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Livingetc
Livingetc
Lilith Hudson

It’s Officially Color Forecasting Season, But What Really is a “Color of the Year” and How Do Paint Brands Choose Them?

Blue and sage bedroom with checkerboard rug.

There are a few obvious markers that signal the start of fall - cooler weather, shorter days, and - of course - the onset of color forecasting season. For anyone in the design world, these few months are all about predicting the latest trends set to define the year ahead, and no one takes that analysis quite as seriously as our favorite paint brands.

By virtue of their being, trends are cyclical in nature, but our color preferences tend to move at a faster pace than the likes of material, texture, or form. Each year, around September, leading paint brands announce their chosen shade to represent the mood of the moment during our next circle around the sun - the so-called "color of the year". But why do they bother, and how do they choose them?

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