Colour of the Year 2012: Pantone Tangerine Tango

Are you a follower of fashion?

Colour experts, Pantone, annually draw our attention to a single hue announcing it as the ‘Colour of the Year’.   So it was with great excitement and anticipation we awaited the announcement....the colour to look out for in 2012 is Tangerine!  Specifically it is Pantone colour 17-1463, Tangerine Tango.

Already present on the catwalk followers of fashion will see it in the Spring collections and it will appear in merchandise ranging from cosmetics to house wares. 

image reference Pantone

Colour trends are enormously influential and whilst most of us are aware that the clothing industry survives on the public desire to be fashionable the impact on interior design and decoration is not so obvious.   But did you ever wonder why, when you go shopping for new wallpaper or even a washing up bowl, the same colours appear in all the shops?  So this year look out for tangerine, a colour full of joy and sunshine.

In the UK we spend a lot of our waking hours indoors so the colours we decorate our homes with should be chosen with care.  Emotional and physiological effects are apparent from the warm feeling we get from reds and pinks to the iciness of sky blues and whites so think about the effect you want to achieve before picking the colours. 

Tangerine is a fiery colour and if you love the calm of neutrals you might find it a bit too much.  Why not try just a little here and there to create a spark?   It also works well with its complementary colour blue when applied in equal proportion so look out for patterns that contain both colours.  Creating a feeling of energy and balanced tension tangerine and blue can be very exciting and reminiscent of Mediterranean holidays. 

For a more relaxing atmosphere experiment with colours adjacent on the colour wheel, such as warm yellows and reddish oranges, to mix with tangerine.  This graduation of colour is restful rather than overly stimulating yet still uplifting and warm.

If you are decorating this year and want to be right ‘on trend’ you will find tangerine accessories, wallpapers and fabrics in the stores but if you really want to be a follower of fashion remember there will be another colour to chase in 2013!