Color of the Year? Depends on Who You Ask

For those builders trying to decide what color kitchen cabinets, floor coverings and even interior paint to use this year, the color gurus have answers – and plenty of them. 

The Color of the Year announcements that came out towards the end of 2023 have turned into high-profile affairs both for consumers looking to decorate themselves and their homes as well as builders and other companies trying to decide on their offerings going forward. Trying to make sense of it is no easy task.

For many years, the Pantone Color of the Year was the gold (no pun intended) standard in color selections. The folks who make color matching systems commandeered the color game and are widely recognized as the leading source. Some years their choices have widespread applications, not just in fashion and cosmetics, but in consumer products like kitchen appliances and home furnishings. Often, however, the wild choices have not been easily adapted by builders looking to outfit kitchen cabinets, flooring and both interior wall and exterior siding colors.

For 2024 Pantone chose Peach Fuzz, which House Beautiful called “a light, delicate shade that sits between pink and orange. This soft, heartfelt hue expresses the desire to nurture kindness, compassion, and connection—all while fostering a deep coziness as we seek a peaceful future.” There’s no arguing with that sentiment even if its application to cabinetry, siding and hard surface flooring might bring up bad memories of avocado green, harvest gold and some other colors that in fairness were not Pantone choices but proved to be less durable decorating choices.

The paint companies have gotten into the color picking game over the past few years and based on their areas of expertise their selections might be better suited to the building trades. Benjamin Moore’s choice is Blue Nova, described as a “midtone blue with a nice amount of red in the undertone, giving it that violet cast.”

Sherwin-Williams picked Upward, “a tranquil and uplifting blue-gray that encourages boundless creativity.”

Valspar went in a similar direction with Renew Blue, “a calming, meditative shade of soft sky blue” while Behr went darker with Cracked Pepper, “a versatile soft black that elevates every environment.”

There were other color picks from all ends of the spectrum so as with horse racing, roulette wheels and appetizers at new restaurants, it’s pretty much up to who is doing the choosing. You can’t go wrong… probably.

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