How is that pearl grays and tomato reds are going to be dominant colors in 2009 home décor and furniture? It’s not some kind of weird serendipity in which Ethan Allen just happens to pick the same colors as Ralph Lauren (above). No, color forecasting is an art in itself. The big kahuna in issuing colorful edicts is the Color Association of the United States, a forecasting service that has been on the forefront of color since 1915.

How, you might wonder, does the association approach this multi-hued task? A panel of eight to 12 industry professionals (click here for the current lineup) put their collective heads together to make seasonal forecasts for interiors and fashion each March and September.

Designers and manufacturers subscribe to the CAUS forecasting service and receive large swatch charts, with yarn and fabric samples and incorporate those colors designing upcoming lines

Here’s the CAUS forecast for interiors/environments (a.k.a. home décor and furniture) for 2009:

The Rock Crystals Palette: 16 coolish colors in a mineral-inspired palette features like Tiger’s Eye, Blue Topaz, Limestone and Quartz. This set of  pearl grays, off-whites, slate blues, olives and bronzes will shine in finishes that are shimmery, high-gloss, translucent and metallic. 

The rock crystals hues are in the bronze of Jenn-Air’s oiled bronze double wall oven ($3,399)

Or the brushed platinum of Kohler’s Parq bridge faucet ($600 and up)

The season’s new hues are also in the variegated whites of Lee Wilder winter white bedding

Another hot hue: olive green, as seen in this Daniel Cremieux St. Remy dinnerware

The Vegetable Garden Palette: 28 warm mid-tones hues hark back to our growing concern with the environment and green living with deep blues, bronzed yellows, earthy browns, leafy greens, and reddened purples and tomato reds (Ralph Lauren’s tomato-red paint palette, pictured at the top).

Earthy browns are in this Ethan Allen triple-tiered chest ($1,599)

A bronzed yellow is in these Olivia embroidered silk drapes ($129 to $189)

A deep blue hue is in these carved ceramic stools ($249)

Looking for leafy greens? Look no further than these Marimekko fabrics