Towards the end of every year, major paint brands release what they believe will be the colour of the following year. These colours are meant to inspire us for the year ahead. In 2019, no one could have predicted the year that would follow. 2020 brought a global pandemic that forced many Canadians to stay at home for the majority of the year. With 2021 on the horizon, new colour pallets are emerging. Here are the colours of the year and what they have in store for 2021.
Benjamin Moore – Aegean Teal
Benjamin Moore is taking a softer approach to 2021. Their colour of the year, Aegean Teal, is meant to help you embrace and savour the small moments. Sipping a warm cup of coffee on a cool winter morning or the feeling of slipping into freshly washed bedsheets. Balanced and deeply soothing, Benjamin Moore wants us to focus on the simple pleasures of life in 2021.
Aegean Teal 2136-40 echoes the soft and calming waves of the ocean. It’s meant to help us reflect and reset, two things needed after such a turbulent year. The comforting colours in this year’s palette are all about radiating warmth and wellbeing. Make your home feel even more like home by painting your walls in this soft and soothing colour.
Pantone – Ultimate Gray and Illuminating
In sharp contrast to the soothing colour above, Pantone went for something different. Pantone decided to choose two colours paired together for their colours of the year. These two colours were chosen to create a “message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting.” Ultimate Gray is meant to feel solid like a rock while Illuminating lifts us up with positivity. The gray keeps us grounded while the yellow moves us forward, or so Pantone hopes these colours will make us feel.
The reaction online has been mixed, to say the least, with most people not loving Pantone’s choice. We asked our audience on Instagram what they thought about Pantone’s choices. 64% of our audience thought this colour pairing was better for the job site than inside the home. What do you think? Will you be using more pops of yellow and gray in your home in 2021? Or sticking to soft and soothing colours?
While it’s always fun to look at what’s trending, we might not always love what’s popular. If you do want to try incorporating the colours of the year into your home, check out this article for tips. If you’re ready for a colour change but still haven’t found the right shade, you can always speak to a professional painter to discuss your options. At the end of the day, you should pick a colour that works for you and not worry about what the trends have to say.