When Kris Keller, founder and director of Design Source, discovered Pantone's 2019 color of the year was "living coral," she was very enthused; coral happens to be one of the favorite accent hues she's intentionally used in her own home!
"The gift of coral goes with most other colors, from earthy to gray tones, and coral also has oriental leanings. I personally love using coral with a vibrant turquoise. There are so many ways to incorporate coral and end up with a symphony of colors," she explains.
Pantone spokespeople reference their version of living coral as sociable, spirited, engaging and optimistic. Pantone has named colors of the year since 1999, which was cerulean, a blue shade ranging between azure and a darker sky blue.
"Accessories are always advantageous ways to add certain colors, but so is using a wall covering in a powder room or switching out a bath curtain," Kris says.
She's particularly enthused about the possibilities of working coral colors into kitchens, such as with hand towels, container gardens for growing herbs, placemats, chairs or even paper napkins.
"When entertaining, it's fun to add trendy colors into table settings through candlesticks, place cards, napkin rings or plates. Unexpected color details can really update a home," she adds.
Kris says coral has interesting historical roots in pottery, particularly in Portuguese, Italian and Majolica styles.
Other casual ways to incorporate coral into existing home decor include throws, artwork, pillows and florals, as demonstrated in Design Source's expert execution of examples accompanying this feature.
Jessica Laurinaitis, design assistant at Design Source, recommends combining similar shades of a chosen color in the same room, rather than trying to make all applications of that color match perfectly.
"And try not to use too much of any one given color because that can get overwhelming," she adds.
Jessica suggests making bold choices in coral colors this year with accent walls, ceramic pieces or lamps—and even pairing it up with items that are deep charcoal-colored. She especially likes adding layers of textures and patterns.
The Design Source team enjoys color so much that for the first time this year they even created their own "palette" of carefully chosen colors. In addition to corals in the terracotta range, they've included specific grays, blues, greens, taupes and mauves.
They believe surrounding oneself in color through intuitive and thoughtful ways empowers the process of change. They call this process "color transformations."
"Living with colors that feel good elevates a person’s sense of well-being in their environment. Color that harmonizes with the home’s furnishings and architecture transforms a home," says Kris, who has 35 years of interior design experience on which to draw.
She says they created an exclusive SourceBook vehicle for delivering the plethora of details and original designs that are part of each project.
"Many of our clients have multiple SourceBooks as we continue to work with them over the years. Our SourceBook is unique to our company. This comprehensive book showcases material selections, specifications, drawings, renderings, budget and any other ingredients of the project," she adds.
Kris says great interior or exterior design is life-changing.
"It's our joy to create comprehensive, one-of-a-kind design solutions for our clients."
