If you haven’t already guessed what the single biggest influence on trending color palettes for 2021 is, you’re probably not really trying. Themes of simple comforts, nostalgia, respite, reflection, and hope abound this year, as we recuperate from the unprecedented physical and emotional stresses of 2020.
All of the major paint manufacturers have taken these themes and their own color-, culture-, and design-based research and formulated a series of palettes that reflect a sense of wellbeing, familiarity, and optimism. This is more important than ever as we know the essential role that color plays when it comes to mood.
In Pittsburgh Paint’s (PPG) Palette of the Year we see three primary tones: Big Cypress, a shaded ginger with persimmon undertones, Misty Aqua, a watercolor cerulean blue, and Transcend, a mid-tone oatmeal-colored hue. Working together and applied according to the 60-30-10 design rule; 60 percent being the dominant color, 30 percent the secondary, and 10 percent the accent color translates to a tranquil room for dining or space in which to work.
These softened hues blend well with the room’s subtle aspects of nature, as well as its blonde and natural brown-toned woods.
“These comfort colors are similar to comfort foods—both offering a certain sense of familiarity and normalcy when facing the unknown,” says Dee Schlotter, PPG senior color marketing, architectural, and industrial coatings specialist.
Use of these hues in other areas of the home such as the bedroom and separate workspaces translate well especially for consumers who wish to embrace mindful intention by showcasing natural colors that evoke restorative, compassionate, and optimistic feelings.
This year Benjamin Moore is taking to the kitchen to unveil its Color of the Year: Aegean Teal.
This intriguing blue-green hue has an elegant and handspun quality to it; one that creates natural harmony and invites us to reflect and reset. Addressing today’s need for what is familiar and stable, much like the exercise of baking batches of homemade cookies, colors like Aegean Teal will be among the most requested at paint counters this year.
“Amid uncertainty, people yearn for stability,” says Andrea Magno, Benjamin Moore Director of Color Marketing & Development. “The colors we surround ourselves with can have a powerful impact on our emotions and wellbeing.”
Eleven other complementary colors have been introduced by Benjamin Moore as part of this collection for both their modernity and their time-tested appeal, including Chestertown Buff, Muslin, and Silhouette.
It’s time to think again about the bright, the light, and the happy. Sherwin-Williams introduced four collections for 2021 that evoke a spectrum of possibilities. With spring now around the corner we can certainly see how much this thinking will be welcomed.
This vibrant Jaipur Pink is from SW’s 2021 Tapestry palette collection, which includes happy modern hues meant to signal joy and layer together to tell a story through texture and pattern.
The Continuum palette conveys a story of smart living and the role technology plays, how it ties into how people live today, and the desire for it to blend seamlessly into the whites, charcoals, and pops of color in their everyday environments.
The Sanctuary palette is rooted in the idea of nature, focusing on the connection that the natural world has to nurturing wellness and calm. This simple, tasteful corner of a room is dressed in the quietness of SW Pure White as a signal to take respite, slow down, and embrace what’s truly important.
Defined by heirlooms and the stories behind them, the Encounter palette conveys special meanings and tells stories of hyperlocal connections through a bohemian aesthetic and natural materials complemented by earthy tones.
Sherwin-Williams’ Director of Color Marketing, Sue Wadden, explains that this year’s themes are a continuation of a color story that began last year about being grounded as we headed into a new decade.
“Now we are continuing that inward journey by exploring the past, examining the present, and looking at what all of this means for our future,” Wadden says.
Which leaves us to ponder, what colors will you use to reflect simple comfort in your home’s future?
