Category Archives: Color palettes

The 12 Best Blue Exterior Paint Colors

Benjamin Moore Hale Navy house exteriorAmy Krane Color
Blue is ever-growing in popularity as an exterior house paint color and here's why: Blue is the world's favorite color. And homes with light blue bathrooms sell for thousands more too. Dark exterior paint colors are still on an upward trend and there's no doubt many people consider the best dark blue paint color for a house exterior to be Continue reading...

2022 Kitchen Design Trends

Laura Nelson
We’re about half way through 2022 so it’s a great time to see what’s happening in kitchen design right now. Some trends are humming along consistently as they have been for a couple of years but some newer trends are emerging. Multi-toned kitchens are still here though I’m not referring to the tuxedo look with white upper cabinets and another color below. Let’s consider that more or less over. I’m talking about a trio of colors that often includes black, white or beige and light wood tone. (In cases where it’s just two colors for cabinetry it’s usually the island base or a stand alone pantry that’s unique.) Continue reading...

12 Paint Color and Interior Design Trends for 2022

2022 color and design trends
This year’s go-to color is green. Though I rarely give the paint companys' Color of the Year more than a glancing nod, this year I was struck by their uniformity and general good sense. Green was the hands down choice. As the most prevalent color in our surroundings (outside of concrete jungles) green ushers in feelings of calmness, health, freshness and well-being. No wonder, after what we’ve been through it’s one of the hottest trends. I’ve been specifying greens for eons when clients are open to it. It’s an easy color to work with and enhances every style of interior design Continue reading...

Choosing paint colors for red brick or stone exteriors

Green exterior with brick and stoneAmy Krane Color Victorian
Paint colors for red brick exteriors. More than any other material, red brick seems to stump folks most when choosing paint colors to accompany it. It’s such a pronounced, definite color, the conceptual opposite of a neutral. Red brick comes in many shades. Brick is a natural material, made from clay. The origin and age of the brick affects its appearance greatly. The brick can appear more burnt orange or red. It can lean brown or yellow tan and it’s almost always multi toned within one structure. Finding great paint colors for red brick is easy if you follow the following guidelines.… Continue reading...

11 Paint Color and Interior Design Trends for 2021

wood tone and olive green kitchenMadison Nicole Design
Always my favorite blog post, this year, corralling paint color and interior design trends into a coherent POV is tempered by my acknowledgement of the distressing state of the world and the relative insignificance of this task. But not wanting to add to this year’s sense of aberration I’m forging ahead with it. Like most years in the past, this year’s trends are a combination of those newly emerging with those already ongoing. Some also take a relatively fresh idea from the recent past and morph it into something just a squosh different. Last year, pre-Covid, I forecasted the new trend in warm, saturated paint colors like russet, bronze, burnt orange and the like. Continue reading...

Paint Color Palette of the Year 2021

Benjamin Moore Color of the Year 2021
Almost as much as Pantone, Benjamin Moore’s Color of the Year and corresponding Palette of the Year is always greatly anticipated. This year the colors in the Palette of the Year 2021 have a seriously cohesive feel. Why these colors? We’re told the palette was developed before covid arrived which is interesting. In many respects it seems a natural reaction to our current situation. I always advise, whether designing a palette for one room or for a whole house, to mix cool and warm colors with the goal of creating a sense of balance.… Continue reading...

How to Choose a White Paint Color for Your House Exterior

White house exteriorMark Reuter Design
Choosing the best white paint color for your house exterior can be difficult. Let’s’ face it, many folks find choosing white colors for both exteriors and interiors challenging. That’s why you should go to an exterior paint color consultant for help! Most paint companies make many white choices. When you compare a lot of them you realize that accompanying the white exists many other tones. White can appear a tad pink or creamy with some yellow. It can contain some gray, blue, green, or a mix of more than one other color.  Like other colors besides white, the color comes from a particular hue family and traces of those families are part of the white’s makeup.… Continue reading...

Exterior Paint Color Trends for 2020

exterior paint color trends 2020Amy Krane Color &  Quatrefoil Inc. Builders  r
Unless you’ve been driving around with blinders on you’ve had to have noticed the prevalence of very dark homes by now. Exterior paint color trends for 2020 practically starts and ends with black, charcoal, navy and other very dark hues.  I’ve been writing about this trend for years as they started showing up in about 2014 or 2015 but dark houses seem to be moving more and more into the mainstream. Chances are you’ll see more dark homes in cities and the countryside. The trend is lagging in the suburbs for obvious reasons. And while they seem most appropriate for very modern homes you’ll note dark hues on historic homes like the Victorian above as well as colonials and other architectural styles, much to the delight of some and horror of others.… Continue reading...