What Do You Know (and Think) About the 2015 Pantone Color of the Year?

You’ve probably already seen the Pantone color of the year.

Maybe you’ve also heard some of the hoopla about that color choice.

But, before we get too far into this year’s color choice introduction, and emotional response, let’s review the past few years of Pantone’s annual ‘color of the year’ choices.

2013 was Emerald Green

2014 was Radiant Orchid

So, without further ado, this year’s color choice is: Marsala

What do you think? Does it stir up some sort of critiquing conflict in you? (Because, apparently it has in some people)

OK, I admit it, even me… my thoughts at first glance of the 2015 color Marsala, were “What? oh no! Not that! I’m so sick of red walls… I’ve seen enough red kitchens to last me for a long time… Pantone has got to have it wrong this time…”

But, with a little more ‘thoughtful’ thought, here is what my take is… If you look back at history you have the opportunity to learn from it… Even just remembering the past few years of Pantone’s color of the year forecast history…

In 2013 did you see everyone painting their walls Emerald Green? or in 2014 were we inundated with Radiant Orchid sofas and countertops? No, of course not… why? Because we don’t change our entire rooms every year into the yearly color scheme. Instead we change up accents. It’s like how in the living room, changing out the accents, like the throw pillows, or lamp, or trim on the window treatments, can feel like you’ve just changed up the whole color scheme of the room.

It’s the bold accents in a room that catches our eye and sticks in our memory. Those accents, that make up 10% or less of a room’s color, that’s what can speak the loudest.

So now, in a new light, let’s consider Marsala as an accent…

Here’s an example I just whipped up quick on PowerPoint to show you:

The main part of the space is soft aqua with a frame of neutral sandy gray and a fun green ombré design, the color Marsala is certainly less than 10% of the overall color scheme, but for sure adds a lot of visual interest to the space.

Don’t believe me? OK, let’s see it without the Marsala:

So there’s a little lesson in using an accent color, and how such a small amount still makes a huge difference. (By the way, did you notice the little accent of Marsala in my new website header design?!?)

Real life now, not PowerPoint…

What will we actually see out on the market this year featuring the color Marsala that we can use in our homes?

Here are just a few examples of wares being marketed with their design to coincide with this year’s color:

Kravet Trims

Kravet.com

Keurig Small Appliances

Keurig.com

Pottery Barn Tableware

PotteryBarn.com

Pottery Barn Bedding

PotteryBarn.com

For me, after thinking of Marsala as an accent in a room of cool blue, tan or gray, and seeing some of the gorgeous products out there the brands and designers are putting on the market for us in this color, well… it’s going to be OK… in fact, it’s going to be more than OK… it’s going to be great!

For more detailed information about this year’s color of the year, as well as the whole season’s color palette go over to Pantone’s website and check out their beautiful and educational description.

Special thanks to Molly at Pantone, for the super quick response and tons of beautiful material used in the making of this post!