Would you ever think of purple as a neutral? According to color experts at the Color Marketing Group (CMG), they predict their 2012 color of the year Boyz-N-Berry will work well as a neutral – subdued with taupe, brown or gray.
Boyz-N-Berry–
“deep rich purple with slight red undertones…
it is mature and elegant yet has a youthful edginess. It
reflects our changing mindset on so many issues —
off centre and unconventional, spiritual, meditative yet
impulsive. It is serene and in control.” It is also able to
blur the line, being both masculine and feminine and
appealing to everyone.
This color seems less grey than the CMG’s Next Color 2010: Mardi Grape. One of Pantone’s must-have colors for 2011 included a purple called Phlox.
It is true that trends are lasting longer and color tones evolve into something new yet still familiar.
For a room to feel “put together” the interplay of textures and colors are key and the magic is made in the combination rather in the individual colors.
Kitchen Studio of Naples, Inc. 
Awesome post! I will keep an on eye on your blog.