Starting off 2019 with COLOR! Above are Color of the Year (CotY) selections from four major brands, and we’re excited to see how these hues are incorporated into projects, spaces, and daily life.

Benjamin Moore’s Metropolitan is a great neutral for many palettes. It’s an excellent foundation when paired with the other, brighter, colors of the year. I see Metropolitan being the sophisticated touch needed in a mostly white space. Put it together with darker charcoals, grays, and even navy for a moodier, more dramatic space. I prefer this color in matte finishes over gloss or shiny. I might need to repaint a room in my house to really experience this color 😊

Pantone’s CotY, Living Coral, intrigues me. I confess I’ve been enjoying ‘Millennial Pink’ and its derivatives over the past few years. Clothes, accessories, home décor (pillows!)… I’ve bought them all. So, I’m happy to say that I don’t see Living Coral as a replacement to the dusty rose and blush shades currently out there. Add this color to an already blush-focused palette to act as a bright spring accent, and energize your space going into summer months. I also think Living Coral will sneak into many palettes, in addition to blush.

The tone of Cavern Clay, by Sherwin Williams, became quite popular in fashion this past fall, so I’m not surprised it is a Color of the Year. While I haven’t used this in as many projects, I see it doing well as a neutral—especially paired with cool undertones like a limestone floor or bleached wood millwork. In a fabric, Cavern Clay will add wonderful warmth and cozy texture to a space.

Night Watch, from PPG, can pair with almost anything. I consider greens a neutral when arranging color for projects, and also in general. In my closet, a green jacket is as much of a neutral as a black jacket. Coupled with golds and rusty browns, Night Watch may start to feel a bit old-world (another 2019 trend), but I see it being quite modern when combined with cool whites and grays, like Benjamin Moore’s Metropolitan. Given its nod to nature and the outdoors, Night Watch is a color that can do a lot—it’s an easy, rich accent to update a space, serene enough to paint an entire room, and makes as great of a dining room color as it does a bedroom, office, or bath.