On the cusp of each new year, trend-setters usher in a hue that's expected to be the "color of the year." For 2011, Pantone – the world-renowned authority on color — announced it had selected "honeysuckle."

The announcement was made a few weeks ago, but I don't go in much for fads, so I tried to ignore the news. Still, as a self-appointed arbiter of all things monumentally important — like trendy colors, for instance — I couldn't resist weighing in.

Pantone, probably best known for creating a system to accurately identify and match color, more recently has taken on the task of trending colors for fashion and home, and each year presents the next "hot new color."

Of course anyone who has spent a summer in Maryland knows that the flowers of the honeysuckle are a subtle creamy yellow, right? Wrong. Turns out that the weedlike honeysuckle commonly overtaking unkempt fence rows is an import from Japan, considered invasive by today's horticultal standards.

Pantone's honeysuckle reflects the native, but not nearly as ubiquitous, Lonicera sempervirens. Kudos to Pantone for keeping this year's color of the year "Made in the USA."

By the way, did I mention the flowers of the native honeysuckle are hot pink? That's right, the 2011 color of the year is an intense, disco-electric, reddish-pink. Eat your heart out, Lilly Pulitzer.

Okay, so hot-pink honeysuckle wouldn't be my pick. To find out why it was Pantone's, I talked to Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. Less a forecast than a reflection of emerging trends, Pantone's color of the year is selected through a process of combing the global visual landscape in search of color influences.

"This can include the entertainment industry and films that are in production, traveling art collections or a hot artist entering the scene, technology, even an upcoming sports event that gleans worldwide attention and the country in which it will be held, hot travel destinations and other socioeconomic conditions," says Eiseman. "This is a very thoughtful and time-consuming process."

Why honeysuckle, then?

"In times of stress, people need something that will lift their spirits," says Eiseman. "Honeysuckle is a very energizing, dynamic and engaging color that can't help but get the adrenaline going — a good color to ward off the 'blues.'"

Makes sense. Still, anything "of the year" is a pretty bold pronouncement. Think "cupcake of the year" or "vegetable of the year." OK, I'm hungry, but you get the point.

If you are going to go out on a limb and assign a "something of the year" status, it had better be pretty great. The color of the year, for example, should be suitable for painting the exterior of one's house. Certainly the finest automobiles should sport the color of the year. I am still waiting for sofas, kitchen cabinets, toilets and privacy fences to don this chic new hue.

In all seriousness, I really like the color, and this honeysuckle, like many others filched from the natural world, is gorgeous. In nature, the coral pink, 2-inch-long tubular flowers nestle gracefully among glossy dark green leaves before giving way to red berries — seasonal embellishments to this beautiful, slender, climbing evergreen vine.

Like the flower itself, I am hoping that this year's "it color" is more of an accent than dominant element in any scheme. Like a bold tie peeking out from behind a classically tailored black suit, I hope this hue knows its place.

Turns out the people at Pantone agree.

"It is a terrific accessory color, as in pillows, bed linens, towels and especially for tabletop, where it is absolutely delicious. It also combines well with browns, grays, white and complementary greens, from blue-greens to yellow-greens, and makes for a wonderful accent wall that can spark up any room," says Eiseman.

For a second opinion, I consulted the Color Marketing Group, based in Alexandria, Va., and got hooked up with Strategic Color and Trend Analyst and interior designer Patricia Call. She suggests that "Pantone's honeysuckle can act beautifully as a pop of color within a space. It can appear in large-scale art and graphics. When used as trimming, for pillows, or edging it will add a splash of positive energy and joy."

Honeysuckle's vibrancy lends itself well to accessories that can be moved about to add a pop of color where needed. Think you've got the verve to pull off a room painted honeysuckle pink? Try a smaller space that doesn't get used very often, something out of the way. Powder rooms can be pretty mundane, and a few of my favorite interior designers use them as an opportunity to add fun to what might be an otherwise more staid or sophisticated scheme.

A bedroom might also be great space to go honeysuckle-wild. Since they're typically more private rooms where we don't spend many waking hours, bedrooms lend themselves well to more individualized decor. I recently came across several honeysuckle-hued wallpapers that would look great in the boudoir.

A quick scan of the fashion world, and sure enough, honeysuckle-colored bags, sweaters, shoes, shirts, and jewelry feature prominently this year from notable designers, including Kate Spade, Marc Jacobs and Prada. Old Navy is even in on the act.

As they say, "home decor follows fashion," so paint from Ralph Lauren and bowls from Martha Stewart shouldn't be far behind.

Dennis Hockman is editor of ChesapeakeHome magazine and can be reached at dhockman@chesapeake.com.