Trends
Your home has always been your castle, but your interior spaces probably found new importance this year as COVID forced many of us to stay at home for work, school, and recreation. Those of us with cheery, bright indoor spaces had a big starting advantage, but if you had to shelter in place in a dreary grey basement apartment, you may well have begun thinking of renovation.
Bland colors, cramped spaces, and mismatched design elements may be just a minor annoyance if you are at work every day 9-5 and spend your evenings out. Once you spend 24 hours in the same place all week long, a little investment in your long term comfort level becomes a necessity. You start thinking about the big picture, like painting your living spaces, and the important details, like accents such as door handles and window dressings.
Colors matter. They can inspire confidence or give a sense of chaos, promote optimism or make you feel apathetic. A well-chosen color palette has the potential to completely change the atmosphere of an indoor space, and a simple color switch can transform a cluttered, uneasy area to a place that always seems full of peace and relaxation.
At the beginning of the year, the home improvement website FIXR ran an extensive survey about color trends in 2020. This survey provides some helpful insights into what colorscapes are trending in 2020, and which color schemes are likely to soon be dated.
The vast majority of home renovation experts surveyed suggested that couples—and especially couples with kids—were most likely to carry out painting projects in 2020. While the singles among us can wield a paintbrush as well as anyone else, this statistic makes sense: when you’re living with someone else, if either partner makes it a priority, the paint job gets done. That gives your home twice as much chance of getting a new coat of paint. What’s more, walls in homes with children tend to fall victim to chips, scratches, and impromptu undesired artwork that might need covering.
When queried on interior paint colors that would be popular in 2020 of the experts surveyed suggested cool neutrals. 20 percent suggested jewel tones would become popular: think bright, saturated colors. 14% suggested warm neutrals, and 9% cast a vote in favor of other color schemes and pastels.
For the living room, 45% percent of experts suggested white as the most popular color in 2020, followed by warm grey (40%). Mushroom, hazelnut, and mint were mentioned as other possibilities, but the vast majority of homeowners are likely to choose neutral, easy to match colors for their living room walls.
For small spaces, 37% of experts recommended the use of pale blue. Gray/green was the follow up color, with 22% of the votes. Other suggestions were sand and ivory. These colors could be accent colors, too; used for door knobs or window frames.
Fixr also asked the experts what color someone who wants to sell their house in 2020 should paint the exterior. If you plan on long-term residence, you can go with any color in the book, but if you’d like to get a good price on your house, neutral colors are recommended. White and grey tied for the top two color suggestions, with cream lagging behind as a distant third and dark green in fourth place.
It’s easy to see why this is the case. A white or grey exterior looks tidy, clean, and even a little stately. It may not trumpet individualism, but most prospective home-owners will not be expecting a house with their personal mark already on it—and they definitely don’t want yours.
One telling question on the survey probed deeper on the subject of grey. It had good popularity rankings for both interior and exterior paint, but not quite as solid of a following as it has in other years. Is gray on the way out?
The answer turns out to be yes. Only 20% of experts responded that gray is still popular. 57% responded that gray is waning, but people will still use it. 14% suggested that while gray is waning, fewer people would use it. 9% of the home improvement experts felt that grey was over, finished, done.
While grey is still a good color option this year, you may want to consider choosing another trendy color if you want a home that continues to be trendy without a new paint job. Warmer neutrals will do the trick for home interiors, and white is a never-fail choice for the outside of the house.
Paying attention to trends is important if you want your house to sell well, but it’s not everything. Whatever improvements you decide to make, in colors or doorknobs, make renovations that set the mood you want for your home: a peaceful, joyful atmosphere where you and those you love can relax and feel at home.