Contributed by Lori Dolnick
Color is everything. From high-end sinks to contract wallcoverings – the trend spotters work hard to stay on top.
I’m just getting back from Germany where I visited the Blanco SILGRANIT factory. Blanco is an 85-year old family-owned company that makes some of the world’s finest and most innovative sink and faucet designs. European heritage. German engineering. Wow.
They introduced the world’s first granite sink and continue to lead the industry today in this growing category. The Blanco SILGRANIT sink is made from 80% granite. The other ingredients are a company secret that took them 25 years to perfect and make these sinks far tougher than the countertops surrounding them. They resist heat, chips, scratches, stains and they won’t need maintenance treatments to keep these properties – as granite countertops do. While the durability and design is remarkable, I was most impressed by the color options and kept my German tour guide busy with questions about how they develop sink colors.
Blanco’s SILGRANIT® line comes in five shades: Biscuit, Metallic Gray, Anthracite, White and the newest – Café Brown. Anthracite is the most popular – a stunning accent for light counters or an integrated matte for darker surfaces. Café is a rising popular color as natural, organic colors continue to be high demand design elements. Blanco is constantly researching kitchen color trends to keep these sinks in perfect alignment with the surfaces being specified around them. The growing popularity of granite sinks in the kitchen also points to overall color and design trends in the home. Matte finishes in counters and surfaces are very popular right now – as are color features throughout the home from laundry appliances to wallcoverings. What once was neutral – is now in living color. What was shiny is sometimes matte – contrast is key to material choices.
Julie Landis, Creative Director for J. Josephson travels the world to spot the latest trends for their popular to-the-trade wallcoverings. Her recent trips resulted in the following notes: “Gray is the new neutral. Influenced by fashion, gray prevails on the runway and on the wall. Browns have led for a long time, especially browns with blues. But now browns are getting warmer and yellower to make room for cool grays. At NeoCon Chicago, we noted more contemporary ethereal whites and IMM Cologne gave insights into exciting combinations of purple and brown. And we can’t forget ‘green’ eco-haloing in both color and design.” Julie’s color design notes are clear matches for Blanco’s sink colors. It’s cool when the trend spotters converge. From fashion runway to home fashions – it’s all in sync – and it doesn’t happen by accident. These color experts are hard at it year-round to spot the next new color wave that will elevate their brands and enhance our homes.
These new Symphony Wallcoverings show off the latest color fashion trends. (Patterns: Impromptu, Minuet, Rhythm)
This new café brown Blanco SILGRANIT® sink points to the growing use of fashion color in home design today.
Contributed by Lori Dolnick.Click here to read all of Lori's posts.
