Pantone chooses two pale hues for 2016 Color of the Year

Color trends in home decorating are always changing. Avocado and gold appliances, new in the 1970s, are strictly yesterday's news if they are seen in homes today.

The latest color trend?

For 2016, the authorities at Pantone Color Institute have made an unprecedented color-of-the-year choice — two colors: Rose Quartz and Serenity (otherwise known as pale pink and light blue).

Many people look to Pantone as the global expert on color. Pantone standardized colors for the graphic arts industry in 1963 and has since expanded its color matching system concept to other design industries including fashion, home decor, plastics and paint. Designers who want to reproduce the exact color time after time, specify colors using the Pantone name and number of the color.

Rose Quartz (13-1520) is described in Pantone literature as "a persuasive yet gentle tone that conveys compassion and a sense of composure".

Serenity (15-3919) is said to be "weightless and airy, like the expanse of the blue sky above us, bringing feelings of respite and relaxation even in turbulent times."

Debbi Somers, CEO of Somers furniture in Las Vegas, has a good deal of experience designing furniture with calming influences. Her company has designed the pool/lounge furniture for hotel-casinos and has developed a line of backyard residential resort furniture.

"Our products must appeal to male and female users, so while we always pay attention to the color-of-the-year announcement, the soft pink is not a color we would typically use," Somers said, "but blues are always popular in all the shades."

Local interior designer Michelle Montgomery typically works on large Las Vegas residences. She says she has long wanted to use a very pale pink color in one of her homes but has not yet found the right application. She said she's keeping her options open, however, because she loves the color.

Femininity is no problem for the folks at Laura Ashley who, even before the color-of-the-year announcement, have used light pinks and blues for many of their collections. Laura Ashley's new collection Silver Serenity features pops of Rose Quartz, while several other collections feature Serenity. The company includes wallpaper, fabric, decorative pillows, throws, drapery and other accents to complete a room.

"I think the 2016 colors could be used in a bedroom or a child's room," said Peggy Scinta of Scinta Designs in Las Vegas. Scinta likes to incorporate color in her work but says the 2016 colors "might have some men running screaming from the room."

Like many designers, Scinta uses a deck of Pantone colors in her design work. "When we order from a catalog or online, we can't always tell the true color of an item or a fabric," she said. "If the colors used are described using the Pantone codes, we can check our swatches and know if the colors are right for the project."

How were the Pantone colors chosen? Pantone says its representatives quite literally travel the world looking for new color influences in entertainment, films, art, fashion, travel, lifestyles, socioeconomic conditions. Pantone's colors of the year for 2016 also are the result of the world seeing a "gender blur as it relates to fashion … coinciding with societal movements toward gender equality and fluidity."

Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, adds, "With the ability to interpret the influence of color on overall consumer psychology, we have enabled the design community to stay on the cutting edge of color selection."

Color selection is part of Linda Stiley's daily life. She's been a Las Vegas manicurist for more than 30 years and notes that young customers, ages 18 to 35, will try "just about anything" in terms of color — including blue nail colors. But in looking at the colors of the year for 2016, she said, "These are summer colors for sure, but they are nice."

A pre-Christmas visit to the Shops at Crystals reveals a few stores are already into the 2016 color-of-the-year palette. The Miu Miu store features a collection of small leather goods in pale pink. In Dolce & Grabbana, a light pink handbag is a new color in the company's Monica collection.

Kiton luxury men's store at Crystals features a variety of colorful clothing, including shirts in pale pink and light blue. Tie designs use similar colors, and the store window even featured a sports coat with a gray and light blue check pattern.

Store Manager Peter Joachim selected the items for the Las Vegas store, explaining that Kiton stores have "always been about quality and color." Under his own Italian-made suit jacket, Joachim was wearing a pink shirt with a pink and blue handkerchief in his jacket pocket. He opened his jacket, and even his belt was full of pinks and blues.

Obviously, according to the Pantone folks, Joachim was composed, compassionate and very relaxed in these turbulent times.