We're All Ears :: January Inspiration :: Color of the Year

Congratulations to Darlene of darlicousrejuvenations!

You are the random winner of an Emergency Earring Kit for participating in the December Use Your Leftovers challenge! Please email me at enjoytheday@tesoritrovati.com with your address so I can arrange to send that out.

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Every year I check out what the people at Pantone decide for us what the Color of the Year will be. And just about every year I have been disappointed. But not this year! I have been waiting and wishing for a good strong blue for years! Now THIS is a color that I can get behind.

A timeless and enduring blue hue, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue is elegant in its simplicity. Suggestive of the sky at dusk, the reassuring qualities of the thought-provoking PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue highlight our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era. 

Imprinted in our psyches as a restful color, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue brings a sense of peace and tranquility to the human spirit, offering refuge. Aiding concentration and bringing laser like clarity, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue re-centers our thoughts. A reflective blue tone, Classic Blue fosters resilience.

Now I don't know about all of that. But I do appreciate this blue, even though I have read some critiques that have caused me to pause a moment. 

I would agree that this blue is definitely a safe choice, particularly since the last few years have been all about much more vibrant and even jarring hues, like Living Coral or Ultraviolet, but not plain-Jane-vanilla. I do like the solidness of this color. I do think it is classic. I find it honest and true. It feels like a very grounded color. It is a good foundation color, something you can build on. And maybe in the world the way it is, perhaps we need to have our feet firmly planted, while looking up at the stars. Grounded + aspirational.

While some of the other more saucy colors of the recent past were better suited for accents in my opinion, not as the star.  I declare that this Classic Blue is a neutral, because I cannot think of any other color that would NOT look good when paired with it. Here are a some color palettes that Pantone suggests work well with Classic Blue.

Now I know that I just said that I thought this would be a great neutral as it goes with every other color. And I do stand by that. However, some of the combinations of these colors in these palettes leaves me to believe that the people of Pantone were drunk when they picked them. Christmas Red-Green-White is "Untraditional"? What I do think is intriguing is this is the first time I care remember that they are actually picking METALLICS as colors. I always instruct people when I teach that metallics are just colors and they mix well together. I quite like that addition and that gives even more exciting options.

If those color palettes don't work for you, or if you just hate this color choice altogether, I have another option for you. Not to be outdone, the big paint companies have jumped on the bandwagon to choose their own Color of the Year, actually months before Pantone. They each have lovely little videos to watch (click the links below) that detail their reasons why, and of course rooms painted in these colors for inspiration. Perhaps one of these three shades will resonate more with you.

Behr selected a light mossy green Back To Nature as its 2020 color.

Benjamin Moore selected the pale pinky-beigey tone First Light as its choice for 2020.

Sherwin Williams went dark and mysterious with this deep blue Naval for the top spot this year.

You know what I think? I think they all got it right. And I actually think that combining all four of these Colors of the Year would make a fabulous palette, don't you?

So tell me, what do you think about the Color of the Year? What color palette do you like the best? Will you be designing with this color in 2020? Do you already have beads to match? Time to break out the blue hues and make some earrings for the reveal on January 17th!