Pantone’s 2017 Color of The Year Greenery Celebrates Color’s Curative Powers:
The word “green” as it relates to the home, typically signifies environmentally-friendly features as opposed to its literal meaning as a color. In 2017, green returns to its literal roots in home interiors as Pantone’s Color of the Year—Greenery 15-0343 to be precise.
It seems that we all want a little greenery in our lives to calm our minds and soothe our physical surroundings. In a recent Pantone webinar announcing the 2017 Color of the Year, Laurie Pressman, Vice-President Pantone Color Institute, observed that yellow-green captures the current consumer’s mood to revive, restore and renew. “Greenery conveys a message of health and represents consumer desire to express unique identity and connect with others and a larger purpose,” says Pressman, who calls green “nature’s neutral.”
Pantone describes “Greenery” as a fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring, the flourishing foliage and the lushness of the outdoors with fortifying attributes that signal consumers to take a deep breath, oxygenate and reinvigorate.
This hippy vibe and holistic, new age sounding rhetoric surrounding Pantone’s 2017 Color of the Year as “symbolic of new beginnings” and “a life-affirming shade,” (Pantone’s own words) is enough to make more mainstream tastes shy away from the shade.
Since the 1920s, yellowish green has cycled in and out of style in fashion and home interiors. In the 1960s, consumers embraced psychedelic yellows and bright greens inspired by pop art. The 70s popularized yellow greens in day glo colors. The recent Spring 2017 fashion runways debuted plenty of bright yellow-green couture.
We can reminisce and wax poetic about the color green, but in reality does it translate to walls, furniture, fabrics and decorative accents in today’s home? The answer is yes, but not in ways you would expect.
Instead of green painted walls, homes are integrating living walls and moss walls as design elements. People also are getting their green fix from consumer products in shades of green ranging from coffee makers to luxury cars.
“Green is emblematic of its time, crossing all areas of design to express the mood and attitude of consumers. It gives us the confidence to take bold steps to find purpose and passion and redefine success and what makes us happy,” says Pressman.
2017 brings high expectations for the color green and its transformative powers aesthetically, physically and spiritually. I, for one, intend to add a dose of green hues for good jou-jou and a home interior refresh. For the latest design news and design travel, subscribe to The Design Tourist Magazine
