{Benjamin Moore’s Dreamy shown with Lake Erie #9}

It’s the time of year for the paint companies to release their forecast colours for 2011, and this year there are some very interesting and beautiful selections.

Benjamin Moore has put together their annual Envision Color collection, eighteen of their favourites for the coming year. Their palette is divided into three collections: Dreamy, Spirited, and Soulful.

{Genesis White, Kendall Charcoal, Gray Mirage, Porcelain, Etiquette, Smoke}

Dreamy (above and top) – for use with translucent and sheer materials, blurred decorative details, and softened textures

{Storm, Lucerne, Royal Flush, Paper Mache, Wrought Iron, Grape Green, shown with Grandview Lake #1}

Spirited – for use in fashion and furnishings as geometric shapes, stripes, and dynamic colours that are balanced by lots of black, white, and grey.

{Hush, Vintage Wine, Etruscan, Casco Bay, Wasabi, Amulet, shown with Kettle Point #1}

Soulful – use in pattern on pattern and hand-worked decoration such as beading and embroidery. Benjamin Moore’s colour of the year is Vintage Wine from this collection.

{Pantone’s Honeysuckle shown with Lake Erie #5, Moonrise}

And the big one that everyone is talking about is Pantone’s Honeysuckle. Choosing a shade of pink for a room can be difficult, which is why I’m so glad Honeysuckle is the colour of the year, goodbye bubble gum and baby pink, hello reddish-pink. You are my honey, honeysuckle, I am the bee!

So what do you do with all these colours? It’s definitely a good place to start if you’re thinking about redecorating a space. You can also try to work them into your wardrobe choices. Personally, I like to incorporate them into my images and dip into them when designing our downloadable desktop calendars, business cards, and other pieces. I may even update our logo colours.

Which are your favourites? What do you plan to use them for?

{Colours may not be exactly as shown due to web compression and monitor profiles.}