The Best Home & Design Color Trends of 2021

Urbane Bronze, Sherwin-Williams

For Sherwin-Williams, bold and neutral aren’t mutually exclusive. This year’s rich but relaxing bronze is meant for either interiors or exteriors. “I really like that color—in my head it would be in a study type of room where someone would go to enjoy a cup of cocoa in the winter,” says Gabe Lindberg, a lead designer at Martha O’Hara Interiors. 

Aegean Teal, Benjamin Moore

Aegean Teal, a muted blue-green with snippets of gray, disappointed some designers. Others, more platonically, said they would only use it in small doses. “We suggest using it in one specific space or piece (like a bathroom vanity) to set the aesthetic for the entire room or to create a focal point,” says Bria Hammel, CEO of Bria Hammel Interiors.

Transcend, Misty Aqua, Big Cypress, PPG

For the first time, PPG released a palette versus a single color for 2021: Transcend, a latte-colored hue; Misty Aqua, an icy cerulean; and Big Cypress, a warm terra cotta. “This is a nice idea for the homeowner to help them put colors together,” says Susan Brown, owner of Susan E. Brown Interior Design. “Transcend and Big Cypress have similar values; they flow from one to the other nicely. But as much as I love having interruption or dissonance in a room, I think the Misty Aqua doesn’t quite work. The chroma is a bit too high to relate to the other two.”

Simple Serenity, Hirshfield’s

We all know blue is meant to instill calm, and Hirshfield’s is doubling down on the idea for 2021 with its Simple Serenity hue. “People tend to go to blues,” says Amanda Lorenz, owner of Henri Interiors. “Muted blues are almost a neutral to people, they’re so widely loved.” Says Krysta Gibbons, senior designer at Kipling House Interiors, “This would be a happy and inspired note on a porch ceiling.”