{hirshfield’s hosts benjamin moore color expert doty horn}

Last week, we hosted Doty Horn, Benajmin Moore’s director of color and design, for two nights at Hirshfield’s Design Studio. Doty, a renowned color trends expert, offered insight into Benjamin Moore’s predictions for color trends in 2011. She believes that the overall theme is balance, saying, “the emerging color palette reads more organic than ever before.” Here are her predictions on the influences for 2011:

• The Farm: Doty predicts a shift back to basics – think textures and patterns such as gingham checks, plaids, hopsack and burlap. The color palette is likely to include hues reminiscent of milk, hay and earthy tones, such as Benjamin Moore’s Oat Straw and Grassy Fields.






• Order: The chaos of the past decade has created a desire for structure and balance, which will present itself in the form of geometric shapes, stripes and definitive outlines and borders on design pieces. The black, white and gray scales, including Black Tar, will balance bold primary hues, like Utah Sky.