2016 Color Trends: Off-White

January 11, 2016

Did you know that paint manufacturers release their popularity forecasts every year? For 2016, the verdicts are in – and more than one manufacturer has chosen white, off white, or cream as their top trendy color of the year. Those chosen hues are the ones they expect to sell the most of. White, cream, and off-white are popping up everywhere – from exterior paint or stucco, to every interior room from bathrooms, to kitchens, to nurseries and home offices. “White is transcendent, powerful and polarizing — it is either taken for granted or obsessed over,” explained Benjamin Moore Creative Director Ellen O’Neill. The company chose their “Simply White” hue as color of the year.

projectnursery

(photo via Pinterest/Nursery Project)

 

But wait just a minute- hasn’t white been described as a boring monochromatic color option? According to New York designer Miles Redd, “I don’t think of white as a color.”  So why, then, does white deserve the coveted color of the year status?

 

Simple: it’s not too saturated – just the opposite. It  doesn’t overpower a room, and lets your home’s other details shine through. It provides a break from “louder” colors, and every home needs some neutral colors, or it can quickly become too busy or overwhelming. A slight color to the white can boost a room, as well. For instance, the smallest amount of coffee or brown is great for a darker room to increase the light in your space, as it imitates the warm glow you’d get from a sunny day.

 

Off-white also provides a calming effect in many rooms. It brings an air of cleanliness to a kitchen. Paired with a warm-toned wooden floor, as in the example below, the white isn’t overpoweringly cold or sterile.

white kitchen

(photo via Pinterest/Homebunch.com)

 

In a living room, for example, white can serve as a great base to make colorful furniture stand out when it would otherwise get lost in a complementary color. Choosing a white or slightly off-white hue for your walls also means that changing out furniture and decorative pieces can be done with ease – there’s no chance of a redecoration not working with the wall color. After all subtlety can be underrated when it comes to interior design.

living rom

(photo via Pinterest/West Elm Blog)

 

The living room above isn’t lacking for color – yet the walls are white! The bold door, plants, rugs, and wall art are front and center, but don’t overpower the room because of the neutral wall tones. This proves that all the forecasts are right on the money – white, off-white, and cream aren’t cold, sterile, and boring! In fact, they can be used across large spaces to bring calm and even warmth to a room when paired with architectural details!

 

This sudden flash of white doesn’t come from nowhere – it’s part of an overall trend that pairs neutral tones, both warm and cool, with pops of color. The days of oversaturation are in the rearview now!

 

Every Massachusetts exterior painting and interior painting project is different, and unlike other MA interior painting companies, we will always treat your house, building, or surface as one-of-a-kind. Need help choosing paint colors? We can do that with an expert eye. Call us for a free estimate at 978-546-6843

Categorised in: , , ,