Colour has become an inseparable part of our lives and the way we view the world. Predictable and boring are bypassed. We have come to expect a world where everything is touched by colour. Appliances once used to be purchased for their practical performance, yet now frequently it is the colour and design style alone that’s the key deciding factor. Accent colours were once usually featured on walls or in cushions, flowers and ornaments. Today it’s just as likely that your feature might be a striking coloured fridge, kitchen accessory or the latest high fashion gadget.

Homes are becoming less of a showplace and more a place to make yourself at home. It’s all about comfort – deep luxurious baths you can sink into, furniture that envelopes you, beanbags for adults for relaxing outside and wireless that lets you take technology into whichever room you like without a trail of cords.

Colours for 2011/12 are generally cleaner and less complicated, an overall feeling of comfort. The palette is tending towards more feminine hues as females are increasingly making more decisions for households. There are touches of uber bright reds, oranges, yellows and violets, such as Resene Switched On and Resene Outrageous, to draw in the eye like a flower. This handful of brights from across all colours provides a handy accessible palette of optimistic accents.

Nature has been a strong influence on colour, particularly in recent years, and this continues to broaden into a wider colour range. Fresh colours, rustic textures and the beauty of handcrafted pieces, filled with personality in their imperfections. Colours from nature come blessed with a feeling of authenticity. Greens are inspired by nature with sunny tones, yellow greens, such as Resene Koru and Resene Nirvana, refreshing greens, such as Resene Zeal, and crossover hues moving from green to blue, such as Resene Free Spirit. Nature comes inside into feature spaces and accessories.

Nostalgia comes through in feel good colours like landscape greens, yellows and ochres, such as Resene Fleetwood. Yellows have a retro undertone with an underlying hint of green.

Reds, such as Resene Code Red and Resene Rock N Roll, are in abundance – deep, strong and eyecatching – a definite feature of the new palette. Cheerful and plush, deep, pigmented and vital. Pink diverges into many hues from soft to luscious, such as Resene Smitten and Resene Devoted, to suit a wider range of projects. The influence of Latin America brings in highly saturated reds and oranges, clean and bright. Rustic hues round out the red and orange palette, with spicy oranges, such as Resene Ayers Rock, and red rust hues moving through into browns.

Blues are also growing in number, with intense blues, such as Resene Magnum and Resene Nite Life, a viable neutral alternative to grey or black. Watery blues, such as Resene Escape, are refreshing and optimistic blues invigorating. Darker blues are warmed. Blue meets pop with clean warm cyan blue and bold blues, such as Resene Bowie and Resene Elvis, for interest. Combine the simplicity of blue and silver, such as Resene Silver Streak, for a luxurious modern look.

Purples are varied – from bold violet to the softened purples of dried flowers, such as Resene Believe and Resene Poet. Purples have an underlying warmth in common.

Neutrals, browns and beiges tend towards warmer comforting variants, such as Resene Secret Road and Resene Fantail, imparting a softer look. There is a slow move from the gray family to browns, warm neutrals and mineral inspired hues, including subtle flesh tones, such as Resene Half Rickshaw. Washed, weathered and faded hues have timeless appeal. Wood tones are reflected in beiges and browns offset by evolving soft golden metallics, such as Resene Triumph and Resene Ignition. Off-whites are pure and uncomplicated, and there is a definite comeback of cool white, such as Resene Barely There, as a background neutral. Plain white, such as Resene Half Alabaster, is clean and elegant, a stark contrast to the growing range of blacks, such as Resene Black Sheep and Resene Blackout.

As we travel more – both in the virtual world and the real one, we integrate new accessories from foreign cultures into our homes.

Upcycling and recycling are increasingly mainstream as we try to do more with less. Combine a complete new look with minimal environmental burden - rearrange artwork and cushions, mix and mingle accessories, rejuvenate furniture with a fresh lick of paint or stain and add a splash of paint colour to walls for a complete new look. Try a mix of sheen levels, from gloss through to flat to add interest to a neutral colour scheme.

Colours are evolving more slowly and colour trends are lasting longer. There’s no ‘new’ or ‘old as such, more just a slow waxing and waning of favourites. There is a dichotomy between those seeking cheerful environments with optimistic brights and those wanting to play it safe with dark hues and neutrals. Even the most neutral schemes include strong splashes of intense accent colours in feature areas or accessories.

Colours to delight you, inspire you, motivate you and comfort you are all here in The Range 2011/12, available now from Resene ColorShops and Resellers. Happy decorating!

The Range 2011/12 colours are available in your favourite colour tools including Resene testpots, A4 drawdowns and self-adhesives, plus colour pencil and RGB formulations available online or from your Resene representative.

AutoCAD and ArchiCAD electronic colour files are also available online.

› Download Resene colour cues for 2011/12 brochure

Articles from Design Folio and Readers Digest