Every year, there is an elite selection of colours that are the “it” shades of the year. They are seen in virtually every relevant industry, from fashion and art to advertising, all the way down to the average person’s living room walls. Today, we’ll be talking about the top paint colours for 2022. In particular, we’ll focus on top paint brands, Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams, and their top colour trends.
History of the “Colour of the Year”
Colour of the Year didn’t become an official “thing” until 22 years ago, at the turn of the century. That was when Pantone, a colour-trendsetting brand that has been organizing colour standards for decades, first introduced the concept. The very first “colour of the year” was Cerulean, a version of sky blue that represented tranquility and inner peace in the early 2000s.
Since that very first year, Pantone has introduced a new Colour of the Year every year, with hues ranging from vibrant coral to emerald green and bold tiger lily. Pantone’s colour of the year is seen everywhere, from fashion runways worldwide to bargain-shop home goods and accessories.
Since 2000, other companies, namely big-name paint brands, have followed suit, implementing the same concept to spotlight trending new shades. Two such companies include Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams.
Benjamin Moore: Selection Process for Colour of the Year
According to the Benjamin Moore website, the company chooses their colour of the year with the assistance of its team of colour and design experts, who analyze both global and domestic trends for inspiration.
A few noteworthy areas that Benjamin Moore examines include design influences – such as furniture, lighting, fabrics and other home accessories – and art, fashion, culture and the environment. The company then determines the relationship between paint and colour in each area, and selects the year’s annual colour (and palette).
Benjamin Moore’s Top Paint Colours of 2022
Benjamin Moore’s 2022 colour of the year is October Mist 1495, a sage or silver-green colour that is meant to be “harmonious yet diverse, reliable yet whimsical, and meditative yet eclectic.”
October Mist 1495 is one of 14 colours on Benjamin Moore’s 2022 palette. Others include Wild Flower, Pale Moon, Steam, Morning Dew, Collector’s Item, Hint of Violet, Mysterious, Quiet Moments, Fernwood Green, Natural Linen, Venetian Portico, High Park and Gloucester Sage.
Looking at the 2022 palette, every hue is very naturalistic; the colours are evidently inspired by the environment and meant to provoke an atmosphere of calm in one’s home.
Sherwin Williams: Selection Process and Top Paint Colours of 2022
This may well be a chicken-and-egg scenario, but famous paint brand Sherwin Williams’ 2022 colour of the year is “Evergreen Fog” and is extremely similar to their competitor, Benjamin Moore’s, colour of the year. However, it is worth mentioning that Sherwin Williams released their 2022 colour of the year before Benjamin Moore did.
Evergreen Fog is a slightly darker shade of sage green that promotes “continuous renewal…to embrace a new beginning.” Like Benjamin Moore, the shade is part of a palette of cohesive colours for the year; however, unlike their competitor, Sherwin Williams offers many additional hues in their annual palette. The total number of colours in the 2022 lineup is 40.
A few of the shades that Sherwin Williams is pushing this year in their Master Palette include:
- Uber Umber
- Woven Wicker
- Natural Linen
- Sierra Redwood
- Rose Tan
- Beige
- Alabaster
- Coral Clay
- Pink Shadow
- Lite Lavender
- Garret Gray
- Rose
- Chartreuse
- Moody Blue
- Aleutian
- Blackberry
Specific colours that Sherwin Williams suggests pairing with Evergreen Fog include their Shoji White, Urbane Bronze, Accessible Beige, Uber Umber, Woven Wicker, and Bakelite Gold shades.
Final Word
The “colour of the year” concept has been around for more than 20 years, thanks to the Pantone brand’s groundbreaking idea to implement it for the first time in 2000. The result has been a continuous cycle of inspiration for myriad industries, including major paint brands such as Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore, that have gone on to set their own colour trends.
All in all, experimenting with a new year’s new colours is a fun way to flex creativity around the home, even if only in the form of accessories or home accents. Experiment with the colour tools on the Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams websites for personalized design assistance.
