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Presented by Kohler
It’s safe to say that color is back, and in a very big way. The pandemic led us swiftly out of the desaturated millennial era and into a riotous rainbow-burst of bold, clashing tones across residential interiors—we all needed more joy and optimism to reignite passions for our homes, which these strong colors bountifully provided. But as the maximalist confetti begins to settle, which hues and palettes will designers and their clients lean toward next? In this report, we delve into the nostalgic return of earthbound shades; reveal what’s trending in kitchens and baths (spoiler: it’s not white); investigate how and why paint brands make their eagerly anticipated annual selections; offer tips on working with a custom color specialist; and much more. Color us…curious!
Table of Contents
WATCH: AD PRO Color Trend Report
Rayman Boozer, Rodman Primack, and Zoe Feldman share their insights on the hues taking over interiors.
The Return of Earthbound Decorating Colors
Colors such as oxblood, pistachio, and saffron—all throwbacks to interiors of yesteryear—have crept back into residential interiors. Why now? By Emily Evans Eerdmans
The Custom Color Specialist: A Designer’s Secret Weapon
Struggling to find just the paint color for a project? It might be time to bring in an expert. By Tim Nelson
Are Black-and-White Interiors Back?
Monochromatic decor keeps cropping up, and that’s due to its surprising versatility, designers attest. By Elizabeth Fazzare
6 Designer-Fave Shades—and the Totally Chic Products to Match
AD PRO Directory talents hand-pick their favorite products in the season’s go-to shades.
These Are the Colors Trending Across Kitchens and Baths
In rooms where white is often the safe bet, uproarious “color-drenching” has taken hold. By Diana Budds
Color of the Year: A Behind-the-Scenes Look
A quarter-century since its launch, Color of the Year is still going strong. What goes into this influential selection, and how does it reflect and impact trends? By Lauren Gallow
AD PRO Directory experts curate collections of their go-to products—in their favorite of-the-moment shades
WATCH: AD PRO Color Trend Report
The Return of Earthbound Decorating Colors
“Bury the beige!” Kay Thompson’s character famously exhorted a phalanx of editorial assistants in the 1957 film Funny Face. And interior designer Brian McCarthy agrees. “How long can we look at beige, gray, and white?!” he asks. Like many in the industry, McCarthy’s clients are craving the deep, saturated colors used regularly by old-school firms like Parish-Hadley—where he first cut his teeth. “It became a norm to have virtually no color backgrounds, and now people are realizing how wonderful, modern, contemporary, and traditional art fits beautifully when paired properly with color,” he notes.
Who can forget Brooke Astor’s iconic oxblood library “refreshed” to dazzling effect by Albert Hadley? When Astor wanted to update the room in 1959, Hadley transformed the space by simply replacing the honey-hued boiserie with brass-trimmed walls covered in 10 coats of deep red lacquer. In more modest quarters, but with no less style, Stanley Barrows—who taught Hadley as well as Angelo Donghia, Tom Britt, and Mario Buatta, among others—chose to swathe his own small one-bedroom apartment in a bordeaux hue to set off his collections. McCarthy himself is partial these days to aubergine: “It has a shadow quality to the way the color translates, and it can even read as ‘no color’ which I love.”
San Francisco–based designer Noz Nozawa calls these colors “earthbound.” She explains: “Rather than the ruby- and blue-toned emerald greens our clients were drawn to five or so years ago, they are loving deep burgundies, purple-undertone browns, and vegetable greens. I suspect that people are gravitating towards these colors lately because there is a timelessness and comfort to what are still very vivid, spirited choices.”
One deployment of these colors that would have shocked our design forbears is in the kitchen. “Kitchens should only be white,” design legend Van Day Truex once proclaimed to Bunny Williams. However, kitchens then were considered a service area and are now one of the most important gathering spaces in the home. Imogen Pritchard, Design Director US at the kitchen cabinetry firm Plain English, observes: “We’ve seen a rise in clients using our richer, darker paint colors. Burnt Toast, one of our most popular browns, seems to change from a dark aubergine to more of a rich chocolate brown with the movement of the sun.” She also shares one of their tricks: “When we’re using darker paint colors on the outside of our kitchen cupboards, we like using a tonal color on the inside so you can easily see the contents and locate what you are looking for!”
In her own London kitchen, designer Stephanie Barba Mendoza chose shades of leafy green as the dominant color to form a visual connection to her adjacent garden. The addition of a verdure wallpaper to the space contributes to an atmosphere of a sitting room rather than a workspace. This desire to make any and all spaces comfortable and cozy, as well as create a distinct personality, is what people are resonating with today, says Grandma’s Silver podcast creator and avowed grandmillennial Allie Kochinsky. “I’ve noticed that these classic colors are being utilized in modern contexts,” she notes. “For instance, lacquered finishes in deeper tones like aubergine create a sleek and sophisticated look that feels both contemporary and timeless. Gardenia leaf green is also part of a broader trend where the color (green), in all its shades, is having a major moment.”
Miles Redd, an AD100 designer who has never shied from using the entire rainbow spectrum, advises: “I think strong colors are beautiful, but sometimes a little can go a long way, and sometimes a lot can be a good thing. I have certainly dunked some architecturally rough rooms in dark colors to great success, but for someone to do a mulberry lacquer room, make sure you have a vision, because colors can be tricky.” When asked about this resurgence in taste for color, he reflects: “Plus ça change! It does feel new to this generation, and they will certainly do their own interpretations of it, good and bad, but there is not much new under the sun.” —Emily Evans Eerdmans
The Custom Color Specialist: A Designer’s Secret Weapon
When AD100 architect Gil Schafer first worked with a custom color specialist, all he knew was that his friend had recommended someone who was “really great with color.” But it didn’t take long for him to realize what Eve Ashcraft—known for creating paints for Martha Stewart, Ralph Lauren, and others—was capable of offering. By the time she finished working her magic to envision and execute a hand-painted application of geometrically arranged stripes running up the stairwell of his Greek Revival home, the two had formed a partnership that has endured for 25 years and “many, many clients.”
Schafer is among the many practitioners who once didn’t know what a custom color specialist does, but now considers their guidance indispensable any time a project requires a little more pigment precision. When color gets confusing, a specialist can step in to identify or create exactly the right color and finish to fit a client’s aesthetic preferences, the flow of a space, and even the interplay between sunlight temperature and material.
Bringing in this type of expert may not work for every designer or be the right move for every project. But if you’re considering hiring a custom specialist, the below guide outlines the process and offers advice on what to expect—from top designers that are very familiar with it.
First, Set the Parameters
AD100 interior designer Hadley Wiggins, another longtime Ashcraft client, observes that a typical residential project starts with an introductory kickoff to establish context and parameters. That usually falls midway through the design process, once an idea has coalesced and several key furniture pieces have been chosen but finding just the right color to marry them all together has proven to be a challenge. With a color specialist’s time usually being the biggest variable cost on a project, this is an opportunity for designers to lay the foundation for an efficient (and cost-effective) partnership. So outlining the size of the space and quantity of the color(s) needed, as well as the project schedule and any deadlines, is key early on.
Prepare for the Consultation
Bringing solutions to the table is a two-way street. For Wiggins, that means providing her color specialist with both concrete visual references for short-term inspiration and a sense of the project’s guiding philosophies. “I bring [Ashcraft] the materials that help put [the image] in her mind’s eye, whether that’s mood boards, sketches, the actual fabrics, or any goods that have been identified,” she explains of the inputs that eventually inform the color palettes Ashcraft proposes. “A great color specialist [also] cares a lot about the physical experience of the home. How do you enter? How does it unfold? How are you going to live in the space? You don’t have to have an answer, but you have to have given it thought.”
Continue Collaborating
Even after a color specialist has what they need to start tinkering with pigments and poring over swatches, ongoing collaboration is a must. Ashcraft prefers to accompany her clients on site visits, meet stakeholders, and go over architectural plans for specific elements like materials and furnishings as the project progresses. Wiggins cites the willingness to have ongoing, collaborative “jam sessions” with a color specialist as an important method for homing in on the right solution.
Make Decisions IRL
For all that preparation, only a site visit can truly test a color in context. Everything from the look and feel of materials to the direction of sunlight and the local climate can inform a color specialist’s decision to use one particular shade of white over another. “I request that the contractor make large hand-painted samples,” reveals Ashcraft, and this proves critical in making final selections. “It’s actually amazing,” Schafer says of this valuable step in the process. “We’ll pick a color in the office in New York, and then get to Florida and realize it needs to be dialed up because the sun’s so much brighter, and it’s not reading the way we thought it would.”
Go Commercial or Custom
Working with a colorist like Ashcraft doesn’t have to mean getting a one-of-one shade: Pros can also recommend off-the-shelf hues too. Schafer gushes about the time Ashcraft’s choice of Benjamin Moore’s Seapearl, an off-white shade with soft green undertones, took the color of a Maine home’s walls and woodwork from weird to warm. Wiggins similarly effuses over how one of Ashcraft’s discerning selections led to a breakthrough in the bedroom of a large-scale project for a major art world client, who described the difference as “changing it from white to white, [but] changing it from night to day.” Another reason why a custom color specialist might go commercial instead of custom? Ashcraft says that finding the right off-the-shelf needle in a haystack gives her curatorial work more staying power. “There are problems with consistent color replication when it comes to making more than a bucketful of color,” she admits. With the plethora of paints on the market, Ashcraft believes it’s often “not necessary to go through the time, expense, and difficulty involved in the creation of a ‘custom’ color.”
Revel in the Results
All this ultimately leads a custom color specialist to a solution that a designer may have never considered on their own but now can’t imagine a space without. Ashcraft provides her clients with a detailed spreadsheet of all paint colors broken down by manufacturer, finish, color number and/or name, exact location for application, etc. For Schafer’s own dining room, Ashcraft created a one of a kind glazed, cognac-tinted orange that was equal parts flattering and eye-catching. Over the years, Wiggins’s collaborations with Ashcraft have manifested in artisanal touches ranging from walls adorned in hand-dyed linen to hand-painted murals, showcasing the fact that a custom color specialist can often think beyond the limits of paint. “Say a stone fireplace is looking out of harmony with its surroundings,” Wiggins says of the impact a custom color specialist can have on a space. “[Ashcraft] will show up with some bespoke mixture of materials in a bucket and glaze that stone to transform it.”
Get It Right the First Time
Despite the investment in custom, “No one can ‘own’ a color legally,” Ashcraft notes while also explaining that if a bespoke option is created for a project, it may not be possible to recreate 100% accurately further down the line—even though she archives a hand-painted “standard” for each client. Even if there’s paint left over for touch-ups, they may no longer match the original because color changes as time passes, Ashcraft says, and any recreated formula will have slight variations, just as commercial batches do. “If I could only say one thing about color, it’s that all color is created and perceived in context,” she concludes. “It’s not a fixed scientific reality.”
Make the Investment
Wiggins encourages her fellow designers to stay open to the possibility of working with a custom color specialist regardless of their budget. Paying for that expertise not only instills confidence in the quality of a project: It also offers an education in color that remains invaluable long after the paint dries. “I would put a lot of value in what they’re going to bring to that project, and what you, the designer, are going to learn from it. That’s how I’d analyze the cost,” Wiggins advises. “Every time, I’ve learned something that I then take forward.” —Tim Nelson
Are Black-and-White Interiors Back?
Where color is absent, personality can step in. Or so says Los Angeles–based AD100 designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard, who made waves last year with his glamorous black, white, and orange allover abode in Beverly Hills for legendary drag performer and AD cover star RuPaul. “I love black-and-white generally because it’s such a great palette to build upon,” explains Bullard, a longtime fan of the shade combination for interiors, including his own homes in West Hollywood and Palm Springs. “It is the most perfect backdrop experience,” he says, and it allows accent colors, artworks, and antiques even more of a moment to shine.
Since the pandemic refocused our vision toward the home, bold color has dominated interior trends. But designers assure that one composition has remained steadfast, if often under the radar, throughout the recent hue hoopla: the high-contrast, high-impact black-and-white scheme. Whether clients are ready to dive into its graphic punch across entire rooms or test the waters with a checkerboard-patterned floor or just a smattering of monochrome cushions depends largely on personal preference. Everywhere we look, people are increasingly drawn to black-and-white interiors; and this time, they’re coming into their own spotlight.
“Black-and-white is a classic combination!” declares architect Kirsten Ring Murray, principal and co-owner of AD100 firm Olson Kundig, who has seen its demand increase for interior projects across typologies, from houses to offices. With a storied past (think Tudor houses, Greek and Roman classicism, and Northern Italy’s striped medieval churches), the pairing is an easy fit for historically minded properties, while the striking nature of these visual references can also offer an evergreen feel. According to Kesha Franklin, an AD PRO Directory member and a principal of New Jersey–based Halden Interiors, today’s versions can be found in homeowner requests for “black-painted walls, ceilings, interior doors, window trims, and exterior accents.”
“Its resurgence seems somewhat predictable following design trends that emphasize softer, more monochromatic palettes,” Ring Murray continues. “The stark contrast feels once again surprising and new, though it has never completely disappeared.” This enduring appeal could be chalked up to its versatility. Black-and-white adds a dose of timeless pizzazz, whether spaces skew Hollywood Regency, like RuPaul’s pad by Bullard; traditional; ultrasleek contemporary; or space-age modern à la pattern master decorator David Hicks’s 1960s Britwell House library. Bullard says his younger clients are still attracted to brash, graphic interiors, while Ring Murray has seen black-and-white designs appeal more to “sophisticated, adult clients, though it can be very durable and adaptable for families.” Franklin and fellow AD PRO Directory designer Genevieve White Carter are experimenting with luxurious stones, patterned wall coverings, and dynamic textiles to bring the palette to the fore for their clients.
All say that the key to black-and-white design is balance. “Being too heavy or too scarce with either color can lose the grounding of its classic look,” says Franklin, who also notes that wood finishes and statement lighting help keep it elevated. For those clients willing to go big, Bullard advises placing a strong black-and-white pattern on a room’s floor or ceiling while keeping walls white to hang art, background antiques, or host colorful furnishings. Black-painted or ebonized baseboards and crown moldings paired with a high-gloss lacquer white ceiling can also make a strong impact while providing “amazing light refraction,” he adds. Ring Murray, meanwhile, likes to color-block, “creating cohesive areas that are predominantly black or predominantly white to unify spaces or enhance the experience,” then playing with textures and materials to lend softness.
As a base palette, a black-and-white interior is highly flexible. It’s an “aesthetic that can be easily adapted and updated over time,” Franklin says. Due to its neutral nature, a coat of paint, new accessories, or an updated wallpaper can give a black-and-white room an entirely different look. “You’re able to experiment in wilder ways, in smaller quantities, but still providing a strong design detail,” Bullard explains. For those whose design preferences change with the seasons, it’s an option that doesn’t require a full home makeover.
When implemented strategically, the palette can also be a benefit against a home’s inevitable wear and tear. “A checkered black-and-white floor is very forgiving to foot traffic and can range from kitchen cozy to estate beautiful depending on the materials,” says White Carter, cofounder of bicoastal studio Carter Design. Materials do matter, Ring Murray advises, so choose them wisely. “Some light and dark finishes—especially high sheen finishes—do less to mask dirt, dust, and pet hair,” she says. “For a client with a white cat, I’d recommend against black upholstery.” Contemporary homeowners put a high value on individualized interiors. With a black-and-white palette, designers can create the perfect showcase for their personalities. —Elizabeth Fazzare
6 Designer-Fave Shades—and the Totally Chic Products to Match
What are the color trends of the moment? Oftentimes we’re inspired by our AD PRO Directory designers, who expertly mix tones both electric and earthy. We’ve asked six of them to pick items in hues they turn to again and again—from chocolate brown to forest green. See—and shop—the full selection here.
Sasha Bikoff is sugary sweet and seriously skilled at using shades of pink in her projects, which burst with both opulence and nostalgia.
French joie de vivre meets Pacific Northwest organicism in forest green, which Jessica Helgerson masterfully implements across many of her projects.
Atlanta-based Leah Alexander not only has an eye for color-blocking—she has fun with it too. Leave it to her to implement sunny yellow, the color of the season.
Pulling from historical references and her architectural background, Ashley Lavonne’s Instagram is an ever-expanding mood board. We love the multitude of ways she envisions chocolate brown.
Don’t mess with Texas. Dallas-based Doniphan Moore knows golden grandeur and isn’t afraid to (tastefully) bling a room out in it.
Whimsy is Jessica Ayromloo’s way—and the designer’s joyful interiors make a good case for pistachio color-drenching, especially when paired with pink.
These Are the Colors Trending Across Kitchens and Baths
Somewhere along the line, all-white became the default for kitchens and bathrooms, as if we all reside within a hospital. (The reality is, hedging for resale value likely confined us to safe bet palettes.) But lately, designers have been taking risks within these spaces and are going all out with dramatic color on everything from cabinets to walls and fixtures. The muted pastels of a few years ago have given way to deeply saturated color, especially nature-inspired hues.
At this year’s Kitchen and Bath Industry Show, greens, blues, and browns featured prominently—particularly on fixtures and appliances. Kohler revived three greens from its archives—a bright lime from 1971, a minty hue from 1978, and a teal from the 1980s—for its Heritage Color Collection, and verdant, bluish, and blush tones figured prominently in Viking’s new color collection. “We’re seeing a shift towards self expression in our homes,” says Alex Yacavone, manager of the Kohler Design Studio. “The rules no longer apply.”
Keren Richter, cofounder of AD PRO Directory–listed studio White Arrow, was an illustrator before she started designing interiors and has kept an artist’s eye when it comes to color palettes. She recently painted the kitchen in her 1850s farmhouse in Pound Ridge entirely in deep blue, from the beadboard walls to the Shaker-inspired cabinets and kitchen island. Since then, many clients have come to her asking for a similar look. “For a lot of people, blue—like the colors of a quintessential mariner’s shirt, or the ocean or sky—feels ‘safe,’” she says. “It feels like a neutral.”
Richter has noticed that darker—and decidedly edgier—wood finishes are elbowing out their more muted counterparts. For a home she’s designing in Berlin that she describes as “Adolf Loos meets Halston; Vienna Secession meets 1980s Cocaine Decor,” she’s using reddish-brown mahogany as the primary material in the kitchen. “For a long time everyone gravitated towards white oak and softer wood tones,” she says, noting that this is no longer always the case.
Los Angeles–based architect Barbara Bestor has also been adding washes of green and blue to recent projects, including a kitchen with a wall of cabinets painted in Farrow & Ball’s Green Smoke, a bathroom with emerald tiles from Popham Design, and another bathroom with a dark navy industrial rubber floor. “We have been using color planes, which draw from modernist architecture—Le Corbusier, especially—that complement the other materials being used in the house,” Bestor says. “In some cases we bring three elements together: fabrics or paint, tile, and a lighting fixture, having all to create those color layers.” While these applications are bold, she also likes to control color within a smaller boundary, like inside a pantry or cabinet. “It’s a good way to experiment without having it be overwhelming,” she says. “We call this ‘low key, low impact,’ but it’s a nice break from all white.”
Andrea Magno, director of color marketing and design at Benjamin Moore, calls this trend “color-drenching.” She elaborates: “This look is dramatic and beautiful—especially in dark colors. We have noted a willingness to step toward colors, especially deeps and mid-tones that offer something a bit different or bring personality and personalization to the home.” Greens in all shades have been popular on kitchen cabinets, she reveals, particularly sage-toned Antique Pewter, olive Vintage Vogue, and deep-pine Regent Green.
But no matter the color you go for, Frances Merrill, founder of Reath Design, a Los Angeles–based AD100 firm known for its ultrasaturated interiors, has three words of advice: “Test, test, test,” she advises. “My biggest fear is having something look garish or out of place. Look at it in different lights, try different things, really put the work in—and then it’s a leap of faith.” She recently designed a powder room (“a place where people think they can go kind of crazy,” Merrill says) with a cobalt blue sink, blue-and-green patterned wallpaper, and a blue ceiling. For a Hollywood Hills kitchen with lavender appliances and cabinets, she tried at least 15 different hues to find the right one. In the end, neither Merrill or her clients are 100% sure of the color choices, but “you get the best result that way.” Taking the leap of faith is worth it. “That’s just kind of how it goes, but there’s reward in the risk.” —Diana Budds
Color of the Year: A Behind-the-Scenes Look
Every year, the design world eagerly awaits Color of the Year announcements from leading paint and color authorities. These selections, made by brands such as Pantone, Sherwin-Williams, and Benjamin Moore, set the tone for trends across industries from interior design to fashion. But how do these companies decide on their annual hues, and what impact do these decisions have on the wider cultural landscape? Surprisingly, the choices often have less to do with simple design trend analysis and research and are more often driven by the aesthetic and cultural zeitgeist of the moment. But more than simply reflecting the culture, Colors of the Year also shape it, driving trends across decor, industrial design, fashion, and beyond. AD PRO spoke to experts from a range of brands, who let us peek behind the curtain at their selection processes and reflect on the wider impact of their annual choices.
Why Color of the Year?
Though they feel ubiquitous now, Color of the Year announcements are a relatively new phenomenon. The first appeared in 1999, a moment when the world stood on the precipice of a new millennium, and international color authority Pantone had the bright idea to choose a color to signify this pivotal moment. They selected a calm, cerulean blue, which, as Pantone Color Institute vice president Laurie Pressman recalls, could counter the fear factor that was brewing. “Many people were looking for a safe haven; a reassurance that all would be peaceful and well,” she reflects. “We knew that the symbolic hue embodying serenity and constancy was a cool blue, offering the perfect antidote to stress.” Since then, paint manufacturers including Sherwin-Williams, Behr, Benjamin Moore, Dulux, and others have all followed suit, realizing the marketing benefits of releasing their own annual predictions.
How the Process Works
While design forecasts are typically made in December, the selection process for Color of the Year begins almost a year earlier, usually in January or February. “We are always on the lookout for inspiration and colors that may help to shape the next year,” says Andrea Magno, director of color marketing and design at Benjamin Moore. Many brands have internal trend forecasting teams, and others cast a wide net beyond their company walls to gain intel. “Our team continuously monitors global social, design, and consumer trends, gathering insights via an international team of design experts,” shares Bryan Hodges, color and design manager of wood coatings at AkzoNobel. Typically, the process involves identifying the most salient global trends and then matching those with a particular color family that expresses how the trends are being interpreted in the wider culture. “It’s also about ensuring that the color name we choose really meets the mood of the moment,” Pressman reveals.
Beyond Design Trends
Each brand has a unique selection process, but what remains constant is that every selection team looks beyond design trends to make their picks. “We look both at the wider cultural landscape and the design space,” shares Erika Woelfel, Behr’s vice president of color and creative services. Brands will look at what’s hot in fashion, food, films, traveling art shows, popular travel destinations, and more—all on the hunt for hints about new color trends. “Influences can also stem from new technologies, materials, textures and effects that impact color, relevant social media platforms, and even upcoming sporting events that capture worldwide attention,” Pressman divulges. “Ultimately, it’s about tapping into the cultural zeitgeist and making a pick that will resonate meaningfully across the creative landscape,” Woelfel adds.
The Hue of Influence
As more noise is made about Color of the Year announcements each year, their impact on wider culture continues to grow. Increasingly, brands are partnering with cross-industry culture-makers to demonstrate new ways of expressing color. “Last year, we partnered with James Beard Award–winning pastry chef Dominique Ansel for a creation inspired by our Color of the Year, which was available at his bakery in New York,” says Sherwin-Williams director of color marketing, Sue Wadden. It’s an example of the countless ways color factors into our lives and can be wielded as a creative tool. “Color is a form of expression,” Pressman says. “Our Color of the Year expresses a mood and an attitude; a color that reflects what people are looking for and a need that color can answer.” —Lauren Gallow
