Benjamin Moore, a leader in color, has revealed it’s 2016 color of the year, and it’s Simply White.
As color and design nerds, we’re always really excited by the color of the year reveal. Every October we wait, and we wait until the reveal, and this year we have to admit even we were caught off guard, but ultimately we think Benjamin Moore nailed it.
“Color of the year? Is white even a color”? We were asked this a lot, and we love having this conversation. “The color white is transcendent, powerful and polarizing – it is either taken for granted or obsessed over,” said Ellen O’Neill, Benjamin Moore Creative Director. “White is not just a design trend; it is a design essential. The popularity of white, the necessity of white, the mystique of white is quantifiable in our industry. Of the top ten best-selling Benjamin Moore colors, variants of white occupy five spots. It was inevitable that we would ultimately recognize white as our Color of the Year.”
Check out the official Benjamin Moore Color Trends 2016 video
https://youtu.be/abHPbfZZaD8
White is the most common paint color you’ll find. That’s not a bad thing. However, it’s this way for an excellent reason. White is more than just a blank canvas. White’s lend visual cues to the world around you. Lending itself as a canvas where needed, but also providing its feel to its environment. Simply White is a deep, warm white that immediately gives depth to the space you’re in.
With eight shades of white in the Color Trends 2016 palette, Simply White appears to be the most versatile shade in the selected group of colors. The Simply White color tone is closer to yellow than to blue, translating into a warm white without being cream. The resulting ambiance is cozier than a blue-tone white, which may appear as sterile or cold. White can be balanced with virtually any color, and has the flexibility of the ultimate neutral. For whether decorating in a traditional or contemporary setting, high-rise mod or farmhouse rustic, white has the ability to be integrated into almost any design scheme.”
Take a look at a few of these photos from the Ben Moore Color Trends photo shoot from this year:
The spaces themselves are beautiful. The white backdrop that provides a warm, full feeling to the environment, coupled with the accentuate colors make a beautiful space no matter where you are.
White frames and flatters. In this gallerist’s
brownstone, white is the guide that directs the eye to multiple color encounters.
–Benjamin Moore, Color Trends 2016
Benjamin Moore knows what they’re doing. With well over a century in the industry, Ben Moore is no stranger to color, and color is no stranger to Ben Moore. That’s why the entire 2016 color palette (of 22 colors) works so well with Simply White. Take a look at the palette (of which 5 are definitively white) below. 
Simply White’s relationship with the other colors is clear as day when lined up with the full palette.
So what do you think of the Color of the Year choice? Is white a bit boring? Is Benjamin Moore perhaps being a bit esoteric? Or does this inspire you to get out there and get painting? Let us know in the comments below! One thing is for sure, we’re excited about the possibilities that we get to create with Benjamin Moore and Simply White.
