The psychology of color is fascinating!
Every year I look forward with glee to the announcement of the official Color of the Year. 
Will it take us in an exciting new direction? Expose us to the exotic, or ground us in the cozy and familiar?
Recently I looked at “CoY” selections from several experts in the world of color, and a clear trend quickly emerged. In 2016, home decor was all about the “greige” – a warm combination of brown and gray that resonated with designers and homeowners as the new neutral. For 2017, the gray trend continues to hole sway, but shifts to a decidedly cooler tone with the addition of a purple/blue tinge.
Benjamin Moore and Kelly-Moore paints take us to the dark side with their offerings of Shadow and Kettleman while Sherwin Williams brings us a soft, lilac-tinged Polished Taupe. Glidden, PPG Paints and Olympic explore frosty blue shades with Byzantine Blue, Violet Verbena, and Cloudberry.
The one outlier, Dunn Edwards threw us a bright ray of sunshine with Honey Glow, a cheery gold that contrasts beautifully with aforementioned popular grays. If you’re feeling the blue-gray mood, consider punching it up a little with pops of cheery yellow to keep things lively (as seen in our West Valley model home).
Finally, let’s look at the ultimate authority on all things color: Pantone. They delivered again this year with Greenery, a color that is the very definition of fresh. Their color experts call Greenery “…a refreshing take… a tangy yellow-green that speaks to our need to explore, experiment and reinvent. Illustrative of flourishing foliage, the fertile attributes of Greenery signals one to take a deep breath, oxygenate and reinvigorate.”
What do you think of these colors? Are you going green in ’17, or feel like relaxing in gray? Can’t decide? You’re in luck! It turns out, like the sunny yellow above, this refreshing green pairs beautifully with last year’s greige and this year’s blue-gray (blay? glue?), as in these images curated by Home Design Lover. Happy decorating!
Ready to try your hand at the green trend?
