I had the pleasure of being invited by Leatrice Eiseman to attend a color trends presentation she was giving to the customers and associates of Gracious Home a retailer with four fabulous stores in New York city that are brimming with every houseware imaginable.

Gracious Home had selected four palettes from the home forecast Lee had done for Pantone and had invited their customers to meet Lee and hear her personally describe each of the palettes. The team at Gracious Home had arranged merchandise from the store that showcased the colors and allowed the audience to see how the colors on Lee's presentation boards looked on actual products.

Lee began by showing the "Grounded" palette. She described these as colors "of the earth" but not simply the earthtones we might immedately think of. This palette does includes golden olive and rosy brown but also has the less expected earth colors of misted lavendar, mineral blue and atmospheric gray.

The second group of colors Lee showed was "Pique-Nique" a palette that speaks to our need for summer fun. Lee described these as the colors of patio parties and picnics in the park. When these colors come indoors they add summer freshness to any room. "Pique-Nique" colors include a mix of fruity melon and red, refreshing green, baja blue and a warm rattan.

Next Lee presented an updated view of pastels with "Pastille". These are not the candy or sherbert colors that may come to mind when you think of pastels but rather serene, stylish hues. This quiet palette blends dusted coral, icy aqua, sunshine yellow and lily green with silver gray or mocha frappe.

The last group was "Primitiv" a palette of bold colors influenced by cultures from around the world. Inspired by handmade objects and native materials the colors includes Chinese yellows, Pompeian reds, earthy browns, and of course ebony and ivory.

The audience appeared to enjoy gaining insight into the upcoming colors and the palettes Gracious Home had selected seemed to truly resonate with their customers.

In addition to being tuned into the color preferences of their shoppers I was very impressed with how everyone from the founder to the managment team to the sales associates focused on meeting the needs of each customer. It was easy for me to see why Gracious Home has a reputation for world class service.


All items pictured available on the Gracious Home website...