Norwalk Introduces 20 New Finish and Paint Colors

The wood finish of many upholstered pieces is a vitally important element of the design.  That’s why all of us at by Design are excited about Norwalk Furniture’s introduction of 20 new finishes and paints to be used on their custom upholstered sectionals, sofas, chairs and ottomans.

The richness and beauty of hard maple furniture is enhanced with Norwalk Furniture’s introduction of 20 new wood finishes. No longer just a supporting element, decorative chair frames, legs and bases become as special as the upholstery itself.

Norwalk worked with Sherwin-Williams Global Color & Design Center to create this collection of stains, paints and finishing techniques. These finishes are sure to be popular. They are a natural extension of by Design’s and Norwalk’s customization story.

Stained wood finishes:

Painted wood finishes:

Chicory finish:

Following Honeysuckle in 2011 (pinker) and Turquoise in 2010 (turquoiser?) Pantone has selected Tangerine Tango as the 2012 color of the year.  You’re going to be seeing a lot of Tangerine this spring and summer in fashions.

From Pantone’s site:

“Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”

But How Will by Design Use Tangerine in Interior Design?

Cleverly.

With humor & a sense of fun.

To add punch and a dynamic quality to a room.

It does seem unlikely that we’ll see many tangerine sectionals and hopefully no tangerine wall-to-wall carpets. But, this is a perfect accent color. A chair or other accent piece of furniture will work well.  A lamp, botanical blooms and definitely wall art would be great.  And glass accessories in this tangerine will be terrific.

It will probably take a bit of searching to bring this bold new color into your room. But the freshness and fun it will bring will almost certainly be worth it.

Click link to see some images from a Tangerine Tango search.

Pantone’s web post on Tangerine Tango

And here is a great post by Samantha Miller in the Washingtonian on how to use Tangerine Tango.

They’ve been saying it: Grey Is The New Black

Grey has been becoming increasingly popular and powerful in interior design.  Almost all of the new color trends we wrote about after the last market used greys within them.  Probably the greatest came from our Dots & Dashes trend.  You can read about Dots & Dashes here.

Here are some images of some great industrial interior design in greys.  Also take a look at our wonderful Fred and Ginger ottomans done in a grey them.  Really cool.

But, what made me want to post on grey again was these pics from the Style Files blog of some wonderful grey rooms.  These rooms show a wide variety of ways to use grey in creating your perfect room.  More grey bedrooms.

“With roots in menswear styling and pattern inspiration, this sophisticated combination of geometrics and techno inspired designs, is elegant in its restraint. While retaining a decidedly urban edge with its gunmetal, graphite and slate grey color base it gets its energy from a liberal punch of citron and anjou.”

“An unexpected mix of blues ranging from royal to sapphire and accented with the crispness of snow, positions this look squarely between the comfortably classic and the cutting edge contemporary. Silver metals, pearlized leathers, an energetic mix of patterns, and white wood finishes all contribute to this timeless aesthetic.”

“World-wise, exotic, and collected , but grounded with European textures of linen and velvet , Global Hues combines the sophisticated warming tones of plum, violet , raisin, and raspberry for a new twist to this popular decorative expression.” Watch this video and we think you’ll be excited by the the colors and textures and the potential story you can tell with your room!

“A happy poetic and zany modern mix! A dash of peony pink and spring green peppered with a healthy dose of romance, femininity and fantasy. Not too serious and clearly a bit bohemian, this lively patterned blend with a slightly vintage charm is sure to engender a smile.” Color lovers… you’re going to love this one!

“Bright neon and candy colors are mixed with ghost white or midnight black for a crisp simplicity and witty punch. This fashion forward and runway influenced mix is decidedly upbeat in its energy and youthful appeal.”

Here is a video preview of the new fabric excitement that Marlene and Laura will be seeing at Fall 2011 Market:

Fun stuff! You’ll see lots of this and more at by Design soon!

A Limited Addition Chair Design

We traveled out to Norwalk, Ohio to the Pre-market event.  Its great to get a heads-up on trends and colors.  Candice gave a presentation, and was terrific as usual.  She at length about how her design process has evolved over the years.  Good stuff.

One amazing item from the event is Candice’s new Lou Lou chair available in a limited addition fabric.  And get this:  they’ve woven Swarovski crystal into the fabric in a beautiful pattern.  This limited edition version of the Lou Lou wears Calvin linen in aqua, embellished with an elaborate design in Swarovski Elements aquamarine crystals on the inside back, and over-sized spaced silver nail heads just above the decorative wood base.  Amazing.

Here’s a comment by Candice:

“The Lou Lou Limited Edition Chair takes its cue from the fashion industry,” Olson says. “The soft tonal effect of aquamarine Swarovski Elements crystals on aqua linen creates quiet drama.”

We’ll be getting one of the limited edition chairs, so stop in and take a peek.