I think the option 'Fairly Horrific' was missed.

I think Marsala is a "yummy" color. It's will look great in right place and in well balanced proportions.

I love the rich, earthy colour, it really has some kick in it. Can't wait to see it filter through into interiors.

Sorry but Marsala should stay in the 80's!!

I don't mind it, but it doesn't provide me with any new inspirations either. I think there might be a flurry who pick it up, perhaps mostly pros driving this one, but I have a feeling many people will be reluctant to go with it. I see a short shelf life.
Bring on 2016s colour already.

Starcraft

Luke,
I love most colours but not inside my home as one of the postees Midesign 0401 knows too well after many conversations about my like of no colour in my home.
I could wear this colour but that's about it.
As far at it being a mid 80's colour, there are allot of colours available now that were around then but they can look so different when we now have such a choice of finishes and not just flat or gloss that they appear to be brand new!!!

So very well put Hampstead Design Hub. Indeed a positive and welcoming endorsement for Marsala.So much so, I myself was almost raising my glass to it. I agree it has a richness that speaks to us and a comforting association to many good things, deep burgundy wines, sweet, bountiful berries, and perhaps even evoke exotic escapes full of sumptuous textiles and intoxicating spices. And then I take my Marsala tinted glasses off, and I'm afraid it loses it's appeal. I recall this working in a design hub myself, trying to implement colour direction for the masses and this shade of wine berry or burgundy often made an appearance, however it always fell out of consideration at the last moment. In my design arena, a wine colour with the richness and intensity of red underlined in deep tonal values provided the obligatory inclusion in focus groups, it was just that it seldom won majority favor, This is why I see it having a very short shelf life, and really only in decor rather than materials and finishes. I'd agree most product ranges will feature a similar colour for specification, and often it's colour will grace marketing images and brochures for the attention and aspiration it evokes. However, when the collective consumer make their selections, it is often left behind. On trend design houses will implement this colour in their projects if nothing else be to be in favor with the colour gods themselves. Perhaps it will finally have it's moment, perhaps I am Not giving it enough perspective, but I notice all the pros are for it, and everyone else is against it. I am too a pro, although choose not to profile as one. So for me, against the grain, and personally I don't like it in its current tone, perhaps a little deeper for me, but professionally I might find a suitable scheme to specify it in! Colour direction is such a fun topic, and I love seeing it driven by industries, seeing it collect and contribute to the next big thing. I do see the story Marsala is trying to tell, and imagine it's relevance is already poignant. It is also my understanding the next big thing, was already determined a couple of years ago, and how well it is picked up will reveal to us all, 'who' with all their colour intuition, had their finger right on the pulse. 'who' representing groups of design-minded folk and trendsetters alike.

I too, look forward to Marsala making it's appearance throughout 2015. And when i see it pop up from time to time, I will smile recalling this discussion.
Happy and a safe new year to everyone!

@midesign0401,
Hi Megan,
Well I'm rethinking my taste in colours, as I quite like the pictures provided, of the Marsala, who now I might just be converted yet ha-ha
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Cheers,
Barbara

We love Marsala! It may not be to everyones taste but like Hampstead Design Hub have said, just a touch with the right accessories can really bring a room to life! We like it because combined with our natural fibre floorings it can bring a lot of warmth and cosiness - especially when used with our yummy new Big Jutes on our fab bespoke, 'Make me a rug' service!

Stranger things have happened!
Flick through one of your fave magazines in the new year, and see how much is coming through. I'm doubting much until may June, because the colour is more suitable in winter and autumn. Reminiscent of fallen leaves and warm richness we associate with comfort.
But mine is only one opinion. I'm interested to see it and how it is used as I am every year when Pantone and many paint suppliers release their colour ranges.
Pantone is forefront, and transcend industries, so if they endorse it, I'm sure it will make a mark.
I hope to hear from you again next year, and that your project and you take a well deserved break over Xmas. Enjoy a safe and happy new year!

I wouldn't put it in my home but I get it. I have been spruiking about warmer colours for a little while now. The over saturation of greys and cool tones by some is starting to take all the heart out of newly built and renovated homes. We are heading into iWorld really quickly with so many shiny, white, and clean surfaces everywhere. We are constantly looking for new...........and throw away is becoming acceptable. The warmth of Marsala brings the rest of the earthy, warm and inviting colours back through also. They don't have to be in your face but a hint of warmth is all it takes to add a little personality back into our space. I talked more about how to introduce it into your home on my blog but ideally Marsala is going to be of great use to those who have all their hard surfaces in cool tones and they are not sure how to introduce warmth without it being timber. I think it will be a great way to make some of the pastels and metallics slightly more masculine and like mildesign0401 I don't think it will be around for long. These rich old world colours are always being reinvented as a backstory to the precious jewel tones that are ahead.....

Ditto af, I think it's amazing. Of course it has to be used sparingly I love it around the jute rugs, how clever of you af. It is a very warm colour and I can imagine it in a victorian long hallway tastefully spread out. That will be the key with useing this colour and also how the light falls on it. I will gladly use it when the time comes. I can imagine my friends descending on my home and the amazed gasp as they drink it in, ok a little melodramatic but this colour deserves it. It does'nt bother me if it hails from the 80's that was an exceptional era, all hail good taste. This goes to show how we actually grab something from another decade and try to insert it into another time and we actually get away with it, arn't we a clever lot. I have been contemplating using black and white now this colour comes along and throws a spanner in the works, what a dilemma, so back to the drawing board.

P.S. A converted warehouse would also lend itself to this Marsala tint, what a yummy colour.

Small doses of an accent colour such as Marsala could work in many ways besides soft furnishings and walls. Decorating should be fun and it would be nice to use it in this sense although a bit more imagination might be required.

If you love it then use it & if you don't then leave it!

I love the colour but in small doses.

I am not the world's largest fan but I liked the pink and green color crazes in years passed. Both were rather whimsical. Id imagine most people hated those too, so I can't judge.

Roses are red, violets are blue, Marsala is nice and so is Houzz ;)

Oh dear, our newest addict!

Something that colour belongs in a glass as a drink!!

The only Marsala in my home is in a bottle. Too warm for Australian summers, but I would wear it in a woollen coat to cheer a dull winter day.

My first thought was trifle. The one with custard and spongecake. Marsala was always added by my Nanna (since passed on) Yum! The colour though in a house? Meh. I'd have to really think about it.

colour of the year...? who would be so shallow to select a colour because someone declared it "colour of the year"

Almost two yrs on, I'm warming to it, but it never took over any of my world....

saw a great felt hat in this colour that I instantly admired.

Would be a very flattering colour to wear.

Welcome back Megan

The next time I decorate by a colour of the year will be the first time. Don't hold your breath. I have nothing against this particular colour but it doesn't work with all the things I've collected over the years, and I am not about to discard carpets bought after hard bargaining with dubious merchants in Istanbul or Islamabad because they don't "go" with a paint colour that someone voted "colour of the year."

In its place, I think the colour would be quite nice (better than this years choices, certainly). It's just that my place isn't the right place for it.

love it goes magnificently with my art work..love earthy tones ..my rug is that colour too hehehe

It doesn't go at all with my stuff.

As I said, memories of dubious carpet dealers.....

The colour is nice but it wouldn't work in my house. I'd have to change a lot of my decor

No argueing that this colour is fabulous simply as a colour perhaps to wear more than to paint on a wall I feel.

I suspect that this new colour could only make a mark in a new home with a clean slate rather than trying to make it work in an existing home where people tend to choose nuetral tones like grey for instance, as so much furniture is grey, white or black.

Mind you, grey and burgandy go together beautifully in clothing, so it's doeable in a home painted grey or with grey furniture if one hasn't already set a contrast colour in place.

it goes well with earthy colours

sleep plums

not in the kitchen tho!