According to The New York Times, the Pantone Color Institute‘s color for 2008 is blue iris, or for those in the ultra-know, No. 18-3943. Cathy Horyn quotes Pantone’s Leatrice Eiseman describing the color thus: “Blue Iris brings together the dependable aspects of blue, underscored by a strong, soul-searching purple cast. Emotionally, it is anchoring and meditative with a touch of magic.”
All I can say is, what a bummer. At least where interiors are concerned.
Change isn’t necessarily difficult for me, so it’s not that. For those of us who were raised preppy in the 80’s , it’s going to be quite a leap to disassociate Laura Ashley from this color. Yes, yes, I can see that blue iris is more vivid than the slightly muted periwinkle of that era. I happen to look great in these colors, so as far as fashion goes, bring it on. And I do agree with the article that the yellowy greens have been done to death in many arenas: fashion, interiors, packaging.
But I’ll predict right now that it’s going to be difficult to haul blue iris into living rooms overnight. My clients in D.C. tend to favor warmer colors for their public rooms. Earth tones have been big here (as they have everywhere, thanks to Pottery Barn and West Elm), and I’m always a fan of rich creams and dark yellows for living rooms. I just painted a living room Farrow & Ball‘s Hague Blue, but that color is so rich and dark – and knock-your-socks-off sophisticated – that it feels warm.
I can see substituting the blue iris for the muted grey-blues that work so well in bedrooms, bathrooms, and sunrooms. Paired with cream or grey it’s elegant, with stark white it’s fresh, with brilliant (not mellow) yellow it’s edgy. But it will require a real shift to bring this color into living spaces – even as an accent color, since it’s not a natural fit with warm earth tones. One exception springs to mind: iris blue would be smashing with a dark olive green…
Unlike fashion, interiors aren’t expected to respond nimbly to every fad that comes down the pike, so we have a little time to adjust. But my first response: what a disappointment.