With little more than two months left in 2005, it's time to take a peek at 2006 -- in particular the forecasted top colour trends.
According to one expert, Melanie Rice, colour consultant with PARA paints, it's whatever floats your boat.
"Next year's colour directions are all about choice," says Rice. "For consumers with more conventional tastes, there's a great selection of neutrals and soft pastels. For those looking for added flare, more vibrant and bold colours such as turquoise, yellow-greens and corals are making a comeback, as is a return to darker, more intense hues such as deeper violets, browns and greens."
Rice sees people combining different colours in an effort to create their own private world of comfort, mixing and matching, "until they find the perfect combination to achieve their look," she says.
"In the face of uncertain times, people are looking to get away from it all, and we'll see this reality reflected in their colour choices."
Want to escape to the tropics? Mix corals with turquoise.
Beads and Paisley shirts more your bag?
Combine yellow-greens with fuscia or orange and reminisce of peace, love and the '70s.
Maybe Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers memories are your cat's meow? Add textured finishes to golds and silvers to bring back the elegance of an era gone by.
"Opposites attract in 2006," says Rice, noting that even the most unlikely of combinations is possible.
