Pantone: Strength & Hopefulness

One color just wasn’t enough for 2021. Pantone selected 2 hues: a neutral gray and a vibrant yellow.

PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray + PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating, two independent colors that highlight how different elements come together to support one another, best express the mood for 2021. Practical and rock solid but at the same time warming and optimistic, the union is one of strength and positivity. It is a story of color that encapsulates deeper feelings of thoughtfulness with the promise of something sunny and friendly.

A message of happiness supported by fortitude, the combination of these 2 colors is aspirational and gives us hope. We need to feel that everything is going to get brighter. Hope is essential to the human spirit. It highlights our innate need to be seen, to be visible, to be recognized, to have our voices heard. A combination of color whose ties to insight, innovation and intuition, and respect for wisdom, experience, and intelligence inspires regeneration, pressing us forward toward new ways of thinking and concepts.

For over 20 years, Pantone’s Color of the Year has influenced product development and purchasing decisions in multiple industries, including fashion, home furnishings, and industrial design, as well as product packaging and graphic design.

Benjamin Moore: Natural Harmony

Take a moment to reflect and reset. An intriguing blue green that is balanced, and deeply soothing, the Benjamin Moore Color of the Year 2021, Aegean Teal 2136-40, creates natural harmony. The blue-green hue with gentle gray undertones strikes a balance between being both inviting and soothing, two qualities we are increasingly yearning for as we spend more and more time within our homes.

Sherwin Williams: Sanctuary

Urban Bronze captures that simple sophistication every space is searching for. It is a color rooted in nature, but it also has a unique ability to ground a room through organic appeal. This warm hue draws from nature for a feeling of relaxation and serenity.

Now more than ever, our homes have become the backdrop to our lives, reminding us that the moments worth cherishing have always been right in front of us. As we’re looking to create the ultimate retreat for reflection and renewal, we’re turning to a hue whose natural simplicity and nature-inspired energy cultivate a sense of calm from the ground up.

What does this mean to the consumer?

Colors of the years set trends for the coming year. If you love any of the colors, go for it. If not, ignore them. Trends come and go.

Grays have been popular for years and will continue to be the go-to neutral color. Don’t like gray? Don’t buy into it. Yellow can be a nice pop for an accent color. As I scan my house, hardly any yellow appears except for light tones in a few pieces of art. When I was staging vacant homes, yellow would be used in accessories on occasion. My preference would be to keep it off the walls. You may see this gray-yellow combo appear in fashion and home accessories.

Blue green colors are my color preference. I’ve been living with them for years throughout my 2 homes (my former & newer house of 2 years).

Dark Bronze is definitely a dramatic color that I like although I don’t see myself switching things up in my house. It may be appropriate for a client’s home if they were looking for a dark color.

Color preferences are personal. You may read this and have a yellow room that you adore. That’s is great! When it comes to colors, live with what you love and makes you happy.