Paint and Color Trends for 2016

Few home improvement projects provide you with a better return on your investment than a great paint job. Changing the color of your home’s exterior instantly boosts its curb appeal and raises your property’s value. Indoors, painting offers you an easy and inexpensive way to update your décor. The last thing you want, however, is to paint your home a color that will look dated in a year or two. If a painting project is in your future, this guide from Handyman Connection of Ann Arbor can help you determine the direction that colors trends are taking.

Pick Your Palette

Each of the nation’s leading paint manufacturers rolls out a rainbow of new shades to explore every year. Individual palettes are presented with poetic descriptions that the companies hope will capture the public’s imagination. Names like “Merriment” from Pantone or Behr’s “Luxe Dimensions” try to encapsulate the mood, atmosphere or lifestyle that these palettes convey. Behind all the flowery language, however, is real research. Paint companies invest significant time and money tracking color trends, so you can relax and choose your new palette with confidence based on your personal taste.

Color of the Year

While Benjamin Moore is also introducing a new palette for 2016, the popular paint company has proclaimed “Simply White” as their color of the year. The color choice reflects a growing trend towards creating interiors that are clean, serene and contemporary. White not only makes small spaces look bigger and brighter but provides the ideal backdrop for personalization too. Whether your home is filled with the latest technology or fine antiques, shades of white complement every decorative style.

Pittsburgh Paints, on the other hand, chose a pretty green called “Holly Glen” as their 2016 color of the year. The company cited the shade’s optimistic feeling as well as the way it works with other colors as the reasons for selecting the color. Three corresponding palettes with hues ranging from “Orange Poppy” to “Timber Beam” were also introduced.

Contrast Is In

If there’s one characteristic that this year’s collections of new palettes share, it’s contrast. Paint companies aren’t just focusing on their multihued offerings but on the way that the colors interact with the home environment too. The moody hues that are showcased in Behr’s “High Contrast” palette, for example, are designed to help create a sense of depth and dimension. Benjamin Moore’s white-based palette makes furnishings stand out and colors pop.

Complementary Style

Other collections featured for 2016 are intended to add harmony to your surroundings with colors chosen to match your decorative style. For example, the “To the Manor Born” palette from Dunn-Edwards Paints is designed to complement floral designs and historic architecture. The “Pura Vida” palette by Sherwin-Williams is perfect for bringing out the beauty of natural materials like wood and stone.

Whatever color you choose for your upcoming painting project, you’ll want to ensure that the results meet your expectations. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a fortune to enjoy a great outcome.

The experts Handyman Connection of Ann Arbor will deliver the professional look you want for your home at a price you can afford. Contact us today to request a free, no-obligation estimate!