Each year, Benjamin Moore selects one paint color to represent the design trends and influences it sees shaping the year ahead. The Benjamin Moore Color of the Year is chosen alongside a larger Color Trends palette and can range from a subtle neutral to a bold, saturated shade.
Over the years, the selections have included blues, greens, reds, whites, grays, pinks, and deep earthy colors. Below, we’ll look at how Benjamin Moore chooses its Color of the Year and every selection from 2014 through today.
What is the Benjamin Moore Color of the Year?
The Benjamin Moore Color of the Year is an annual paint color selected by the company’s color and design experts. It serves as the centerpiece of Benjamin Moore’s broader Color Trends palette for that year.
Rather than simply identifying a popular existing color, the selection is intended to reflect broader influences in design, culture, art, and the way people are using color in their homes and other spaces.
How Does Benjamin Moore Choose Its Color of the Year?
Benjamin Moore describes choosing its Color of the Year as a yearlong process. Its color and design team tracks cultural and environmental influences, explores trends in art and design, considers consumer behavior, and uses information including digital analytics, sales, and trade insights.
Those influences are ultimately distilled into the annual Color Trends palette, with one color selected as the Benjamin Moore Color of the Year.
The List of Every Benjamin Moore Color of the Year
Color of the Year 2026: Silhouette AF-655
Silhouette AF-655 is a deep, sophisticated combination of rich espresso brown and charcoal. Inspired in part by classic suiting and renewed interest in the brown color family, it brought a considerably darker and earthier direction to Benjamin Moore’s 2026 palette.
Read more about the 2026 Benjamin Moore Color of the Year
Color of the Year 2025: Cinnamon Slate 2113-40
Benjamin Moore Cinnamon Slate 2113-40 combines heathered plum with warm brown. The result is a muted, complex color that brings together purple and earthy brown influences without falling cleanly into either category.
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Color of the Year 2024: Blue Nova 825
Benjamin Moore Blue Nova 825 blends blue and violet into a rich mid-tone inspired by the brilliance of a newly formed star. It offers noticeable depth and color while maintaining the classic qualities associated with blue.
Read more about the 2024 Benjamin Moore Color of the Year
Color of the Year 2023: Raspberry Blush 2008-30
Benjamin Moore Raspberry Blush 2008-30 marked a much bolder direction, bringing together coral and pink-red influences in an energetic, saturated shade. It’s a color designed to be noticed rather than simply serve as a neutral backdrop.
Read more about the 2023 Benjamin Moore Color of the Year
Color of the Year 2022: October Mist 1495
Benjamin Moore October Mist 1495 is a soft, gently shaded sage green. Its muted appearance gives it an organic, nature-inspired quality and makes it considerably more understated than the Color of the Year that followed it.
Read more about the 2022 Benjamin Moore Color of the Year
Color of the Year 2021: Aegean Teal 2136-40
Benjamin Moore Aegean Teal 2136-40 is a soothing blue-green with gray undertones. It balances noticeable color with a muted quality that allows it to work alongside a broad range of neutrals and natural materials.
Color of the Year 2020: First Light 2102-70
Benjamin Moore First Light 2102-70 is a soft, airy pink that Benjamin Moore selected to welcome the beginning of a new decade. Rather than a bright or highly saturated pink, First Light provides a subtle wash of warm color.
Color of the Year 2019: Metropolitan AF-690
Benjamin Moore Metropolitan AF-690 is an understated gray with cool undertones. Benjamin Moore’s 2019 selection reflected a move toward calm, composed neutrals and was one of the more restrained Colors of the Year.
Color of the Year 2018: Caliente AF-290
Benjamin Moore Caliente AF-290 is a bold, charismatic red. Rich and saturated, it represented a dramatic departure from the white, purple, and neutral shades selected in the surrounding years.
Color of the Year 2017: Shadow 2117-30
Benjamin Moore Shadow 2117-30 is a deep, dramatic purple with a rich and moody appearance. Its depth made it one of Benjamin Moore’s darker Color of the Year selections.
Color of the Year 2016: Simply White OC-117
Benjamin Moore Simply White OC-117 is a warm, versatile white with a subtle yellow undertone. Its selection demonstrated that a Color of the Year doesn’t necessarily need to be bold or colorful to make an impact.
Color of the Year 2015: Guilford Green HC-116
Benjamin Moore Guilford Green HC-116 is a soft, silvery green that Benjamin Moore described as a “nature’s neutral.” Its subdued character allows it to introduce green without overwhelming a space.
Color of the Year 2014: Breath of Fresh Air 806
Benjamin Moore Breath of Fresh Air 806 is a light, airy blue with a soft and refreshing appearance. It was Benjamin Moore’s Color of the Year for 2014 and remains part of the brand’s extensive collection of light blue paint colors.
Explore Benjamin Moore Colors at Loconsolo Paints
Past Colors of the Year don’t disappear when a new color is announced. Many remain popular Benjamin Moore colors and can still provide inspiration for your next project.
Stop by Loconsolo Paints to explore current and past Benjamin Moore Colors of the Year, compare colors and samples, and get help from our knowledgeable team.
Visit one of our NYC paint store locations to find the right Benjamin Moore color for your space.