When the year is new, why should the colours you dot across your home and hearth be the same old ones? We give you a selection of colours chosen by top experts across the world.
Pantone’s choice: Classic Blue
The colour institute’s pick for 2020 is a favourite of every third person in the world: classic blue. A timeless and enduring hue of blue, this colour can be worked in big and small doses across every kind of home.
Making the announcement, Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, said: “We are living in a time that requires trust and faith. Imbued with a deep resonance, Classic Blue provides an anchoring foundation. [It] encourages us to look beyond the obvious to expand our thinking; challenging us to think more deeply, increase our perspective and open the flow of communication.”
Benjamin Moore’s choice: First Light
An almost-there pink, Benjamin Moore’s shade for the year could well be your neutral of choice. The soft, airy blush hue can be worked into any space and any room, and combines well with other colours. Andrea Magno, Benjamin Moore’s Colour & Design Expert said the hue was “flexible”. “It's a very soft kind of wash of blush; it has a little blue undertone, so it's not a peachy pink, which means it can work in any kind of room, warm or cool,” she said at the unveiling. Clearly, the perfect backdrop to anything.
Dulux’s choice: Tranquil Dawn
Paint major Dulux has chosen Tranquil Dawn, a cool shade of green. The colour, Dulux says, embodies the “mood on the approach of a new decade” and is meant to offer an antidote to an “increasingly disconnected” modern society.
The company’s UK creative director, Marianne Shillingford, compared the colour to “the space between the land and sky”. “A new decade heralds a new dawn and the hazy pale green tones of Tranquil Dawn are calming and comforting just when we need it most in our lives,” she said.
Sherwin Williams’ choice: Naval
Paint brand Sherwin Williams has also chosen a shade of blue as its colour of the year. Naval is a rich navy that references the sea and the night sky to create a calm and grounding environment.
According to Sue Wadden, Sherwin-Williams’ Director of Colour Marketing, the shade is simultaneously “luxurious and versatile, and would enhance a formal dining room as much as a zen yoga studio”. She called the blue a “new neutral” that can multitask. “While Naval may be seen as a bold colour choice, but when used as an everywhere hue, it can create a restful, retreat-like atmosphere,” she said.
WGSN’s choice: Neo Mint
London-headquartered trend forecasting service WGSN believes a pastel shade of green, which it has named “neo mint”, will be the colour to look out for. The gender-neutral colour has “an oxygenating, fresh tone that aligns science and technology with nature”.
WGSN’s Colour Director Jane Monnington Boddy said, “What is becoming clear is the importance of neo mint — a shade that succinctly aligns futuristic development with nature.”