Top Paint Brands Reveal Their 2025 Color of the Year

Less than three months before 2024 ends, numerous paint brands already unveiled the colors predicted to take over the design landscape next year. Patterned from consumer behavior and recent trends, a mix of moody shades, energizing hues, elegant tones, and distinct neutrals make up the roster. To give you a headstart, here’s a compilation of all the leading global paint companies’ 2025 color of the year.

PPG and Glidden’s Purple Basil 

The paint-and-coatings sister brands, PPG and Glidden, announced Purple Basil as their very own 2025 color of the year. Characterized by its balanced red and blue tones, this chosen hue displays a dark, muddy plum shade. It radiates rich and warm energy, capable of creating a dramatic yet welcoming ambiance. Moreover, its chameleonic quality under certain light conditions further encourages freedom, transformation, and self-expression in a space. 

According to Glidden Color Expert Ashley McCollum, Purple Basil earned the title because of the consumers’ penchant for expressive possibilities when it comes to interior color. She also describes it to have a “regal feel” but “equally homey.” Hence why it surpasses other louder shades of purple meant for minimal details or statement pieces only. 

Dulux’s True Joy

For UK’s leading paint brand Dulux, an energizing and motivating yellow called “True Joy” will redefine the design industry in 2025. Positive, mood-boosting, and all-out is how they portray this saturated and warm color of the year. It’s a celebration and a complete contrast against a fair amount of trending dark and moody hues of 2024.

While it certainly is a fresh sight from the list, True Joy also exudes a similar and known color Gen Z yellow. This sense of familiarity is the reason why it appeals to a wider demographic of consumers. 

Furthermore, the paint brand believes that creative energy, optimism, and pride deserves to be felt in every interior. According to Dulux Creative Director and Color Expert Marianne Shillingford, this color allows you to find your “proudest and most confident self”. So, they created three True Joy color palettes, namely—bold, human, and proud, to help you find your definition of true joy in your space.

Valspar’s Encore 8002-45G

The Sherwin-Williams’ acquired brand Valspar hailed Encore 8002-45G as their 2025 color of the year. It’s a rich, atmospheric blue made to anchor the brand’s previous cool teal shade choice Renew Blue. 

Living up to its name, Encore Blue is something that you’ll always come back to. Its deep saturated jewel tone evokes a classic and timeless feel. This enables you to manifest constancy, confidence, and joyful respite in your home. 

Valspar Director Sue Kim also emphasized that it is where “the elusive luxury of old world design and the futuristic blending of physical and digital world” meets. That’s why it leaves a familiar but still surprising impression whether applied in generous or sparse amounts. 

Behr’s Rumors

You’ve probably seen Rumors as one of the defining colors of the fall season. It’s even associated with Beet because of its similar appearance and capability to function as a neutral color. But the architectural coating company Behr envisioned greater for this shade by turning it into their signature 2025 color trend. 

The deep ruby red color with brown undertones exudes a perfect balance of classic 90s and modern earthy reds. So, you can expect it to create a lasting, energetic appeal to your space. 

Behr Vice President of Color and Creative Services Erika Woelfel shares that this color is a product of recent interest towards edgier palettes. She additionally justifies that the demand for warmer neutrals capable of leaving a moody, bold statement. 

Dunn-Edwards’s Caramelized

As a premier American paint brand, Dunn-Edwards has committed to make the “finest line of paints” for their customers. This vision comes to life with the selection of Caramelized as their 2025 color of the year.

Labeled as the “ultimate new neutral,” this color is a soft, warm, and earthy terracotta brown. Similar to the sunbaked hues of natural clay, it brings a sense of nature and character while grounding the interior. Having this versatility allows it to suit various interior styles, from ornate traditional to sleek contemporary designs. This means that it abides by the “old is new” concept, creating endless possibilities that you can use with different color schemes. 

Dunn-Edwards Lead Color Expert Lauren Hoferkamp cites the need for a more welcoming, stylish, and grounded personal space, especially in this digital age. Caramelized is their solution to this, bringing you a simple, comforting, balanced, and dynamic interior design. 

Graham & Brown’s Elderton

The British wallpaper and paint brand Graham & Brown forged its name through a conscious and innovative design approach.  And selecting Elderton as their 2025 color of the year further reinforces their company’s vision. 

Inspired by the elder trees’ leaves, Elderton displays a medium-toned brown perfect for establishing a theatrical background. It’s the color that not only reconnects you to nature but also symbolizes eco-awareness—a principle that this brand upholds dearly. 

Graham & Brown head stylist and trend specialist Paula Taylor states that this color possesses a great depth to bridge our relation to earth. This opens an opportunity in your space, encouraging you to express an honest and organic style.

Krylon’s Hammered Black

For aerosol paint businesses like Krylon, the quality of finish is a clear determining factor of the product’s success and market competitiveness. Among their innovative creations is Hammered Black, ticking all the boxes for the brand’s color of the year. 

At first glance, it might appear like ordinary black paint. But if you look closely, you’ll see its orange peel-like texture, mimicking the surface of a hammered metal. 

As explained by Krylon Marketing Manager Ashley Banbury, the color aims to bring “the mysterious beauty of the night” indoors. She further compared it to the “serene moments before dusk,” which gives a calm, grounding, and intriguing allure. That’s why it’s the perfect color match for the trending dark academia style and brutalist designs.   

Dutch Boy Paints’ Mapped Blue

Dutch Boy Paints embedded their stature in the home improvement industry through high-quality paint products and packaging solutions. Targeting DIY homeowners and hobby painters, they specifically chose the one-coat Mapped Blue to be their 2025 color of the year. 

Its medium blue color with slight yellow and gray undertones can complement various hues and aesthetics. In addition, Mapped Blue provides good coverage with a single application to achieve a personal and timeless approach to your space. Through its beginner-friendly formula and versatile uses, it can adapt to the consumer’s changing preferences.

This justifies Dutch Boy Paints Color Marketing Manager Lisbeth Parada’s words about how this color attends to the younger consumer groups’ needs. According to her, Mapped Blue is the key to the durable, functional, and timeless interiors that Millenials and Gen Zs look for. 

Stainmaster’s Truffle

Originally known for their durable carpets and rugs, Stainmaster is now building its reputation for their acrylic paints. With the increased interest towards rich, warm shades this year, they see Truffle as the right color to lead design in 2025. 

It’s a restorative chocolate brown, exuding a modern, cozy, and polished appeal. Since it can both serve as an accent and neutral color, it can be suitable in simple and minimalist styles to rustic chic interiors. 

Lowe Director of Trend Monica Reese highlights how this color beautifully layers with soft, light tones and dark, bold shades. She even dubbed it as a “trend-setting color,” proving that deep, brown hues won’t easily exit the design scene. 

C2’s Raku

C2 prides itself with pure, rare artisan pigments and nature-inspired color selections. And this authenticity is even reflected in their choice of 2025 color of the year—Raku.

They describe Raku’s qualities as earthy, burnt, brownish red with oxidized undertones similar to rich mahogany. It’s taken from the ancient ceramics characterized by unique, variegated patterns often seen in meditative Japanese tea ceremonies. Mirroring the teaware’s intentional and imperfect pottery technique, this distinct hue embraces simplicity and spontaneity. It’s a chance to fully and unapologetically express yourself in your space and maintain its significance for years to come. 

The brand’s Paint Color Director Philippa Radon described Raku as a “return to simple, grounded pleasures”. It’s also “an echo of a timeless classic flourishing in a modern world”. She anticipates this will become more popular to homeowners who value safe, comforting indoor environments.

As we approach the end of 2024, the paint industry sets the stage for the vibrant hues that will define next year. Whether you’re a seasoned designer or a DIY enthusiast, these 2025 Colors of the Year offer a wealth of inspiration for your projects. From the promising list of entries, which color do you think will dominate the coming year?

Photos courtesy of featured paint brands.

Read more: How to Use Color Psychology to Enhance Your Mood at Home

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