eco-friendly, transformation. This family of color echoes the “organic-chic” of fashion: pre-washed hues, organic dyes, tender colorations inspired by nature. These colors are familiar and comforting. They include:
Cheerful, sunlit golds and yellows;
New botanical greens as fresh grasses and new leaves, celadons, clean tropicals and jades;
Reds are important—from terracottas and pinks to crimson;
Orange becomes coral, copper and cantaloupe;
In place of pastels, there will be expanded tinted whites;
The blues promise to be escalating. They represent wellness, sky, water, dependability and faithfulness. We will have blue in all its glory: Sky blue, periwinkle, cobalt, cornflower, royal, nautical, lavender blue and a plethora of spa-influenced blues. Purpled blues and blued-greens shift into a new range of teals and aquas. The blue palette will play off of the urban neutrals and metallic segments of the palette.
Luster and Shimmer
It seemed that sparkle and shine had peaked, but it has resurfaced with a vengeance. Everywhere, adorning all products, there can be found glitz, dazzle and shimmer—from flaunt-it-shine to subtle sheen. Luster is being used to add life to deep shades; woven and embossed effects are threaded with shimmer; crystals are imbedded in textiles; and fiber optics is escalating.
There is a fascination with the mystery of light and shadow and with the illusion of smoke and mirrors. This contemporary fantasy embraces glamour in all forms and applauds over the top drama in design.
Metallics are a major influence in reflective color: tarnished, burnished, polished or brushed, they add to the neutral palette. Choose from an array of silvers, coppers, bronzes or precious metals. They are indeed a palette in themselves.
Finally, there will be an emphasis on imagination, fostering experimentation and risk-taking. This will result in adventuresome mixes of unusual color combinations. A fickle marketplace generates a faster turnover for trends. Consequently, we see less longevity for color popularity and a more radical shift in our upcoming forecast palette.
Internationally renowned color expert Barbara Schirmeister, ASID, has been a longtime member of the Color Association of the United States (CAUS) Interiors Committee, helping to formulate the annual Environmental/Interiors Forecast palette. She has served for many years as color consultant to a number of major companies, including Crossville, Inc.; American Standard; Unisys; Motorola; Pantone; Eastman Kodak and Hunter Douglas, among others.