Painting Your Walls? Check Out Our "2023 Color of the Year" Cheat Sheet First

People often say that painting is one of the quickest and easiest ways to transform a space—just prep, coat, and dry, and you’re done. But the adage comes with fine print: Picking a paint color can be really hard.

With thousands of hues to choose from, figuring out the best shade for a room can feel like an overwhelming exercise—even for decisive folks who choose their meals confidently at restaurants, know exactly what looks good on them at a department store, and never have a problem pinpointing a movie to watch on a Saturday night.

It’s normal to struggle when plucking the "right" color from a rainbow of swatches, which is why brands have sought to narrow the field by announcing their colors of the year. It takes teams of professionals months to select these shades, which are carefully calibrated to satisfy current trends and individual preferences. Read on for their top picks for 2023, and get a head start on that easy, breezy room transformation.

Behr - Blank Canvas

Erika Woelfel, the vice President of color and creative services at Behr, says that the brand’s pick, Blank Canvas, speaks to the universal need for comfort during a time of global unrest.

"After years of uncertainty, we wanted to deliver a color that would provide a sense of renewal," she says. "Behr’s 2023 color of the year, Blank Canvas, is a hopeful and welcoming warm white with limitless possibilities."

This uber-neutral pick works with just about any shade in practically any room, so you can go bolder with accenting patterns, or more minimal with contrasting textures. As a white, it feels more enveloping than the cooler undertones of its cousins, which has the effect of brightening spaces while still making them feel cozy.

"Blank Canvas is a top choice to tackle any home project, from a bedroom refresh to a complete kitchen remodel," Woelfel continues. "It works nicely when combined with a dark green-gray like Conifer Green, or with a quiet blue-gray like Half Sea Fog. The warmth of Blank Canvas in combination with these tones creates balance in restful spaces, such as bathrooms and bedrooms, or a home office where the goal is work and focus."

Valspar

For its colors of the year, Valspar selected a dozen shades found in nature to foster a sense of harmony at home. "Each color in the Valspar palette offers a specific emotional state or quality one may be seeking," says Sue Kim, the brand’s director of color marketing. "Whether you want to feel joy, calm, inspiration, or even restoration, there’s a hue for each mood."

Kim recommends Gentle Violet in a dining room or playroom, the terra-cotta pop of Desert Carnation in offices, and the rich Flora in a bedroom. The colors also play well together, so you can use them to cover an entire space— baseboards, trim, and all. "With these 12 colors, we can build a space of comfort, safety, and joy," she says. "Comfort will continue to be a key design element as we transition into 2023, and these shades offer a soothing environment with nature’s touch inside the home."

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