2020 Paint Color Trends (The Hottest Paint Colors Of The Year)
This is it! Our annual round up of the new color trends from all of the major paint companies. And this year I am so happy! My favorite color (blue) is definitely trending! Time to see if any of your favorite colors are on the list of 2020 paint color trends.
2020 Paint Color Trends
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It’s that time of the year again! Time for the new paint color trends.
While every company has their own process for choosing exactly which colors they think will be popular in the next year, they all include the current social atmosphere that we’re living in as one of their variables. (If you want to know more, check out this video from PPG that explains their process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDFJidNqfUU).
This year every company mentioned calming, relaxing and getting back to nature as part of their inspiration for their 2020 color trends.
The 2020 Paint Color Trends Summary
Which is probably why blues and greens make up such a big part of the paint color trends for 2020. With an American election coming up, they are calming, relaxing colors that can make your home into a restful get-away from all the chaos.
If you know me, you know I’m happy about this trend! Blue is my favorite color, and almost every room in my house has some blue in it.
So I should be able to find some great home accessories! That’s my main reason for following the color trends. If they happen to include one of my whole house colors, I know I’ll have an easier time finding things that go.
As for the other colors, the purple trend that has been prominent for the last couple of years is definitely gone this year.
And plain gray is not quite as popular as it was.
Having said that, many of the 2020 paint colors have a definite gray base to them. So it looks like the gray trend has really just evolved into a new version of itself.
All those gray-based paint colors usually look great on walls (the gray prevents the color from looking too bright) so I think this is a good thing!
Blush pink hasn’t died yet.
And there are a couple of other warm, bright colors that are in the mix. So don’t despair if you’re not a fan of the cool color range.
Now let’s get on to the specifics of the new 2020 paint color trends.
Blue…And More Blue
Classic Blue
The biggest color trend setter of them all is Pantone.
And they went with a true, classic blue as their color of the year.
They describe it as bringing calm, confidence and connection to a world that needs trust and faith to counterbalance the current feeling of instability.
And I couldn’t be happier! My beloved blue and white ginger jars fall right in with this color. I predict more blue accessories coming into my life in the next year.
Note: This picture cannot be pinned due to houzz.com restrictions.
Of course, if you want to immerse yourself in the blue, you could go all out like these homeowners with blue walls, shelves and a matching sofa.
Dark Blues
Sherwin Williams picked Naval as their 2020 color of the year.
It is a dark navy blue that looks like the midnight sky.
With it’s Art Deco influences, it can be used instead of black for a rich, cozy feeling.
Pair it with white and gold for a gorgeous color combination like Sarah at Room For Tuesday did in her basement (above).
Or green for a more modern take. Adding white marble and some greenery would be stunning!
Farrow and Ball doesn’t really do a color of the year, but they have released 16 new colors in collaboration with the Natural History Museum in London.
Scotch Blue is one of the blue selections from this “Color of Nature” collection.
With its deep, intense blue color, it will bring a luxurious atmosphere to any room.
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“Singing the Blues” is one of the 2020 paint color selections from Dunn Edwards. With its purple-gray base, it’s another rich, dark blue tone.
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Medium Blues
PPG’s 2020 color of the year is Chinese Porcelain.
It’s a really pretty blend of cobalt and ink blue that is a great restful color for a bedroom.
Pairing it with white and brushed gold creates a beautiful, elegant room.
Ultra Marine Blue is a similar color from Farrow and Ball’s Color By Nature series.
With a slightly less turquoise hue, it’s another great bedroom color option.
Sherwin Williams also has a similar option on their 2020 color trends list called Endless Sea.
And so does Benjamin Moore with Blue Danube.
I think this is the first time I have seen so many paint companies with colors that are so similar on their annual color trends lists!
Light Blues
While none of the paint companies picked a light blue as their color of the year, a number of them have light blues in their 2020 color palettes.
Benjamin Moore went with Windmill Wings, a pretty periwinkle blue.
Behr selected a very similar color called Bluebird.
I never would have thought to paint stair treads with this color. But I actually really like it!
And Valspar chose Utterly Blue, a slightly lighter version in a similar tone.
Again, it’s pretty amazing how similar these colors are to each other!
Greens
With all the focus on colors inspired by nature, it’s hardly surprising that green is also has a big presence on the 2020 paint color trends list.
Nature-Inspired Greens
Behr’s 2020 color of the year is Back to Nature. It’s a restorative and revitalizing green that brings the outside in.
I particularly like it with gray, like this door surrounded by gray brick.
And this modern kitchen with a Battleship Gray backsplash (another one of Behr’s 2020 color picks).
If you are looking for a slightly darker color, Behr has another nature-inspired green on their list called Spring Meadow.
It’s a medium-toned version of their 2020 color of the year which looks great with creamy white.
Farrow and Ball also added a very similar color called Sap Green to their new “color by nature” palette.
Valspar included this green in their 2020 color selections. It’s called Secret Moss and has more of a gray tone to it.
Sherwin Williams also included a nature-inspired green color (called Ripe Olive) in their 2020 trends list, but it is a much darker hue. More like a forest green than a moss green.
Finally, Benjamin Moore’s nature-inspired green is called Cushing Green which is more of a jade color, with a bit of a blue undertone.
Minty Greens
But we’re not done with the greens yet! There were quite a few bright greens included in the 2020 color trends list as well.
A few companies went with a minty green as their color of the year.
Pratt & Lambert chose Songbird as their color of the year. They describe it as “minimalistic but also optimistic, a youthful color that reminds us to find joy every day”.
I think it would be hard not to feel energized by a room painted in this bright color 🙂
Dunn Edwards chose Minty Fresh as their 2020 color of the year. It’s a vibrant…well…minty color (the color name is very appropriate!)
They say it is an invigorating hue inspired by nature, innovative technologies and optimism.
I love how it looks on this outdoor patio with a mid-century modern look.
Valspar also included a mint green, called Mint Whisper, in their 2020 colors list.
It’s equally as vibrant as the Dunn Edwards selection, but a little less turquoise in color.
Bright Greens
Farrow and Ball have a couple of bright greens in their new color line up.
The first one is Verdigris Green which they describe as an elegant copper green.
It looks stunning when paired with other jewel-tones like this blue sofa.
The second is Emerald Green which is a vibrant, clear color.
While it would also look good with other vibrant color tones, I love it combined with the white marble countertops and black cabinets in this kitchen.
Pinks
Blush Pink
Blush pink is still in the color trends this year, with Benjamin Moore selecting First Light as their 2020 color of the year.
I guess that means I’m in luck…if I need to buy any more pink accessories for my upstairs office 🙂
Behr included a slightly darker version called Bubble Shell, that I think looks awesome on this door surrounded by white and accented with black.
I never would have thought to paint the door to my house this color!
Valspar also has a slightly-darker-than-blush-pink color called Bombay Pink on their 2020 list which is in the same tone.
It still looks good with the glam white and gold accents that many people like to pair with blush pink!
Bright Pink
For those of you who love fuchsia (and that would be me!), Sherwin Williams included Eros Pink in their 2020 color trends list.
I would love to use it as an accent color like this living room!
Farrow and Ball have a color called Lake Red in their new collection.
Although the name says red, to me the color reads more like bright pink. Although, it might just be the light. Most Farrow and Ball paint colors can change dramatically depending on the lighting conditions.
In any case, I love how bright and cheerful it is!
Golden Yellow
The next color on our 2020 paint color trends list is golden yellow.
While none of the paint companies picked it as their color of the year, it appeared on almost all of their 2020 color palettes.
Plus it was actually in the 2019 Pinterest Home Trends. I guess all those Pinterest users who were searching for it had some influence!
Benjamin Moore’s golden yellow for 2020 is called Golden Straw.
It’s a creamy golden yellow color that is rich but not overly saturated and really brightens up a room.
Sherwin Williams actually has a few golden yellows on their 2020 color trends list including Gambol Gold.
It can bring warmth and energy to any room.
Next up is Charismatic from Behr’s 2020 paint color trends. It’s a little more orange than the other two options, but still a beautiful sunny color.
Grays
Last but not least are the gray selections.
As with the yellows, this isn’t a color of the year for any of the paint companies, but it appears often enough in their 2020 color palettes that I had to include it.
Plus it’s a perennial favorite among decorators so it’s hard to leave off the list.
Cool Grays
The first gray on my 2020 paint color trends list is Ash Grey from Farrow and Ball’s new collection.
It’s a green-based gray that appears more green in daylight and more gray in the evening. The cool tone really makes these blush pink chairs stand out.
That combination of gray and pink is a common color scheme I’m seeing this year.
Battleship Gray is Behr’s addition to the gray color palette for 2020. It’s a darker gray that combines well with colors like Dragonfly (another one of Behr’s paint color selections for 2020).
Greige
Sherwin Williams has a whole color palette called Mantra that is a collection of cool- and warm-toned grays, many of which are more like greige (that’s a combination of gray and beige).
You can combine 2 or 3 of them together to create a neutral color scheme that still looks interesting.
Benjamin Moore’s addition to the Greige category is called Thunder.
It’s a sophisticated neutral that floats between cool and warm, and works seamlessly with a lot of other colors. Like the blush pink cabinets in this kitchen.
Well, that’s it for my sneak peek at the 2020 paint color trends. Hopefully there’s at least one color on this year’s list that you like!
2020 Paint Color Trends Quick Links
Here are the links to the 2020 paint color trends information from each of the paint companies in case you want to check them out for yourself.
Benjamin Moore Color Of The Year – First Light
Behr Color Of The Year – Back To Nature
Dunn-Edwards Color of the Year – Minty Fresh
Farrow and Ball New ‘Color By Nature’ Paint Colors
Pantone Color of the Year – Classic Blue
PPG Color of the Year – Chinese Porcelain
Pratt & Lambert Color of the Year – Songbird
Sherwin Williams Color Of The Year – Naval
Sherwin Williams Color Forecast
This post was originally published on December 20, 2019 but was updated with new content on April 15, 2024.
I like your suggestion to choose the same color for a room’s paint and furniture if we want to feel immersed in it. My sister mentioned she wants to hire professional painters next month to redo the walls in her home’s living and dining rooms. I’ll share this info to give her unique and fun color ideas to consider for the paint before moving forward!
Thank you for this helpful advice! I recently had the cabinets in my home refinished by a local wood refinishing company and they did a great job, but the stain I chose didn’t quite go with the walls or the decor of the room. Rather than getting the cabinets refinished again, I decided to repaint the walls in my kitchen with Benjamin Moore’s ‘Thunder.’ I never would have picked this color if it weren’t for this post, but I’m so glad I did because it was the perfect color for my kitchen and I’m happy with the results!
You’re welcome, Sarah Ann! Thunder is a beautiful wall color…It must look stunning in your kitchen 🙂
I’m not fond of color trends in general. One year your in style and in a few years your outdated. I like to take my cues from nature. Greens come in an abundance of tones and I tend to let that guide me. As I go from one room to the next I take a little bit from one room and use a version of that in some way in the next room . I like greens and it is a base color all around my house. I like a yellow kitchen (in my case it’s a light neutral yellow gold) with a splash of green in plants and accessories. I have a slightly deeper gold in the dining area. My bedroom is an olive grey Med green with a yellow beige master bath. My living room is a tranquil grey green on the lower half with a creamy almost white yellow on the top half of the chair rail. Guest room is an airly pale green blue like white with a tough of pine and the guest bath is an airy white with blue/ green. For a little passion and to go with the slightly rustic feel of my home I painted the foyer and main hall sienna red which is a deep orange red. These are my colors and they make me feel at home and they reflect the basic nature of the house and me. I’m so tired of grey in every room I’ve seen in the last five years but I painted my exterior a color called elephant ears which is a greige. Unlike most I like the color orange so I used a clay colored orange for the trim. I may be out of trend but I get compliments on my colors choices and the easy flow all around. I think that is what color should be. An extension of yourself. Not what’s trending or I’d be painting and redecorating every few years. Love your ideas though because I believe color is a big influence on our brains. Thanks!
Hi Christine…Your house sounds beautiful. I agree with you on not following the trends just to be trendy…definitely go with what you love! I like to know what is “in” because if it happens to be one of my colors, it’s easier to buy accessories that match.
I love to hear that blue is trending this year and that it brings a calm and confident feeling to your room. My sister is wanting to repaint her home to make it feel more peaceful and relaxing for her. I will let her know that blue may be a good option to achieve this and to hire interior home painting professionals.
I’m a big fan of blue, too, Sabrina! It’s definitely a good choice if you want a relaxing room.
Love Periwinkle Blue, would like green to coordinate.Any suggestions?
Hi Mary…Most greens will work quite well with Periwinkle so I would choose the one you want based on how you want the room to feel. If you are looking for calm and relaxing, use a green with more of a blue or gray tint to it. As an example, if you like Benjamin Moore’s Windmill Wings (from the post), Norway Spruce (also from Benjamin Moore) would be a good green to go with it. If you want the room to be more energizing, go with a green that has more yellow in it. Using Windmill Wings as an example again, try pairing it with something like Benjamin Moore’s Baby Fern. Hope that helps!
I am needing help with changing my red wall kitchen, I have honey oak cabinets, and a white laundry/pantry in kitchen. A White French door and white appliances. The kitchen is small but does have a rod iron black dinette and I am really loving the farmhouse look and incorporating black buffalo print cushions;Would love suggestions on what is the best color for my walls to bring it all together.
Hi Doreen…how about a warm grey or greige? It definitely goes with farmhouse decor and would look good with the honey oak cabinets as well as the black and white.
I love blue. And I am not fond of green I kind of liked two. My whole house downstairs is gray which I am not fond of but it works for now. I do not like yellow. And pink I could see a wall maybe. Very interesting – color.
I’m definitely with you on loving blue, Jody! So I’m looking forward to being able to find all kinds of pretty blue accessories for my house next year 🙂