KINNARPS COLOUR STUDIO: THE NEW BLACK Commercial interior design is an evolutionary thing. There will always be classics the perennial favourites that never look out of place in any interior scheme - but each year trends emerge that are either ephemeral or become part of the received wisdom of good design. These trends are inspired by a melting pot of fashion, cultural influences, film and the economic climate of the day, and it is essential for us to acknowledge and absorb these influences for our furniture, and the workplace it creates, to remain timeless, yet contemporary. industries such as haute couture, footwear, film, automotive design and domestic interiors. She makes it her business to keep on top of emerging trends by monitoring fashion forecasts and visiting and reviewing the key seasonal showcases, from Milan Furniture Fair to Chanel s latest runway show. If it s hot, Christina will know about it and will feed it into the mix that inspires Kinnarps s Colour Studio - the suite of fabrics and finishes that allows our furniture to be tailored to each client s interior vision. Here we present a brief look book of some of the key trends that have inspired the latest Kinnarps Colour Studio collection. Christina Wiklund is Kinnarps s very own cool hunter. As Colour, Material, Finish (CMF) Manager, part of her remit is to sniff out the rising trends in workplace interior design, via their roots in other creative Making life better at work
COLOUR THEORY When looking at the key trends in interior design, it is also important to remember the fundamentals of colour theory, which dictate the impact a particular colour palette can have on the ambience of a workspace. Rich plum may be superhot, but if your team needs a calm, cool, tranquil environment in which to work, it might not be the trend for you! If serenity is your goal, might we direct you to the cool pastels and marine shades that are also making a splash this year? Each colour has its own set of semiotics - the symbols and signs it communicates - and each is capable of creating many different moods, depending on the shade selected and how they are used and combined in an interior. It is also worth remembering that these symbols can change from culture to culture a lesson learned the hard way by a certain chocolate manufacturer, which, when trying to launch its products in a new country, quickly discovered that its iconic purple packaging was the colour associated with death. In the UK the following associations and feelings are unreleated to colour. RED: Red is the colour of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. Red is a very emotionally intense colour. It enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure. YELLOW: Yellow is the colour of sunshine. It s associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy. Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, and stimulates mental and physical activity. ORANGE: Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation. To the human eye, orange is a very hot colour, so it gives the perception of heat, but is not as aggressive as red. Orange increases oxygen supply to the brain, produces an invigorating effect, and stimulates mental activity. GREEN: The colour of nature, green symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety and dark green is also commonly associated with wealth. Green has great healing power. It is the most restful colour for the human eye; it can improve vision. Green suggests stability and endurance. BLUE: Blue is the colour of the sky and sea and is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and spirituality. Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. It slows human metabolism and produces a calming effect. Blue is strongly associated with tranquillity, serenity and purity. PURPLE: Purple combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. Purple is associated with royalty, symbolizes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition and conveys wealth and extravagance. Purple is associated with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery, and magic. Shade choice is very important with purple, as light purple evokes romantic and nostalgic feelings, but dark purple can evoke gloom, sad feelings and can cause frustration. WHITE: White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the colour of perfection. White means safety and cleanliness and usually has a positive connotation. In heraldry, white depicts faith and purity. BLACK: Black is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery. It is a mysterious colour associated with fear and the unknown and frequently has a negative connotation (e.g. blacklist, black humour, Black Death). However, black also denotes strength and authority and is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious colour (e.g. black tie, black card). In heraldry, black is the symbol of grief.
DESIGN CLASSICS Remix 3921 The classic, luxurious, yet nostalgic signature of Coco Chanel was evident all over the fashion runways this season, with pearls, luxury fabrics and nude shades everywhere. So, prepare to see the influence of classic haute couture filtering, yet again, into interior design. As Coco herself said: Fashion passes, style remains. Chanel s influence could also be seen in many forms at the Milan furniture fair this year and has inspired Kinnarps to include our new, Century fabric, featuring Chanel s iconic houndstooth pattern, in the Colour Studio. Century is by Camira Fabrics; is made from recycled jute coffee sacks, and comes in the classic Chanel colour combinations of navy and white and grey and black. Our homage to Chanel s nude colours comes in the form of four new colourways of our classic, basket-weave, Amdal fabric, by Gudbrandsdalen, created especially for Kinnarps Colour Studio. Our Remix fabric from Kvadrat has a new nude colour, and we have newcomer Clara, also from Kvadrat in five soft, Chanel-inspired colours. Chanel s soft pastel palette, which is decidedly Scandinavian in its effects, was a key theme at this year s Stockholm Furniture Fair. Clara 3361 Century 8859
HOT METAL Amaretta 6623 There s gold in them there hills, and all over this year s trade shows and fashion fairs. It seems that luxe is back with a bang, as many influential designers feature metallic hues in their collections. Not only is gold back in favour, but so are brass and copper, with rich metallics featuring as bold statement pieces and seen everywhere as finishing details and frames on furniture. The gold rush kicked off in the motor industry with solid gold supercars and goldplated luxury cars and in fashion with top-to toe lustre, but interior designer Kelly Wearstler, who decorates entire rooms in brass, and Tom Dixon, with his stunning copper lighting designs, are two key champions of this interiors trend. Amaretta 6620 Kinnarps Colour Studio embraces the New Metallics trend with Amaretta 6623 faux leather fabric, with a rich, burnished copper finish. Amaretta 6698
BLYTHE SPIRIT On Stage! 5917 Luxurious, butter-soft, Cognac leather has been everywhere stylish for a while now, from fashion to footwear, from handbags to car upholstery and, inevitably, to fabulous, luxurious furniture. The trend for Cognac leather shows no signs of abating, with new designs on the fashion runways this year and the colour appearing again in luxury car interiors. In fact, it is becoming so ubiquitous in furniture design, that Cognac is practically the new neutral. Kinnarps On Stage! in colourway 5917 is our perfect measure of vintage Cognac. Hemp 7723 Amaretta 6619
HELLO SUNSHINE Amaretta 6610 Yellow, in all its glorious, Summery forms, has been a key trend for men s and ladies wear since 2012 and has filtered through to interior design. Yellow is the perfect palette for workplaces that thrive on innovation, as it stimulates the creative parts of the brain. Kinnarps Colour Studio has landed sunny side up, with a vivid yellow in Amaretta 6610 faux leather, buttercup soft King N 3410, and citric Uno 4012 upholstery fabric. King N 3410 Uno 4012
TAILORED TO FIT Hemp 7733 The influence of classic menswear continues to be a key trend in interiors, with tweed, flannel and wool all featuring heavily at the design and furniture fairs. Inspiration comes from the preppy, vintage, Hipster dress style, harking back to a time of classic quality; of three piece suits and bowties; and from an increased focus on the influence of men in the home on domestic interior design. Dublin 5659 Kinnarps Colour Studio s Hemp, Blazer, Step and Nemi all evoke the quality finish of bespoke tailoring. Step 9226
THE BIG BLUE Style 6460 There is no doubt that all the key designers are going through a big blue phase at the moment. Mulberry was advocating Royal Blue on the catwalk; Chanel s classic navy was all aboard the runways; GQ s spring fashion report was flooded with blues and Yves Klein Blue was the colour of the year at Milan Furniture Fair. Furniture designer Ross Lovegrove has even worked with Renault to create an International Klein Blue concept car. Despite being cool in its effects, blue is definitely red hot and looks set to continue in vogue for the foreseeable future. Forte 9360 Kinnarps Colour Studio is awash with the blue hue, from the subtle aquatic tones of Style 6460 to a big, bold Cobalt, in the form of Delta 6050, which wouldn t be amiss in an Yves St Laurent garden. Nemi melange 5153
St ep 92 26 Ce nt ur y8 85 9 Amaretta 6623 www.kinnarps.co.uk p 77 33 facebook.com/kinnarpsuk He m twitter.com/kinnarpsuk Visit us on To make an appointment to view our showroom (and our extensive colour studio) please contact info@kinnarps.co.uk We believe in making life better at work. At Kinnarps, we do more than just sell furniture. With products and services to match your needs, we deliver inspiring and effective workspace solutions to help your organisation prosper. Kinnarps UK Ltd. 69 Turnmill Street London EC1M 5RR Amaretta 6620 Making life better at work