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Color Game : Ultimate Gray + Illuminating / 2021 Pantone Colors of the Year


Happy New Year! Here's hoping you're feeling optimistic and curious about this new year. I know I am. Unfortunately, we're off to a rocky start in the color world. If you're like me, you look forward to seeing Pantone's Color(s) of the Year. This year, it seems, they have some 'plaining to do. Yellow and gray are "a marriage of color conveying a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting," according to Pantone's website. Huh?

The idea is that the yellow is "a bright and cheerful yellow sparkling with vivacity, a warming yellow shade imbued with solar power." The gray "quietly assures, encouraging feelings of composure, steadiness and resilience." I'm thinking the yellow is cold and the gray is dull and boring. Maybe that's just me. Let's take a look at some rooms with a similar color combos.


Are these colors a bit jarring to you?


Warmer yellows and less gray makes for a better outcome.


Still seems like a cold room.


A very cheerful kitchen.


A lighter gray wall helps.


Two different grays on the walls and a warmer yellow in this pretty room.

Well, I guess I like some yellow and gray as here it is on our old couch in 2017.

Finding the right yellow can be difficult. I bought bright yellow velvet pillow covers last fall thinking I'd use them this winter to cheer us up. I just laid one over a red Christmas pillow. P gave it a "thumbs down" and I'm with him - a bad yellow. Don't get me wrong - I love the pale buttery yellow I've painted our walls in our last 3 houses. And I love a pop of bright warm yellow here and there but "this" year's yellow is cool and not very welcoming. And Pantone's brooding gray seems like a better color to reflect 2020. It's all just a bit too much. If you have a moment, I'd love to hear your thoughts. In the meantime, Happy 2021 !


PS : Additional Pantone Color of the Year articles may be found by looking at PANTONE under TAGS+categories on right side of screen.


And what is a "color of the year?" Pantone has been choosing an annual color for twenty years. As Pantone describes their annual choices as "color snapshots of what we see taking place in our global culture that serves as an expression of a mood and an attitude.” Look for the Color of the Year to influence fashion and home decor.


For more on Pantone's color of the year : https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2021

top photo : theidealhome.com

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