It Report: Tradition, with a Twist
In an uncertain economy, tradition is more important than ever. But that doesn't mean a return to red and green
by Aubrey Blankenship | Published in November 2008 decor | it report | linen | Departments
Red and green are out, or so the experts say.
Replace those (yawn) traditional colors with a different palette this year, says Youngsong Martin, owner and lead designer of Buena Park, Calif.-based Wildflower Linen.
Martin sums up this shift in three different looks: Earth Angel, White Christmas and Wrapped up in Luxury.
“There’s nothing like traditional red and green,” says Martin. “But what we’re trying to do is create a bigger palette.”
This palette consists of ottoman aloe, shantung eggplant and charmeuse champagne for her Earth Angel look, pairing a sense of eco-consciousness with holiday flair.
For White Christmas, she combines shantung silver linen with iridescent taffeta napkins in cornflower blue for a soft look. Looking to go all out this holiday season? Martin recommends Wrapped up in Luxury, which combines crushed-velvet mocha linen with a charmeuse napkin in ruby red, with chair covers to match, or diamond taffeta linen in dark orchid with iridescent taffeta napkins in apple green, with charmeuse tie-back chair covers in fern.
When it comes to 2008 holiday trends, Kelly Murphy, president and general manager of Linens With Panache, agrees that red and green are rather passé.
“People are getting more and more adventurous in their choices for holiday décor and [we] believe the reason stems from people entertaining at home more than ever,” says Murphy. “Trends seem to be shifting more towards personal style and a home color scheme.”
In September, Panache asked four different Florida-area designers to give their take on the latest in holiday tabletop fashions. The results featured not a single red, green and gold combination among them.
Xquisite Events created a “wintery white” table with white fur and diamonds. Petals Panache designed a glowing copper/pewter look. Meanwhile, Medallion Occasion Boutique showcased a “romantic rustic” look by utilizing natural elements, and Tropical Elegance created an “aquamarine tropical” table decked out in marine colors.
“Winter wonderland” themes maintain their popularity this year. “Requests for themes such as ‘winter wonderland’ have become increasingly popular,” says Oren Fox, owner of New Jersey-based A-1 Tablecloth Co. He creates the theme for his customers with a combination of blues, including slate, sky, light, periwinkle, dark royal and navy blue.
Seth Berk, vice president of Illinois-based M&M — The Special Events Company, suggests integrating green pine branches with white and silver décor into winter wonderland themes.
Holiday parties will play an important role in reassuring nervous consumers this year, adds Martin, though she doesn’t expect fears about the uncertain economy to cause a return to comforting traditional colors like red and green.
“People want to have some really great parties,” she says. “They’re not going to spend a lot of money, but at least in their mind it will be as if nothing really touched them.”
About the author: Aubrey Blankenship
Aubrey is the former editor and art director of Event Solutions magazine and a freelance contributor.