2 of the New 2024 Paint Colors of the Year

It’s that time of year again - falling acorns, changing leaves and paint companies releasing their Color of the Year and paint palettes for the upcoming year.  Let’s take a look at two of the many Colors of the Year, Sherwin Williams and Home Depot’s Behr.

Sherwin Williams’ cool coastal color Upward SW-6239

Sherwin Williams Upward is a breezy, peaceful, calm blue hue. According to Sue Wadden, director of color marketing for Sherwin Williams  "Upward SW 6239 represents the gentle forward momentum in all of our lives. It brings to life that carefree, sunny day energy that elicits a notion of contentment and peace. With this color, we invite our consumers to take a pause and infuse a new sense of ease and possibility into their spaces – one that doesn't overwhelm, but rather establishes meditation and tranquility."

Sherwin Williams Color of the Year 2023 Upwards

This nice, mid to lighter denimy blue has just a smidge of gray and the same smidge of violet in it, reminiscing for me  my periwinkle toned pale blue wedding dress I sported for my nuptials many moons ago. For the rest of you, you’ll think of your most washed, comfy jeans, a clouded blue sky, or channeling the Coastal or Nordic style vibe. 

How can you incorporate this color into your home?

Color psychology says that blue  is a color often found in nature, such as the pale blue of a daytime sky or the rich dark blue of a deep pool of water. It is for this reason, perhaps, that people often describe the color blue as calm and serene making it a perfect color for places you want to feel calm and serene in - Bedrooms, living rooms, offices.

Too, this color with its touch of violet will pair nicely with natural and oak woodtones, which is a bonus for older homes.  

A survey spanning 10 countries found that blue is the most popular "favorite color" for people globally, with men preferring the color blue more often than women (40% versus 24%, respectively, among subjects from the United States) making it a good choice color when staging a home.  A pale blue bathroom will add 1.3% to the value of your home according to the Zillow  Paint Colors Analysis. 

Sherwin Williams recommends pairing the hue with blues and greens, deeps and darks and delicate tints like Sherwin Williams Snowbound SW 7004, Drift of Mist SW 9166, Gale Force SW 7605, Tricorn Black SW 6528, Honeydew SW 6428, Palm Leaf SW 7735 and Antiquarian Brown SW 0045.

Sherwin Williams Upwards Collage

Behr’s moody, sophisticated Cracked Pepper PPU 18-1

The Behr 2024 Color of the Year is Cracked Pepper, a soft black that exudes confidence and instantly elevates any indoor and outdoor space. It is a versatile and sophisticated color that can be paired with various styles, finishes, and accents. 

"As we look into 2024, creating a sense of comfort and belonging will continue to drive design decisions—but now, as life returns to its more familiar rhythms, it's time to allow our senses to come alive," says Erika Woelfel, Vice President of Color and Creative Services at Behr Paint Company. "We recognize the growing desire for using darker colors throughout spaces," says Jodi Allen, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Behr Paint Company. "Adding a soft black like Cracked Pepper evokes a sense of confidence and individuality that we want all of our customers to feel after completing a project."

This edgy, deep gray black with blue undertones reminds channels for me the whole Dark Academia vibe we have seen the past few years. I’m itching to paint my living room TV/media wall back wall this color.  For the rest of you, you’ll think pencil graphite, the perfect color winter cashmere sweater, or channeling anything Ralph Lauren home to minimalistic Contemporary style vibe. 

How can you incorporate this color into your home?

According to Behr, more than half of Americans (54%) say black tones in a home create a new energy and vibe, so anywhere.

When selling Buyers are saying goodbye to bland and bidding more on homes with dusky, dramatic walls. A new Zillow® 2023 study finds recent and prospective home buyers would offer more money for a home with interiors painted dark gray. Charcoal walls are associated with higher offer prices than white in every room studied: kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedroom.

Quiet Luxury, a term borrowed from the fashion world, refers to the understated elegance of classic cuts and quality fabrics over the brashness of logo-mania. Thanks to its dramatic and moody feel, Cracked Pepper is the perfect way to bring this aesthetic to your home. For polished results, Behr recommends pairing it with warm neutrals, such as  Chic Taupe N230-4 , a hue that’s the perfect balance of brown and gray.

Thanks to its earthy, organic undertones, Cracked Pepper is also a great exterior paint. It’s a decidedly modern hue when splashed across the whole house, but paired with red brick, it leans more traditional. For a small project with a big payoff, try painting your front door and shutters.

Behr’s 2024 Cracked Pepper Collage

Want to find out more about who and how these paint colors are picked each year, more details on how to use new color trends whether selling or dwelling?

Tune in tomorrow (Wednesday 10/11/23) for the launch of my new Home Staging Podcast ONLY STAGERS IN THE BUILDING. I’ll be joined with Mary Hoffman paint and color expert from Benjamin Moore.

The Heritage Home Design Trend

Everything Old is New Again

It’s best to call it a NEW trend, especially for the younger generation home dwellers who abhor all décor of their parent’s abode.  We’ve seen home trending whiffs of a collective Grandmother direction worded as “Granny Chic” “Granny Millennium” and last summer’s “Coastal Grandmother” (brought on perhaps by watching too many newly discovered Nancy Meyers’ movies during the pandemic?). In any case the buzz worthy 2023 home interior design and styling trend has been coined “The Heritage Home”

The Heritage Home

My interpretation of this home styling trend means that old is finally and refreshingly OK, passed down is cool, and mixing old and new creates individuality. Mix + match is the trend, pairing your functional clean lined current furnishings with passed down and vintage. This combination results in a home that doesn’t look like this month’s home décor aisle at your favorite big box retail store - but one that’s style looks like has been curated and patiently collected for years. 

Items that may have been tucked away for years can be showcased, garage sale finds layered and celebrated in a new, fresh way and favorite pieces refreshed with a new coat of paint or fabric. The trend stems in pairing them with your present-day pieces to create a space that looks curated and developed and totally uniquely your own.

An accent table can be the perfect surface to showcase your vintage finds. (Photo: Reinventing Space)

Paint company Krylon chose their 2023 Color of the Year ( #COTY) Spanish Moss by this trend saying “The heritage trend style is increasingly growing in popularity - the comfort and reassurance found in the past. The color is seen in upcycle, recycled, vintage and antique furnishings and it inspires D-I-Yers to create inviting spaces full of comforting personal choices - ..offering a dose of nostalgia and familiarity at the same time.”

Reinvent an old tea/cocktail cart into something new and fresh for your home by giving it a makeover. The piece can be that infused celebration of “old + new.”

Krylon 2023 Color of the Year Spanish Moss ( photo: Krylon)

I like the phrase “full of comforting personal choices”.  If we’ve learned one thing about the past three years it’s that home IS truly our shelter from the storm.  It’s no wonder that our past down treasures and quirky vintage finds now find a special place in our home, and the need to refresh what we already have is our new home design mantra for 2023. 

Create a comfortable space filled with old and new (Photo: Reinventing Space)

The trend celebrates and embraces a home’s architecture and esthetics too - meaning not erasing the heritage of a home’s build era, but instead following its guidance to include the history and flavor of the home’s ambiance. Flippers are you listening?

Quirky Embraced

Your home’s bones should be embrace and celebrated. (Photo: Reinventing Space)

Pinterest calls it Hipstoric

Pinterest brands the trend “Hipstoric” and according to their data - “in 2023, people will find new ways to honor old stuff in their homes. Got a hand-me-down handy? These searches are helping people combine vintage—often inherited—pieces with their modern styles. Thanks to the Boomers and Gen X driving these trends, antiques have never looked so chic.”

High trending searches on Pinterest:

Eclectic interior design vintage+850%

Mixing modern and antique furniture+530%

Antique windows repurposed+50%

Maximalist decor vintage+350%

Mix + Match style with layers of personality. Furniture, pattern, eras, magically melded to create a one-of-kind space. From floral wallpapers, lush velvets, to repurposed vintage finds revitalized with peel and stick paper.

Drew Barrymore for Walmart (Photo: Walmart)

The English Home

Across the pond, and always a jump ahead, this trend has been in full  embraced in 2020 -

“As the latest spring home décor collections preview at London Design Week (LDW) 2020, it’s clear that heritage design principles continue to influence the work of today’s leading interior designers.

Whilst new design ideas offer innovative inspiration to those updating their homes, they also incorporate style from the past – bringing colour palettes and patterns back from the archives. Interior experts are guided by time‐honoured techniques and architectural features, too, celebrating the importance of skill and craftsmanship in home décor.” - The English Home

Home Entertaining + Celebrations

82% of consumers surveyed said they plan on entertaining at home as much or more than 2022 (International Housewares Association) 

Heritage Trend - Traditional dinner entertaining (Photo: Pottery Barn)

Scroll through any online home furniture/lifestyle retailer and you’ll find the Tabletop/Entertaining tab is chocked full of product and explained inspiration.  Home entertaining and daily traditional home rituals seem to be très chic, from afternoon tea in lovely antique cups, to sit down dinner parties with friends. Perhaps there is still hope for us Boomers to pass down generational China sets and silver serving ware!

As an Interior Stylist I straddle two worlds - I consult home dwellers how to fully embrace, personalize and celebrate their home, and home sellers who want to prepare their space for a new family by removing that personalized stamp.  The 2023 Heritage Trend can be fully embraced by both dwellers and sellers.

• Mix + Match -  Erase the idea that you need a matching “suite” of furnishings. Create a room that incorporates many styles and eras.

• Repurpose and Reinvent - Have a passed down or well loved piece?  Don’t be fearful of reinventing it with a coat of paint or new fabric. 

• Consider traditional updates to a home. Celebrate the bones of your home. Instead of erasing the past, embrace it.  From lighting  architectural elements, to color palette - consider following a guide to the past to update.

• Maximalist or Minimalist, all are welcome with this trend and can work to both’s advantage

• Curate collections and passed down heritage - whether in a bookcase vignette or as your daily dinnerware, personalized and individual are key ingredients.

• Infuse old and new -  Daily function always trumps fussy, the goal is a space that looks like it has been layered over the years.

In conclusion - Shop your home and unearth passed down and forgotten treasures. Repurpose and reinvent them if you want to put your fingerprint on them. Consider adding some traditional and old design styles into your home whether with color, fabric, wallpaper or architectural elements. Create a home that celebrates its heritage, your own heritage and create a space that is individually yours.

- Julea

Can’t figure out how to pull your it all together? My business model is based on using what you have 1st before buying new. I’m happy to help you create a curated home whether in person or on-line. Call or text me at 708-543-8597.

Reference Links:
(https://www.homeaccentstoday.com/trends/mother-nature-inspires-2023-colors-of-the-year/)

(https://business.pinterest.com/en-us/pinterest-predicts/2023/hipstoric-home/)

(https://www.theenglishhome.co.uk/the-top-5-heritage-design-elements-for-elegant-homes/