Benjamin Moore's color trends for 2009

For interior designers and fashion-conscious furniture retailers, its essential to be up on the latest color trends so you can know what your customers will be craving well ahead of time.

Luckily, Doty Horn, Director of Color & Design at Benjamin Moore, thinks ahead. Two full years ahead, to be exact. Every year, Horn and her team at Benjamin Moore analyze shifts in fashion, pop culture, world events and more to determine what hues will be hot among homeowners in the near future.

Although the annual Color Pulse forecast is produced by a paint company, Horn said the color trends report identifies colors that will be popular in everything from cars to products to home accessories and interior design.

According to Benjamin Moore's Color Pulse 2009, there are four main color trends that will be dominating the landscape next year.

Raw: Horn says this palette is derived from the push toward minimalism, pairing life down to its most authentic. Horn said this palette is derived from unfinished wood, cinder blocks and other "make-do" materials and includes shades of white, sand and gray.

Benjamin Moore's "Raw" colors include: Chantilly Lace OC-65, Mascarpone AF-20, Collector's Item AF-45, Fossil AF-65, Frappe AF-85, Hush AF-95, Jute AF-80, Tucson Winds 1024, Sterling 1591, Storm AF-700, Steel Wool 2121-20, Gray 2121-10

Urban Silence: Horn said this group of colors reflects the changing delineation between life in the city and life outside the city. "This is where the trees become houses and the houses become trees," she explained.

As more urban buildings incorporate rooftop gardens and shipping containers are converted into living spaces, the city becomes a softer, more livable place. Horn said this palette reflects these changes by mixing the gray tones of urban living with vibrant, organic colors like green, rust and terra cotta.

Benjamin Moore's "Urban Silence" colors include: Shadow Gray 2125-40, Lapland AF-410, Yellow Tone 370, Wasabi AF-430, Winding Vines 532, Old Gold 167, Glen Ridge Gold 301, Rattan AF-375, Rustic Taupe 999, Abbey Brown 1225, Bronze Metallic Bronze-30 (Studio Finish color), Copper Metallic Copper-40 (Studio Finish color)

Simplexity: To understand this color palette, think about the pixels that make up a computer screen: thousands of tiny dots in different shades that come together to make a whole. These are colors that have more to them than meets the eye.

"The colors here are very complex, they have a lot of depth to them, but they’re easy to use, so that's the simplicity part of that," Horn says. For example, she said, think of a color that looks black, but it's really purple. "It's almost black but it has an undercurrent of blue and red running underneath it and it just has a rich texture and a rich landscape, and the way that the light hits it, you start seeing the nuances of how those colors flip underneath it."

Benjamin Moore’s “Simplexity” colors include: Thunder AF-685, Meditation AF-395, Amsterdam AF-550, Carob AF-160, Caponata AF-650, Merlot Red 2006-10, Arroyo Red 2085-10, Dried Mustard 2158-10, Majestic Violet 2068-10, Hidden Falls 714, Buttered Yam AF-230, Gargoyle 1546

Private Identity: With the “Private Identity” palette, Horn said she and the other color trends experts were thinking about how we express our individuality in such an overwhelming, populated world. Here, the colors are bright, bold and unexpected.

"You're your own person so you’re going to put together a personal statement color," Horn said. "You could do a bright red mixed with a powder blue and put a bold gold against it. So you’ve got this contrast of very bold color and then a very light color and that gives it an unexpected twist."

Benjamin Moore's "Private Identity" Colors include: Desert Rose 2094-50, Mango Punch 154, Perennial 405, Pacific Palisades 762, Tricycle Red 2000-20, Blushing Red 2079-20, Thunderbird 675, Lucerne AF-530, Fire and Ice 1329, Black Satin (High Gloss) 2131-10, Silver Metallic Silver-20 (Studio Finish color), Gold Metallic Gold-10 (Studio Finish color)

Complete Color Pulse 2009 reports are $75 and are available through benjaminmoore.com. You can also view most of the colors mentioned by using the interactive “Paint a Room” tool on their Web site.

(The symbols after the colors listed above indicate their collection, so ones with an AF mean that they are part of the Affinity group of colors, OC stands for Off-White Colors and the ones with numbers are in their regular group of classic colors).

The next color trends forecast from Benjamin Moore, Color Pulse 2010, will be released in September.