Why does everyone seem to be using the exact same color at the same time? You go into a home goods or furniture store and you see the same pops of color at each one…it’s not a coincidence. We use some trending color in home staging, judiciously. Our goal here is to help you understand if YOU should use it in your home décor.
Since 2000 the Pantone Color Institute has promoted a Pantone color of the year (sometimes, as in 2021, a pair of complementary colors) that they believe evokes the spirit of that year. (Learn more about Pantone in our previous blog post: What Is a Pantone Color?) The 2021 Pantone Colors are yellow and grey -- Illuminating 13-0647 and Ultimate Gray 17-5104. In an unmistakable nod to our pandemic reality, the company describes the colors as “A message of happiness supported by fortitude…We need to feel that everything is going to get brighter – this is essential to the human spirit.”
So when you see this yellow and grey color scheme everywhere you look--clothing, makeup, graphic design products, even some kinds of specialty foods, like cakes and cookies--it’s not a massive case of color ESP among manufacturers and designers. It’s the result of a carefully orchestrated marketing effort that is meant to saturate the market with the year’s color.
Why are we telling you this? Well, if you’re painting and decorating a home, you have to choose a color scheme. When you look around for color inspiration, you’re likely to see this profusion of Pantone color of the year everywhere and you might be tempted to go whole hog with one of these beautiful, trendy colors. If you’re like us and staging a home for sale, sure: you can invest in some on trend colors. But if you’re decorating your own home that you’ll be living in for some time, you need to remember that “color of the year” means that soon it will be “color of the last year.” It will seem trendy and on brand this year but by next year the color is bound to feel dated.
Yellow May Not be Mellow
Also, it’s better to be more cautious with these very vivid Pantone colors because they are, in our experience, attention-getting shades that work better as accents than as the major color in a scheme--unless of course you are a highly skilled professional. Good examples in this Ideal Home UK article.
Subtle yellows and grays. Love it (not our design). Image credit: Simon Scarboro.
Pantone’s yellow – illuminating – is a bright hue that, like most yellows, requires major knowhow to pull off. It’s a major commitment. As a friend once asked when another friend was considering a deep Venetian red dining room, “Hon, do you really have that much to say?” The same goes for yellow. Do you really have that much to say? Most people don’t. In fact, by pairing it with gray, Pantone pretty much admits the necessity of using yellow with a more neutral tone.
Doesn’t matter that the walls and carpet are beige. Gray is also a neutral and paired with the vibrant yellow contemporary painting by Kari Kroll, the room comes to life.
Yellow is also problematic in the sense that it’s a fussy color that reads differently in rooms facing west than in rooms facing east; in morning light versus dusk. Although the idea of happiness, optimism and energy it conveys is very attractive, yellow can also signal danger (think of the blinking yellow traffic light).
If you feel you must have yellow, or any other intense, dark, or unusual color, as your dominant color, make sure to test it on walls facing in all directions and during different times of day. Go to your local hardware store and purchase small sample sizes of paint to create your own large paint chips. You can also buy 12-inch square chips from samplize.com. You’ll be amazed at how different the same color looks in early morning sun and at noon and dusk.
What do you think? Do you now know how to decorate with yellow and gray? Let us know if you need help!
Do you need help staging a home for sale or need a new look in your home? Call us at 917.543.4590. Email us at dawn@stagedryte.com. Or fill out our contact form.