PAINTING AND DECORATING
ALL COLOURED UP T
he role of a merchant reaches far beyond the sale of products; trade professionals are often reliant on their advice and guidance to make the correct specification. To effectively advise customers on the best paints and coatings for the job, merchants need to be in the know about the latest colour trends and interior designs their customers are looking to achieve. What’s more, they should be confident in explaining why colours work in certain spaces and what they represent, to make sure painters and decorators are armed with the information they need to upsell to their customers. Beyond ensuring outstanding customer service, being in-the-know also helps merchants to ensure that their stock is updated regularly with the most popular shades, maximising sales opportunities.
Colour of the Year
For any merchant, stocking the products that their customers want is key if they want them to fly off the shelves and increase profit margins. As such, it is crucial that their stock reflects current and predicted interior design and colour trends.
Each year, Dulux develops a Colour of the Year, which captures the mood of the moment,reflecting the design trends for the year ahead. This is particularly helpful for merchants wanting to stock what will be popular with customers.
During the 20 years of Colour of the Year, Dulux colour experts have seen distinctive trends emerging with cooler blues and greys starting to make their mark between 2004- 2007, and more optimistic yellows featuring between 2007-2013. The overarching trend in the past few years has been towards the soothing and inspiring colours of nature. This year’s Colour of the Year - Wild Wonder - reflects the colour of almost ripe barley. It has a magical quality that responds to changing light throughout the day, offering variations of subtle gold to soft warm green as the sun moves across the sky. The colour is also a representation of our current relationship with the natural world. Post- pandemic, we value nature more highly than ever and look to live in harmony with it rather than seeing it as a limitless resource. Wild Wonder is a highly versatile colour that
32
enhances the sustainable and eco-friendly materials we see becoming mainstream in architecture and design.
As well as its Colour of the Year, Dulux has identified four trend palettes that capture different elements of this year’s nature- focused colour story. Each palette of 10 colours includes shades that work in perfect harmony with each other and Wild Wonder – so trade professionals can create stunning spaces, no matter how they choose to combine them.
The palettes also capture the big themes coming through in design: Lush Colours - beautiful forest hues that are inspired by the plant-filled habitats of gardens and woodlands. This palette places a focus on better mental health. Buzz Colours - upbeat tones of pinks and ochres that capture the bustling biodiversity of a wildflower field or grassland to showcase the power of connections and community. Raw Colours - harvest shades that mimic nature’s raw materials. Flow Colours - warm neutrals and deeper seashore tones that bring a sense of fluidity and momentum.
Visualisation
Colours become popular when customers can imagine them in the setting. To ensure that the right colour is chosen for every project, Dulux Trade has created a range of specially developed tools - including paint testers in thousands of shades, colour accurate guides and the Dulux Trade Expert app, which includes augmented reality visualization, production information and colour advice all in one place. Helping trade professionals to visualise the end results and relay this to their customers is crucial as it helps to win more business for everyone. Trade professionals can also order a printed booklet or download a Colour of the Year guide on the Dulux Trade website, filled with inspiration for homeowners and professionals.
Picking the right colour is one thing, knowing how to use it to make a space look the best it can be is another. The biggest trends this year include using colour on the ceiling, murals, ‘colour drenching’ by painting every surface, and using masking tape techniques to create stripes, bands, arches and checks. Merchants
can be at the very heart of invigorating the industry by pointing trade professionals in the right direction and inspiring them to suggest new and innovative ideas to their customers – which may prove to be more profitable. For merchants, staying on trend is the key to improving customer service, increasing the chance of repeat business, and boosting sales. To support merchants and trade professionals, colour and design experts at Dulux Trade work to identify the latest in decorating and share this knowledge through online Live masterclasses and face-to-face courses at the Dulux Academy. The Dulux Academy delivers top quality learning experiences, showcasing products, application innovations and technologies to tradespeople and merchants wanting to hone their craft and better understand their customers. The Academy has locations nationwide including their flagship at Slough, as well as Dulux Academy facilities at Dulux Decorator Centres. Dulux Academy Live courses are available to book now and free, offering insights into how the Colour of the Year is chosen alongside its supporting palettes, and how colours are named.
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net September 2022
Marianne Shillingford, Creative Director at Dulux discusses the colour and interior design trends merchants should be aware of.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
