Benjamin Moore’s 2019 Color of the Year has been announced, and people are raving about the quiet sophistication and stunning mutability of this year’s selection. Hannah Yeo, a Color & Design expert with Benjamin Moore, provides some insight into this year’s shade and the intricate selection process.
In early January of each year, the Color & Design experts from Benjamin Moore embark on a mission to find the next color trend. This team analyzes design trends across all industries and considers everything from cultural and societal influences to macro-economics, all to discover “how we live with color.” This research process spans over several months and is followed by several additional months of discussions and deliberations, the whole process spanning over the course of a year, requires that their team “never take their eyes off of the current climate.” Hannah Yeo, Benjamin Moore’s Color and Design expert, describes this year’s selection for Color of the Year as “a silvery gray that adapts to its surroundings.” She elaborates further on this meditative shade, calling it an “effortlessly sophisticated” neutral that “exudes beauty and balance.” Yeo divulges that their research corroborates this shade as “a balance between softness and glamour, presented in a way that is powerful through its subtlety.” Yeo speculates on the shift that caused this turn toward a comforting neutral, especially after 2018’s “Caliente” which was a fiercely bold red that feels strangely foreign in comparison to the understated subtlety of “Metropolitan.” Yeo shares that over the last year, “quietude and a retreat from noise and chaos seemed to pervade the mood.” Elaborating further on the drive behind this impulse toward the calm, Yeo shares the cultural factors that contribute to such trends: “breaking away from the constant notifications from our phones
and noises outside, the simplicity accompanied by quietude felt fresh and much needed.” Indeed, as our political and social climate feels increasingly fraught with fear, it is important to take the time to reel in the simple pleasures in life, to allow our homes to act as shelters that recharge, re-energize, and revive us so that we have the center to reach out into the world and make positive impacts. Yeo shares that the color’s versatility played a large role in its selection. In deliberations, the color and design experts tasked with the job of determining the Color of the Year also consider its longevity to ensure it stays relevant for at least 5-7 years. This was not a concern with Metropolitan, however. Yeo shares that Metropolitan AF-690 easily “adapts to any surrounding,” and can be “layered with cozy throws” to “bring out the peace and quietness” or glamorized further by utilizing “higher gloss and reflective surfaces.” Yeo characterizes the color as capable of playing “the hero of the room” but is also happy to be in a supporting role with “bold, darker colors.” It seems as though Metropolitan AF-690’s possibilities are limitless; something to be drawn out of this shade for every user. When asked about predictions for 2020’s Color of the Year, Hannah Yeo kept tight lipped, but did share that they are currently “deep in their research” and urges us all to stay tuned!
Carlee Baigrie
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