Guessing the Color of the Year has become a beloved ritual. We used to do it on our podcast and now continue the tradition on Instagram Stories. Each COTY (Color of the Year) season we like to gather the year’s selections in one place so you can compare them side by side. Below is a concise roundup of the 2024 Color of the Year picks from major paint and color companies — and how those choices relate to each brand’s recent histories. If your favorite niche brand isn’t listed, it’s likely because many companies announce palettes rather than a single color, and for clarity we limited this post to single-color selections from the major players.
As more companies join the color-forecasting conversation, the variety of picks grows. For simplicity, the list below focuses on singular color selections from well-known paint and finish brands. Many companies also release entire palettes or trend collections; we’ve excluded multi-color listings to keep this roundup clear and easy to scan.
What Is The 2024 Color of The Year?
There isn’t a single universal Color of the Year. Instead, multiple companies publish their own forecasts for the hue or hues they expect will define the coming year. Below is a snapshot of those 2024 picks, beginning with the most widely recognized brands followed by other notable selections. Scroll down for short notes on each one.
- Pantone: Peach Fuzz
- Benjamin Moore: Blue Nova
- Sherwin-Williams: Upward
- Behr: Cracked Pepper
- HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams: Persimmon
- Glidden: Limitless
- Valspar: Renew Blue
- Dunn-Edwards: Skipping Stones
- Dutch Boy: Ironside
- Krylon: Blue Bird
- Rust-Oleum: Satin French Blue
- Minwax: Bay Blue
- Graham & Brown: Viridis
- C2 Paint: Thermal
- Stainmaster Paints: English Green
An obvious takeaway: many of 2024’s selections skew toward blue and blue-green tones, with a few warm corals and deep neutrals in the mix. Blues dominated the year’s palette trends.
What Is Color Of The Year?
Each fall — and sometimes earlier in late summer — paint and color authorities unveil their Color of the Year picks for the coming year. Some brands release a single hue while others present a coordinated palette that captures a broader mood. These announcements are rooted in trend research across design, fashion, lifestyle, and cultural cues, but they also serve as promotional moments to showcase each company’s color expertise and products. Big launches and storytelling around the selection are common and often entertaining to watch.
Pantone began the modern Color of the Year tradition in 2000, and since then major paint companies like Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore, plus specialty brands such as Krylon and Minwax, have each published their own forecasts. Brand teams often choose names that convey an emotion or lifestyle — which explains selections with names like “Upward,” “Limitless,” and “Renew Blue.”
Pantone Color Of The Year 2024
Pantone’s 2024 Color of the Year is Peach Fuzz (13-1023). Described as a velvety, gentle peach, it’s meant to convey warmth, nurture, and kindness. Because Pantone’s forecasts extend across fashion, graphic design, and media, their picks often lean toward bolder, more saturated hues than those chosen primarily for home paint palettes. Over the past decade, Pantone’s selections have favored reds, pinks, and purples, and on two occasions they announced paired colors instead of a single shade.
Benjamin Moore Color of the Year 2024
Benjamin Moore’s 2024 Color of the Year is Blue Nova (825), a mid-tone where violet meets blue. The brand calls it a “sumptuous hue” that works well as an accent or a full-room color. In recent years Benjamin Moore has trended toward deeper, more saturated picks, perhaps in part to distance themselves from prior, more neutral selections. Blue Nova stands out among 2024 choices for its purple undertones, which set it apart from the more blue-green options chosen by other brands.
Sherwin-Williams Color Of The Year 2024
Sherwin-Williams chose Upward (SW 6239) as their 2024 Color of the Year. They describe it as a breezy, blissful blue that carries positive energy and creative potential. Depending on light, it can appear silvery-gray, which increases its versatility for walls, cabinetry, and trim. Sherwin-Williams’ annual picks are often thoughtful and usable, striking a balance between trend-forward choices and practical application.
Behr Color of the Year 2024
Behr’s 2024 Color of the Year is Cracked Pepper (PPU18-01), a versatile soft black. Each year at least one brand selects a deep neutral, and Behr’s pick offers subtle undertones that make it easy to pair with many colors. Its relative neutrality and depth make Cracked Pepper suitable for dramatic accents or moody whole-room statements.
HGTV Home Color of the Year 2024
HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams (sold at Lowe’s) named Persimmon (HGSW 6339) as a standout in their 2024 Color Collection. The collection — titled “Renewed Comfort” — pairs Persimmon with a soft tan and a pearly white to create a balance of neutral warmth and gentle, magazine-ready color. HGTV Home’s picks often lean bolder and are geared toward eye-catching, editorial applications.
Glidden Color of the Year 2024
Glidden selected Limitless (PPG1091-3) as 2024’s Color of the Year. Positioned as a warm alternative to gray that is “anything but yellow,” Limitless can work with both warm and cool palettes but may reveal varying undertones under different lighting. Since introducing their first COTY in 2016, Glidden has favored purer, more saturated colors that often function best as accents rather than whole-room neutrals.
More Color Of The Year Picks
Below are notable selections from additional brands. The blue trend remains evident across many of these choices.
Valspar’s 2024 Color of the Year: Renew Blue
Valspar streamlined to a single 2024 pick: Renew Blue (8003-37D), a green-influenced blue chosen for its calming, restorative qualities.
Dunn-Edwards’ 2024 Color of the Year: Skipping Stones
Skipping Stones (DET 567) from Dunn-Edwards is a blue-green tone selected for its meditative, sea-inspired calm.
Dutch Boy’s 2024 Color of the Year: Ironside
Dutch Boy’s Ironside (422-7DB) is a deep, moody shade with olive and brown undertones. The brand notes that darker interiors feel elegant and sophisticated; they also highlighted Ironside’s strong coverage as their “One-Coat Color of the Year.”
Krylon’s 2024 Color of the Year: Blue Bird
Spray-paint maker Krylon picked an assertive blue — Blue Bird — for 2024. They frame it as both bold and breezy, a lively pick for DIY projects and accents.
Rust-Oleum’s 2024 Color of the Year: Satin French Blue
Rust-Oleum chose Satin French Blue, a softer periwinkle-tinged blue that offers a refined pop without feeling overly aggressive.
Minwax’s 2024 Color of the Year: Bay Blue
Minwax surprised with Bay Blue for wood stain, continuing the blue trend even in wood finishes. While known for browns and reds, this marks another blue-focused choice from the brand.
Graham & Brown’s 2024 Color of the Year: Viridis
UK-based Graham & Brown selected Viridis, a muted green chosen for its soothing, nature-forward feel and its synergy with their wallpaper “New Eden.”
C2 Paint’s 2024 Color of the Year: Thermal
C2 Paint’s Thermal is a punchier blue chosen as an energizing “call to action,” encouraging bold use and individual expression.
Stainmaster Paint’s 2024 Color of the Year: English Green
Lowe’s brand Stainmaster introduced English Green as its first Color of the Year, a deep, grounding hue meant to promote calm and stability.
Our 2024 COTY Guesses
Part of the fun with COTY season is predicting the winners. On our podcast and Instagram we make early guesses. For 2024 we offered two sensible picks plus one playful “wacky” guess. My “light, cool gray” prediction landed near Valspar’s and Sherwin-Williams’ territory, though Upward skews bluer. My darker prediction — “deep brown, almost black” — aligned more with Behr’s Cracked Pepper and Dutch Boy’s Ironside, though their undertones differ (Ironside leans olive-green; Cracked Pepper is a truer black).
We’ll be back with our predictions for the next round — and we’re already curious which hues will emerge as the stars of 2025.
More Paint Colors We Love
If you want more paint inspiration, check out our deep dives and favorite hues throughout the site. A few helpful posts include:
- Every 2025 Color of the Year… So Far
- The 12 Best White Paint Colors
- The Best Greige Paint Colors
- Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray
- Benjamin Moore Simply White
- Sherwin-Williams Pure White
- Sherwin-Williams Extra White
- The 12 Best “Haint Blue” Paint Colors