Rosie on the House
Color Confidential
Say good-bye to your typical Southwestern colors if you want to paint your home with style. The yellows, golds, and terra-cottas we've loved so long are making way for darker, dustier neutrals that bring to mind khaki trousers and coffee with lots of cream—and are tinged with subtle touches of plums, violets, and grays.
Yellow-hued colors come into style about every dozen years, and then get pushed aside by blue-based shades for the next decade or so. Right now, the blues have it. But they're not bright, loud blues. In fact, some of the "in" colors don't even appear blue. Look for muted shades that lean toward grays and subtle purples. Soft, chalky browns, blue-gray browns, grayish tans, and sun-bleached, washed-out blues and purples are most popular.
So what happened to our gold-toned Southwestern palette? Arizona newcomers, blown away by the beauty of the desert and our breathtaking sunsets, propelled a decorating trend revolving around those natural colors. Add to that a simultaneous spike in interest of all things Tuscan, and hues turned yellow for a while. Home decor styles are gradually softening as more transplants from big, out-of-state cities gravitate to our beautiful state to retire, and bring their taste for a more neutral color palette with them.
That's not to say we aren't seeing pops of color here and there—even rich royal blues and true reds. But those are accents amid the neutrals for the most part.
Still, your house, home, castle, or cabin is yours to enjoy. Choose the colors you like. In the end, you want to love what you look at when you walk into your house, whether your colors are "in" or not.
Rosie Romero is
celebrating his
21st year hosting Rosie on the House,
a call-in radio talk show about home
improvement. It airs Saturdays from
8 to 11 a.m. on 790 KNST-AM. Call the
show at 888-ROSIE-4-U, or visit
rosieonthehouse.com.