Pantone

Pantone released its palette of spring 2016 colors in conjunction with New York Fashion Week last month, and somewhere in the mix is the hue it will single out as color of the year for next year.

I’ve had my eye on this Downton Abbey gown, worn by Lady Rose MacClare (actress Lily James), for some time. Reportedly, Maggie Smith told her it looked like a toilet roll cover on her, and she agreed, but I think they’re both IN the toilet on this one. The gown is drop-dead gorgeous and MADE for her. Where do I place my order?

IMHO, it’s definitely a hue hatched in design heaven for James, with her peachy-pale coloring. It closely resembles PMS 19, “Snorkel Blue,” one of the colors in Pantone’s inspiration palette for spring 2016, which, BTW, looks pretty rad in a living room, too.

Just check out these spaces, and hold onto your chastity!

My Blue Heaven

Blackband Design

This room had me in its thrall as soon as I spied the matching chinoiserie vases flanking the fireplace. The serene painting in limbo overhead makes me feel as if I’d died and landed in heaven. But I’m coveting that gently curved sofa in a rough way, what with its black frame and studded back whispering naughty nothings in my ear. A little bit like Rose, don’t you think?

All that Jazz

Jane Scott Hodges

Chinoiserie takes over the upholstery in the form of Schumacher’s Chiang Mai Dragon, where it serves as progenitor for the intriguing art by Alex Beard. I love the energy of the room, with its coral and citron pops. But those snorkel blue solids—on the armchair, the double gourd Parisian lamps, and that blue-and-brass end table—could make a fallen woman out of me. Or anyone. Gladly. No jazz needed. *Sigh*

Passage to India

The sultry vibe this room by Mary McDonald transmits captures the exotic flavor of the last posting of Rose’s parents. Her blue dress, like a gorgeous silk sari, exudes India’s intensity. In the room version, subtle pops of rouge-like red in the apples, the throw, one pillow and a few books accentuate the dress in the photograph over sofa. It’s an almost sexual accent, like the ripe insides of a pomegranate, another kind of rose.

Which color is your pick for 2016 color of the year?

Pantone generally draws the color of the year from the spring palette, released the fall before, but their COTY choice won’t be revealed until later this year. Learn more here.

Remember Snorkel Blue. Rose by any other name could never dress this sweet. Or Lily, for that matter.