Blend

A MERGING OF STYLES MADE COHESIVE

A DESIRE FOR INDIVIDUALITY AND ORIGINALITY ARRIVES full force to counter mass manufacturing and globalization. The Blend story pays homage to the eternal importance of self-expression in art, fashion and design. The emerging aesthetic reflects the fusion of craft and technology, urban and pastoral, traditional and modern. From afar, these designs have calm simplicity, but close-up, the experiments with form, line and color are evident. Blend is especially relevant in the monochromatic vocabulary, where subtle nuance and texture is everything. This is a theme that speaks in the unique language of the forward-thinking designer and grants permission to play, infuse creativity and invent new relationships between shape, material, pattern, color and texture.

Blend

Inspiration

Experimental design production / interdisciplinary thinking / collaboration / the rejection of uniformity fusion of ancient with modern / native processes such as weaving / contemporary artists / architectural extremes, especially modern architecture and abstract industrial design / glass skyscrapers / agricultural fields / the importance of the handmade / stylized arrangements found in nature such as shell surfaces honeycombs / feathers / animal skins / nests undulating sand / patterns found throughout design history / retro furniture / cobblestone streets patchwork and quilting

Blend

Color Palette

Tone on tone, color injections against a monochromatic background
Neutrals infused with brown tones and shades of gray
Multi-mixed brights combined with mid-level neutrals

Please contact our Forecasting Team if you would like more information about the color swatches presented in Perspectives, including paint and Pantone® color matches.

Blend

Fashion
Ambience

Layers and color blocking
Joining of different elements, big over small, shrunken with oversized, long over short
Combining matte with sheen, rough with smooth, sporty with smart
Laser cuts, pleated effects, eclectic styling, natural fibers mixed with artificial
Using materials with tactile 3-D effects to create new silhouettes

Blend

Design Aesthetic

Tonal variations reveal subtle nuances of color, layering or inlaying of contrasting surfaces, unexpected textural differences in both depth and gentle gradations of color, and a co-joining of textures or flat structures with dramatic 3D elements.
Variation of size, shape, color, or direction simultaneously conveys a sense of harmony and tension, transforming a simple concept into one that is rich with meaning and refined sophistication.
Texture is used to create more a dynamic architectural language. The juxtaposition between contrasting materials and finishes is emphasized through various patterns and rhythms.
Materials are combined to merge rigid with flexible, masculine with feminine, structure with deconstructed, tailored with casual, extravagant with discrete. New is juxtaposed with old, and ethnic is co-joined with technical.
A convergence of elements, especially natural stone with wood, glass, metals and leather, are central to the designer's palette when creating distinctive spaces.

Blend

Materials
Direction

Textiles and fabrics feature random patchworks, multi-colored tweeds, and colorful suede and leather in tonal variations.
Blends of different stones, glass, woods, metals, copper steel, and lead are recognizable and easily understood, yet speak a contemporary vocabulary.
Laser-cut furniture, rugs and fabrics; wireframe construction, woven goods, and wood with stone inlays will add visual intrigue to décor.
This is an important story for the tile category, bringing a more sophisticated and textural aesthetic to a heavily saturated product.
Veneer stones are custom blended to create a distinctive look and stone planking and wall veneers can be mixed to create tactile dimension.