Colour trends with Wendy Rennie

Melbourne-based Wendy Rennie was in Adelaide recently to share her experience of Singapore Design Week. The Colour and Concept Manager for Haymes took part in an event hosted by Domo at their North Adelaide showroom and The Adelaide Review took the opportunity to speak to her about Haymes’ new colour themes for 2015. What does your role as Haymes’ Colour and Concept Manager involve? My role involves colour forecasting and the development of palettes that reflect upcoming colour trends. We make sure the Haymes colour range is relevant to specifiers and often work closely with them to ensure we’re accommodating their needs, so all colours are relevant right now. In 2013, Haymes released a whole new colour palette based on our work with the specifier market, and we’ll be reviewing this each year moving forward. What are the key influences or drivers that inform your colour forecasting? We undertake special research trips, such as visiting Maison & Objet in Paris or Singapore Design Week, and also subscribe to WGSN, which is an international trend forecasting and analysis website. It features really good overviews of trade shows that we can’t get to and also includes up-to-the-minute colour trends that are about two to three years in advance. What colour trends do you predict for the coming year? For 2015, Haymes is focused on five colour palettes, each with a specific theme. Our first one, Rhythmic Palms, has been hugely successful and features deep bottle greens, greys and earthy tones, specifically influenced by the jungle and its lush vegetation. The next theme is Relaxed Replay and it’s bright and poppy, incorporating vibrant Miami Beach-influenced pastels. While New Skin is all about denim-inspired blues and greys that reflect casual, relaxed living. The fourth one is Raw, which features neutrals and is one of our most popular themes. Our final one is Exotic Botanic and this incorporates some of Haymes’ shimmery finishes, such as copper, with dusty pinks and greys. Have you noticed any marked changes in Australian consumers’ tastes over the past five years in regards to colour choices? I think people are much more confident and they’re looking to be more individual in their styling choices. There’s a move away from a one-colour-fits-every-room mentality, so they’re developing schemes for particular rooms to tie in specifically to what they want to happen in that room. It’s evoking a sense of emotion within that particular room dependent on what colour palette they’ve chosen. What colours do you think consumers will want more of in the next five years? There’s going to be a shift in the neutrals we use. If you’re developing a colour scheme throughout your whole house then a neutral colour palette is an investment. Cool greys were introduced about three years ago, but people are going to want a warmer feel throughout the home and one that’s more relaxed. So the warmer tones like browns and lattes that were popular ten years ago will come back into their own, but without the obvious yellow undertones and with an earthier look and feel. I think designer finishes will also become more prominent, so it’s not just about flat colour any more. It will be about mixing up different planes of finishes, so people will mix a metallic with a flat colour and then maybe use a rust or textured finish – it’s going to be about different textures not just different colours. haymespaint.com.au