The reports are in and the hottest colors for 2020 have been announced! We’re here to help you navigate between the soft, bold and subdued color choices, with tips on how these hues can enhance your customers’ space—as well as their mouldings.
The wide variety of colors from Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams and Valspar will offer your customers a magnitude of options when it comes to personalizing their home. Each color can be used either as a neutral base for different rooms or as a detail to accentuate the trim and characteristics of the space.
Now let’s take an individual look at each brand’s color predictions to help kick-off the next decade of design.
Benjamin Moore, First Light
Want to add color without overwhelming your room? Benjamin Moore’s color of the year, First Light, is a refreshing rosy color that is the perfect solution to break up your white spaces with the subtle addition of color.
“We selected First Light 2102-70 as our Color of the Year 2020 to represent a new dawn of idealism, design and living,” said Andrea Magno, Benjamin Moore Director of Color Marketing and Development. "First Light 2102-70 reflects a new definition of the home – a shift in mindset from the material to satisfying the core needs in life: community, comfort, security, self-expression, authenticity and ultimately, optimism.”
We recommend using this modern blush color in areas where you want to add some chic subtle style. If a pink color doesn’t appeal to your customers, Benjamin Moore also released nine additional, complementary colors as part of their Color Trends 2020 palette, including the earthy Cushing Green, creamy Golden Straw and calming Buxton Blue.
Taking a closer look at the Color of the Year, this bathroom pictured above combines First Light with another one of the highlights for 2020, White Huron. The warm off-white is optimal for ceilings, doors or trim that you want to keep neutral. The decor, including the mirror frames, towels and bench are various complementary shades of brown suggested by Benjamin Moore to pair with First Light to bring out its blush tones.
If you would like to see more of this finished space in its original form, check out Samantha Knoll’s Instagram.
If you want more contrast, pairing Benjamin Moore’s Thunder, a color that can be both warm and cool, with First Light can provide more visual interest while still maintaining a soft atmosphere. These two colors are perfect for a nursery, as shown in the above-reimagined space, which was originally designed by realtor Samantha Knoll.
Sherwin Williams, Naval
The deep sapphire-like hue, inspired by the night sky and deep-sea, is called Naval, and it is Sherwin Williams’ new, “go with everything” neutral that is replacing traditional black in 2020.
“We’re predicting that the next decade in color is going to be bold. This year we saw the return of the ‘70s, and next year we think the vibrant energy and luxurious design of speakeasies will make a comeback,” said Sue Wadden, director of color marketing at Sherwin Williams. “Naval merges the desire for rich, inspiring color with our yearning for relaxation and retreat. In the next 10 years, we’ll continue to move away from omnipresent neutrals and design will feel more personal again.”
The rich blue will pair perfectly with marble and mixed metallics or natural textiles and coastal-inspired decor. It really can be used to help create many different decor styles from traditional to contemporary.
Sherwin Williams recommends pairing the versatile Navel with other warm earthy tones, such as Midday, a lighter yellow, Tarnished Trumpet, a darker golden hue and Kale Green, a grounded tone.
This bold blue adds a contemporary class to the recolored dining room above, originally designed by Heather Cochran for Terrene Homes, while balancing the depth of the color with white trim. Panel mould boxes and chair rail in the same Naval color help create visual interest and break up the vast wall by adding a sophisticated design.
If you would like to see more of this finished space in its original form, visit Jo Alcorn’s blog, AlcornHome.com.
If this eye-catching color is too dark or vibrant for your customer’s entire space, you can always recommend using it on a feature wall of shiplap or board and batten. The above bedroom, originally designed by Jo Alcorn, has been reimagined to showcase the board and batten wall treatment in Sherwin Williams’ Naval. The golden accessories and white furniture in the space also complement the bold blue and keep the room from being overpowered by the dark walls.
Don’t forget about offering paint suggestions for your customer’s doors — and we are not just talking about their front door. Interior doors painted in a color like Naval can really make a bold design statement but on a smaller, more moderate scale than a full room or feature wall.
Valspar
Why have just one color prediction when you can have a dozen? Valspar has announced 12 colors for 2020, comprised of various subdued hues inspired by nature.
“Earth’s prescription for the chaotic, busy lives we all live is to bring the tranquility of nature and the outdoor world into the home. That’s exactly what we set out to accomplish when forecasting the 2020 Colors of the Year,” says Sue Kim, Valspar Color Marketing Manager at Sherwin Williams.
A few highlights are Bombay Pink, Winter Calm, Mint Whisper and Secluded Garden. These options are great for when your customers want to add color to their walls and trim without overwhelming their space. All of Valspar’s colors pair exceptionally well with white, dark wood and metallics.
In the bedroom above, the elegant Secluded Garden is used on the walls with the calming Secret Moss for the trim. The unconventional mixture of these two greens allows for harmony in the space while still creating visual variety. The jewel-tones of Secluded Garden are enhanced by the Pale Powder curtains, with everything coming together to create a serene and earthy feel.
If you would like to see more of this finished space in its original form, visit DeeplySouthernHome.com.
You can recommend using the crisp Mint Whisper in smaller spaces like a spa-like master bathroom to help create a sense of tranquility, and for an enhanced elegance, suggest using the fresh hue on a panel mould wall treatment. The recolored bathroom above, from Leslie of Deeply Southern Home, showcases this, and when paired with white baseboard and crown moulding and the soft greige Winter Calm window casing, the result is a light and airy look and feel.
While the uses for these annual color predictions and their complementary palettes are endless, especially with moulding and doors, the examples shared will help you and your customers start the next decade on-trend and in style. And if these brands or specific colors are unavailable to you, don’t panic! Either color match the hue or suggest a similar shade that is available to your customers.
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All images shown have been digitally altered with approval.
