In my last five articles I have been exploring the 2021 colors of the year of different paint companies and comparing them in the same Edesign I created for a master bedroom. I started by exploring Benjamin Moore’s Agean Teal and Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze. I found that PPG had a color palette of 3 colors of the year instead of one as you can see in my article Ways to Use PPG’s Colors of the Year. I admitted I felt a little let down that they did not just commit to one color.
Then I checked on Behr’s Colors of the Year and found they had a palette of 21 colors!! Talk about non-committal. I highlighted 3 of my favorites in my article, Ways to Use Behr’s 2021 Colors of the Year.
HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams listed their 2021 Color of the Year: as Passionate, which you can see in my last article, How to Use Sherwin William’s HGTV Home 2021 Color of the Year Passionate.
Here, I will explore using Pantone’s 2021 Colors of the Year. They have two colors, Illuminating and Ultimate Gray. Pantone does not create paint colors. They create ink used in graphics, but their color selections influence many of the colors of products you will find available such as art, accessories, bedding and furniture.
I am a little surprised at their pick of Ultimate Gray…..I feel like gray is our past and we have moved on. I am also surprised at their pick of Illuminating. It feels like the color of a yellow safety vest or a yellow warning light at a traffic signal, rather than one I would pick for accessories in my home. “Uplifting” is not a word I would use to describe it. Well, I am up for a challenge. Let us see what we can do with this combination!
The Design
In this design, I used the color data to create a room that would look like Ultimate Gray on the walls, if Pantone made paint. The closest real paint color I could find to match this was Benjamin Moore, Tucker Gray, CW-705.
I think this bedroom feels relaxing, serene but with a little bit of energy and sweetness that comes from the cheery pops of yellow. I do like yellow and gray together, although I think this yellow is a little too saturated for my taste. I prefer a yellow with a little less chroma.
In my previous designs I have played with more saturated wall colors to show what you can do with color and how it feels. Sorry, I can not bring myself to try this color on the wall….I am not going to go there!
Shop this Look
Here are some of the pieces I used or alternative ideas for my designs. Some contain affiliate links, meaning I may receive a small commission for sharing this with you at no additional cost to you if you purchase anything.
Which Color of the Year is Your Favorite?
I enjoyed working with all these colors, and think they could each work nicely to create a relaxing master bedroom, although Big Cypress feels a little more energizing than relaxing. Of all the colors, I like Aegean Teal and Euphoric Magenta the best, how about you?
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Haha, yes! I was also a little disappointed in the Pantone picks. Traffic light yellow and battleship gray…I guess that sums up 2020 fairly accurately, but let’s hope it doesn’t define 2021! You managed a decent bedroom with these though, proving once again that designers are also magicians!
Haha, that is so true Janet. Traffic light yellow and battleship gray are really perfect descriptions. And thank you and great point. Designers really are like magicians!
Not my favorite color combination but you used it beautifully in the bedroom. I love the cheerful yellow chair.
Thank you Linda! The yellow chair is my favorite part f that room:)
Mary Ann: As much as I don’t like Pantone’s COY choice of gray, the room you’ve designed using the gray and yellow is really lovely.
I love how you’ve taken all of these COY’s and are showing us how they would look, using the same set of furniture and accessories. It’s interesting to see.
Re: the one I could probably most easily live in, myself?
Sherwin Williams’ Urbane Bronze, but I would swap out the accent color and use the Schiaparelli pink vs. the green with that deep bronzy brown.
Thank you Leslie! That sounds like an interesting and pretty mix with Urbane Bronze and the pink. I will have to look that color up!
Great ideas for using these colors. I actually still like grays but feel like you need to be mindful of the shade of gray.
Thank you Lisa, that is so true. This shade was rather dark, but like the examples with the other richer dark colors, it seems to work nicely in a bedroom and give it a comforting and relaxing feel.
I agree with your take on Pantone’s colors of the year. While I LOVE yellow, this does remind me of a safety vest.
As always, I love how you have put together the same room with all of the colour choices. Surprisingly, I’m leaning towards Sherwin Williams’ Urban Bronze.
Thank you Sheri! Something about Urbance Bronze…it is like being surrounded by rich delicious chocolate. There is something really appealing about that!
Great post Mary Ann, I am equally perplexed by the Pantone Color of the Year choices. As a color palette Pantones choice can be flexible, but looking at all the major companies they each seem to going their own direction this year!
Thanks Amy! They are definitely some interesting choices. Doing this series has been an interesting look at how the different companies think, in similar and different ways. One similarity though has been the inability to commit to one color, hahah!