Decorative Color Trends 2021

DECORATIVE
Franziska Hammerl, Colorants Solutions Deutschland GmbH, Global Technical Marketing, 04.08.2020
COLOR TRENDS 2021

NEW FREEDOM
2 Public, DECORATIVE COLOR TRENDS 2021
2020 – year of “stay at home”
Megatrends referring to digitalization already prove the transition of

workspaces from face2face work to a more digital interaction;
communicating virtually – we work from everywhere – no matter
what.
In these times of the COVID-19 pandemic, we somehow lost the

freedom to work anywhere we want – in fact: we lost the
freedom to GO wherever we want – we are forced to stay at home,
not meet with other people, our families, friends and coworkers.
We lost our freedom to travel – for pleasure and for business. All
trade shows have been stopped and we are more or less forced to
stay at our homes, alone or with your partner, children and pets.
In the beginning, this situation was exciting to us and seemed to

have some benefits – for people who
were not used to working from home, now being ask to do so. Or
for busy business travelers, having more time with your partner
and/or kids
…finding our “new normal, our new freedom”…
… new freedom …?
Being asked to stay at home meant that we had to adjust to a completely new way of life: no travelling, no traffic jams,
no hobbies, no after work drinks, no gym …
And what did we do? We sat in front of our screens again, watching Netflix, surfing the internet, participating in Zoom
meetings, trying to establish new habits in a digital way – with the goal to have at least some personal interaction.
All in all, we hide behind our screens, in an artificial world to protect us from what is going on in the world – in real life …
What we need is color!
In the past couple of years we established a trend in

decorating our houses with very decent colors.
Different nuances of grey, blue, maybe some green –
but mainly white, grey and black. And to make some
noise, we painted our houses and walls in high
contrast colors – white & anthracite.
These choices were taken in a world that was

influenced by so many different factors – the world
we saw on our screens was colorful and delightful.
We always had the goal to do something special,
“being on top of something”, to show our gratefulness
via Instagram, Facebook, TikTok et cetera.
It was a loud and fast life – so, we needed to make our

home a space to calm us down – to bring us back to
earth. And now we are so down to earth…
down-to-earth / back-to-me
Nowadays, without having a lot of choice what to do – after almost

being a slave to our screens over the past years, addicted to
seeing the seemingly fantastic life of others, we need to come
back to ourselves – to our real life – to our earth.
So, what if we get up, put on our shoes and simply leave our
houses? Leave the phone at home – no music, no internet, no
distraction whatsoever – just us and nature!
Could this be our new freedom?

To go outside and to enjoy nature?
To throw away the digital chains we have been attached to over
the past months, even years?
Simply enjoying the simplicity of life – of self being, of self-
determination?
Come with me…

Come with me!
When we see that the world is facing dramatic change and

uncertainty, we seek answers in our nature and spiritual
enlightenment. We need a purpose. NCS Colours, Discover Bio-Depth
Decorative Color Trends 2021 – “New Freedom” Color Palette
Meraki Ubuntu Boketto Commuovere Murr-ma Uitwaaien
Saudade Fika Wabi-Sabi Komorebi
Kalpa Hiraeth Jugaad
Colors can appear different depending on the screen

calibration
Ubuntu & Commuovere & Hireath

calibration
Ubuntu
Ubuntu is a Nguni Bantu term meaning "humanity." It is

often translated as "I am because we are," or "humanity
towards others," but is also used in a more philosophical
sense to mean "the belief in a universal bond of sharing
that connects all humanity.“
This warm, intense yellow reflects the heartwarming

feeling of being a part of something big and meaningful.
Commuovere
Commuovere is an Italian term that describes the feeling of

being deeply touched by something that affects the
feelings or emotions.
This neutral, but intense violet color expresses the

transformation, enlightenment and wisdom brought to a
person that feels deeply touched after a certain event that will
impact his/her future approaches in a positive way.
Hiraeth
Hiraeth is a Welsh word for homesickness or nostalgia, an

earnest longing or desire, or a sense of regret for a lost
place from the past which actually did not exist.
This powder pink gives the feeling of seeing through rose-

colored glasses, which are a bit dull and bring a certain
mist to the retrospection.
Boketto, Uitwaaien & Komorebi

calibration
Boketto
The idea behind Boketto is staring at the sky without a

thought… “Losing one’s own self in the distance.”
This strong emerald green perfectly translates this “losing

one’s own self” in color through its intense color but neutral
undertone.
Uitwaaien
Wind? No problem for the Dutch.

They also defy strong gusts – for example when they are out on
their bikes. But wind is also something beautiful for many people: If
you enjoy being outside and in the fresh air on a walk, you can call
it “lekker uitwaaien” in Dutch.
Uitwaaien is the dutch word for making a pause from something

and blowing out the mind.
This golden ochre color mirrors the harmonic feeling within

ourselves whenever we feel relaxed and calm.
Komorebi
Komorebi, the Japanese expression for the sunlight as it

filters through the trees, is made up of the kanji characters
for tree (木), shine through (漏れ), and sun (日).
Image walking through the wood and looking into the trees’
crowns, catching a ray of sun light that warms the skin on
your face – this medium yellow with a pure undertone
perfectly matches such color.
Meraki & Kalpa

calibration
Meraki
This intense red embraces that strong feeling whenever you do

something full of passion, with all your love and creativity.
Meraki is a Greek word, which describes exactly this dedication,

this burst out.
Meraki Red can be seen as one of the key colors for color
blocking in 2021.
Kalpa
Kalpa is a vocabulary from a lost language, called Sanskrit.

Sanskrit is the holy language of India – it is the oldest and original
language of the (north) Indian accents.
Some legends say that Sanskrit is actually the oldest language of
mankind.
Coming back to Kalpa: Kalpa is a term that means the time that passes
by from cosmologic point of view.
It is a transcendent period which can be very well reflected in this
blueish pastel violet that is a variation of modern space violet color
shades merged with the almost always present blue of a screen.
Wabi-sabi, Fika & Saudade

calibration
Wabi-sabi
Wabi-sabi is the most quintessential of Japanese aesthetics,

but also one of the hardest to express in English.
Whereas Western ideas of beauty are often rooted in the
concept of the “perfect” form, the Japanese concept of beauty
lies in appreciating the imperfections found in nature, as all
things of the natural world are impermanent and thus beautiful.
Wabi-sabi Grey is a neutral but intense color, with a violet

undertone that delivers the freedom to combine it with every
other color. In principal an imperfect grey that fits perfectly to
everything else including the original meaning of Wabi-sabi.
Fika
Meeting your friend to drink coffee and to have some delicious

pastry – and doing that for hours.
This is exactly what “fika” in Sweden means.
Fika Pink is the exact match of pink sugar icing, that you can find
everywhere on beautiful cupcakes.
Saudade
Pastel greens have already accompanied us for the past years,

being one of the most popular color for home interior furnishing.
And maybe, this color remains important to us even during such
uncertain times because it is something we are already used to and it
delivers us a certain feeling of consistency and certainty.
Additionally, it is a link to the time before this pandemic.

The Portuguese word “saudade” describes this constant but vague
desire for something that does not really exist and probably will never
exist.
It is a nostalgic aspiration to get back to something or someone

lost – and maybe this is the reason why this is the best name for
our pastel Saudade Green.
Jugaad & Murr-ma

calibration
Jugaad
Jugaad is a Hindi expression that means making something

happen with small monetary efforts but with full creativity.
Our Jugaad Orange is a cool neutral orange that delivers maximum

design freedom and is an important color in combination with white
and blush grey.
It could be just a small area, where this color is being applied to

make a huge difference in full appearance.
Murr-ma
Murr-ma is the Wagiman expression for the search of something

under water, just using your feet.
Murr-ma Blue is an aqueous blue that reflects deep water and

delivers the feeling that there is something beyond which we do
not know.
It is a great antipode to the general meaning of blue being a color

that gives us certainty.
Decorative Color Trends 2021 – “New freedom” Color Palette
… our preferences are moving towards more neutral colors, combined

with dark but warm hues and highlighted with red as an important
chromatic accent.
As we want to use colors to reflect our mood, one color or nuance is
simply not enough, making color blocking even more prominent in
2021.
Public
Franziska Hammerl
Colorants Solutions Deutschland GmbH
Global Technical Marketing
04.08.2020

Decorative Color Trends 2021

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Decorative Color Trends 2021

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

DECORATIVE

COLOR TRENDS 2021

2020 – year of “stay at home”

Megatrends referring to digitalization already prove the transition of

In these times of the COVID-19 pandemic, we somehow lost the

In the beginning, this situation was exciting to us and seemed to

What we need is color!

In the past couple of years we established a trend in

These choices were taken in a world that was

It was a loud and fast life – so, we needed to make our

Nowadays, without having a lot of choice what to do – after almost

Could this be our new freedom?

Come with me…

Come with me!

When we see that the world is facing dramatic change and

Decorative Color Trends 2021 – “New Freedom” Color Palette

Meraki Ubuntu Boketto Commuovere Murr-ma Uitwaaien

Saudade Fika Wabi-Sabi Komorebi

Kalpa Hiraeth Jugaad

Colors can appear different depending on the screen

Ubuntu & Commuovere & Hireath

Colors can appear different depending on the screen

Ubuntu is a Nguni Bantu term meaning "humanity." It is

This warm, intense yellow reflects the heartwarming

Commuovere is an Italian term that describes the feeling of

This neutral, but intense violet color expresses the

Hiraeth is a Welsh word for homesickness or nostalgia, an

This powder pink gives the feeling of seeing through rose-

Boketto, Uitwaaien & Komorebi

Colors can appear different depending on the screen

The idea behind Boketto is staring at the sky without a

This strong emerald green perfectly translates this “losing

Wind? No problem for the Dutch.

Uitwaaien is the dutch word for making a pause from something

This golden ochre color mirrors the harmonic feeling within

Komorebi, the Japanese expression for the sunlight as it

Meraki & Kalpa

Colors can appear different depending on the screen

This intense red embraces that strong feeling whenever you do

Meraki is a Greek word, which describes exactly this dedication,

Kalpa is a vocabulary from a lost language, called Sanskrit.

Wabi-sabi, Fika & Saudade

Colors can appear different depending on the screen

Wabi-sabi is the most quintessential of Japanese aesthetics,

Wabi-sabi Grey is a neutral but intense color, with a violet

Meeting your friend to drink coffee and to have some delicious

This is exactly what “fika” in Sweden means.

Pastel greens have already accompanied us for the past years,

Additionally, it is a link to the time before this pandemic.

It is a nostalgic aspiration to get back to something or someone

Jugaad & Murr-ma

Colors can appear different depending on the screen

Jugaad is a Hindi expression that means making something

Our Jugaad Orange is a cool neutral orange that delivers maximum

It could be just a small area, where this color is being applied to

Murr-ma is the Wagiman expression for the search of something

Murr-ma Blue is an aqueous blue that reflects deep water and

It is a great antipode to the general meaning of blue being a color

Decorative Color Trends 2021 – “New freedom” Color Palette

… our preferences are moving towards more neutral colors, combined

You might also like