AARP Hearing Center
One of the easiest, least expensive ways to give your home a makeover is through the use of color.
After spending an inordinate amount of time at home for the last two pandemic years, many people are ready for a change that will boost their moods and perk up their living spaces.
Beige is now boring. The 2022 colors of the year, chosen by paint companies, design organizations and international color forecaster the Pantone Color Institute, run the gamut from verdant shades of green to periwinkle.
The pandemic has done more than just inspire a desire to change the color of the walls; it also impacted the hues people are drawn to and how they want their homes to feel, according to Kristen Siefkin, founder of Interior Design Alchemy.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, my clients have a greater appreciation for the comfort and safety of their home environments,” Siefkin says. “We are all naturally gravitating toward softer palettes that create an atmosphere of respite and restoration and colors that are comforting, natural and refreshing.”
Redecorate with lively shades
One of the colors that creates that feeling? Green.
Almost all of the 2022 “colors of the year” are verdant shades: Benjamin Moore chose October Mist, a soft, silver-green; Glidden picked Guacamole, a fresh shade of avocado, PPG went with Olive Sprig and Behr opted for a blue-green shade called Breezeway.
“Given that many people are spending more time at home than ever before — and spending it with fewer people — the desire to incorporate the tranquil and harmonizing effect of green is logical,” Siefkin says.
There were a few outliers: HGTV Home selected a shade of faded blue called Aleutian and Dunn-Edwards went with Art and Craft, a soft brown hue. Instead of choosing a single color, Valspar opted for a 12-hue palette that included Lilac Lane, Subtle Peach and Gilded Linen.