2021 Colors of the Year – It’s a Rainbow!
Pantone launched the “color of the year” in 2000, and ever since growing numbers of companies have joined the bandwagon—with their own color, colors, or entire palettes. For 2021 Pantone, for the first time, anointed a duo: a vibrant yellow called Illuminating (17-5104) and Ultimate Gray (13-0647), which Pantone dubs “A marriage of color conveying a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting.”
Perhaps reflecting 2020’s turbulence, most color predictors took a cue from nature for the new year—and often hedged their bets with multi-color palettes. Benjamin Moore’s Aegean Teal (2136-40) is a subdued sea green, for example, but the company also suggests 12 color trends including Amazon Soil, Foggy Morning, and Potters Clay.
Similarly:
- Valspar chose 12 muted colors, with names like Granite Dust, Maple Leaf, and Garden Flower.
- Farrow & Ball feature 12 color trends with a focus on warmer, organic colors like Tanner’s Brown, Preference Red, India Yellow, and Sap Green.
- Behr introduced a 21-hue palette, with many colors evoking nature: Almond Wisp, Canyon Dusk, Kalahari Sunset, Saffron Strands, Dayflower, and Jojoba.
- HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams picked a rich, saturated red called Passionate (HGSW2032) but also called out nine nature-inspired shades in its Delightfully Daring Color Collection.
- PPG Paints offers a 2021 Palette with lots of warm neutrals like Wheat Sheaf, Winter Peach, Stone Quarry, Autumn Glow, and Transcend.
Only a few players chose a single color. Sherwin Williams pick is Urbane Bronze (245-C7), described as a rich, bold neutral. Glidden, meanwhile, chose a single “accent color of the year,” Aqua Fiesta (PPGII47-4), a bright aquamarine.
The bottom line: it’s a year to pick colors you love that make you feel good – and there’s a world of choice. Enjoy!
About Gulick Group, Inc.: Established in 1987, Reston-based Gulick Group has developed communities throughout Fairfax and Loudoun Counties, including One Cameron Place and Newport Shores in Reston, The Reserve in McLean, Autumn Wood, Grovemont, and the three Riverbend Communities in Great Falls, Red Cedar West in Leesburg, and Wild Meadow in Ashburn.