Don’t worry if you don’t have big plans this Valentine’s Day! Stay in and fall in love with color!

Common descriptors of years past were “light and bright,” placing a lot of emphasis on “white,” which is still desirable, but we’re elaborating more on this and adding “personalized” into the mix.

You may have seen Pantone’s release of their 2021 Colors of the Year or our amazing Pinterest board!  Ultimate Gray and Illuminating (yellow). Pantone describes these as “practical and rock-solid,” “warming and optimistic,” “strength and positivity,” “sunny and friendly.” While these colors specifically may not be your cup of tea, the idea that they create a sense of grounding and cheer is resonating with us.

We all have preferences we tend to gravitate towards, whether that’s a specific color family or more about warm and cool tones. When selecting a paint color, think about the mood you want to feel in each room. Are you creating a space to feel comforted and at ease, focused and inspired, or cheerful and lively? It’s essential to tap into the mood you want the room to exude. Everyone feels energized or relaxed in different ways, by different surroundings, and similarly by different colors.

“Color is a power which directly influences the soul.”

–Wassily Kandinsky

We felt inspired to round up a few of our favorites, along with a few we’re excited to use on future projects!

Sherwin-Williams Smokey Blue

Not too dark or too light and a slightly muted blue with cool gray undertones. It’s moody and sophisticated without enclosing a room. It is perfect for master bedrooms, home offices, libraries, sitting rooms, and dining rooms.

Glidden GLO15 Orange Sherbert

Just as the name says, this cheerful orange sherbert hue infuses energy while keeping to the subtler side of the bright spectrum. We love this color for a powder bath paired with a terracotta or hand-painted tile and statement plumbing fixtures; or in a children’s room or bonus space paired with a white board and batten wainscotting and natural textured furnishings.

Benjamin Moore Aegean Teal

Back at it with the blues, this green-leaning blue has sparked our interest! This rejuvenating shade is the perfect middle tone with warmth, uncommon of typical blues. We’d love to see this in an entry space, living room, or kitchen and compliment it with finishes including copper, brass, and stained wood.

Sherwin Williams Urban Bronze

This gray-brown is rich but not overpowering and nods to the warmer side of the gray family. It’s a modern twist on the stark, cooler grays and blacks that have been popular as of late. As we design more with biophilic influence in mind, colors such as Urban Bronze provide flexibility with their undertones leaning gray or brown, allowing you to play with the environment you’re designing. We would happily use this color in a living room, on built-in millwork, and we love the trend of white walls and dark trim and doors (or off white trim and doors at that).

Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter

In branching out from the all-white kitchens, we love the ability to keep things light but create a hint of contrast painting cabinets this greige (gray-beige) color. It still alludes to that “light and bright” effect while adding a wider range of possibilities to complement materials of multiple mediums. With greige and taupe colors, you’re able to seamlessly blend in stained woods, stone, and metal materials while allowing everything to speak the same language.

Photo Credit: deVOL, kitchen designer

Benjamin Moore Salamander

A deep, slightly jewel-toned green, this color captures luxury and serenity. It is versatile, pairing well with natural colors and materials such as stained wood, camel leathers, cane webbing, and marbled stone. Or, if you’re looking to elaborate on your color palette, you can also pair it with jewel-toned velvet textiles, glossy hand made tiles and hand-blown glass.

Feeling stuck on building a paint palette or finding the right color? Here are a few resources and ideas to help find the perfect color!

• Design Seeds – your online resource for the perfect palette builder

• Look to items you already have for inspiration, such as an art piece, furniture, or styling accessories. You can match an exact color or choose a color within the same family but in a darker or lighter shade.

• Think about your favorite place to travel to – what do you love about it, and what picture comes to mind? Is it the vibrant cuisine, the tropical flora, or illuminating sunsets? Select a color from that cherished experience.

“Sunset is still my favorite color, and rainbow is second.”

~Mattie Stepanek

A few tips when selecting paint colors:

• Always test a sample of paint on the wall you plan to apply it to. You’ll want to see it in different lights, so check it at various times throughout the day as the natural light adjusts throughout the room.
• Keep in mind the other elements in the room that may be influencing the undertones in the paint color, especially in lighter colors. Whites and grays can be tough to get right as they can draw in pinks and yellows, which change the white color’s crispness.
• The color of your light bulbs can alter how you see your paint color. There’s such a spectrum of warm and cool colors (known as color temperature) in light bulbs these days, which can affect how you see your paint color. If you plan on changing your light bulbs, do so before selecting your paint color. The recommended color temperature in residential applications varies based on the task but is best between 2700 – 4500 kelvins (warm – natural white). The closer you get to 5000 kelvins, the more blue-white the light appears.

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Winsome Construction is a luxury home builder, crafting high-performance homes throughout Portland, Salem, Bend, the Willamette Valley, and the North Oregon Coast. We invite you to stay connected with us by subscribing to our monthly newsletter  (enter name and email below) or calling us today at 503-472-7402.