The Paint Colors of the Year for 2025 are bold and bright, offering inspiration for homeowners to experiment with statement-making shades. These predominantly dark, dramatic colors support other hot interior design trends for 2025, including maximalism, color drenching, biophilia, the unexpected red theory and cozy homes.
In making their selections for 2025, the major paint companies placed significant weight on the emotional and psychological value of color, and how applying various colors and techniques can heighten the experience of being in a room, delivering comfort, calm, joy, or an invigorating jolt of energy.
These vibrant hues provide a creative conduit for color-curious homeowners, ready to make their mark on their homes, but perhaps needing a nudge to plunge into the color pool, after so many years of relative restraint and minimalist style.
Here is room-by-room, guided inspiration on how to incorporate the Paint Colors of the Year for 2025 into your home decor.
Creating a Luxe Living Room
The living room is the family room’s elegant cousin, usually reserved for formal use, depending on a home’s layout.
A formal living room requires color and decor choices that match the air of sophistication, which includes paint, of course, but also furnishings and accents.
That’s why Hannah Yeo, senior manager of Color Marketing for Benjamin Moore, recommends Cinnamon Slate, a heathery plum, brushed with brown, in the living room.
“We especially love this color for living rooms, where it pairs beautifully with leather furniture, warm woods and brushed gold metallic accents. ” says Yeo.
BEHR’s Rumors elevates the aesthetic, especially if your living room is elegantly styled with wood trim, where Rumors’ rich, red undertones add sultry layers to the visual texture.
“In a living room, Rumors creates a moody and sophisticated expression. You can also use wall detail like wainscotting to add more depth and visual interest,” says Erika Woelfel, BEHR’s VP of color and creative services.
Decadence in the Dining Room
Research from BEHR shows a growing love for red, with homeowners associating it with high-end hotels and luxurious hospitality spaces.
The regal quality of red makes it well suited for a formal dining room, setting the stage for an elegant celebration.
“Rumors creates an engaging ambiance where people gather including dining rooms and kitchens,” says Woelfel.
C2’s Raku, a warm red that presents with deep, earthy brown undertones, is also a good choice for a dining room, not only for its color quality, but because the paint color name is inspired by tradition and formal ceremony, the lynchpin of elegance in a dining room.
Kitchen Colors
After years of all-white kitchens, color is back in a big way in the heart of the home, and the Paint Colors of the Year for 2025 offer lots of inspiration for homeowners to create stunning and functional kitchen spaces.
Some homeowners are going all-out with dark and dramatic materials and finishes, while others are being selective for the purpose of emphasis.
Use Pantone’s Color of the Year Mocha Mousse- inspired paint colors to ease into a colorful kitchen, by applying this warm brown to the island only, or on the interior of cabinets.
Sherwin-Williams Color Capsule of the Year 2025, a collection of nine complementary colors, comes with a variety of choices, making it easy to mix and match and maintain visual continuity.
“For cabinetry, especially in kitchens, I recommend using Rain Cloud SW 9639 to create a colorful yet still moody and modern look,” says Sue Wadden, director of color marketing at Sherwin-Williams.
Or, apply bold color choices in a supporting role, to make other design features in the kitchen more prominent, especially with mixing metals, statement range hoods, high-end appliances and sleek counters that are worthy of the spotlight, all on their own.
PPG by Glidden’s Purple Basil is a good choice here too, says Alyson Ferrari, PPG color expert, Glidden brand.
“In the kitchen, you can use it for trim and cabinetry to create a warm, cozy feel that ties well with white counters and gold appliances.”
Beautiful Bedrooms
Color in bedrooms plays a crucial role. The right color choice will contribute to creating a calm sanctuary that invites and supports rest. Similarly, bedrooms, especially primary bedrooms, are deeply personal spaces that logically are the perfect room to experiment with colors that are meaningful to you.
“I love the idea of using our dark browns Clove or Grounded in primary bedrooms, to create a dramatic, luxurious, yet restorative sanctuary,” says Wadden.
However, Wadden reveals her personal choice leans more towards color neutrality. “ I’m also biased towards recommending Sunbleached for bedrooms, since it’s currently the color on my bedroom walls.”
Yeo recommends the use of visual texture in the bedroom. “Layering Cinnamon Slate with neutrals creates an enveloping ambiance,” ideal for a good night’s sleep.
“Try color drenching your bedroom,” with Purple Basil, suggests Ferrari, “for a rare feeling of luxury and sophistication,” she says.
The minimal visual transitions that come with color drenching are innately calming, important in a bedroom.
Spa-Like Bathrooms
Another one of 2025’s hot interior design trends is creating a spa-like ambience in your bathroom, and color is an important part of that.
“For bathrooms, especially guest bathrooms, I recommend using Mauve Finery for a unique colorful yet soft look. This shade is ideal for the space given this color’s soothing characteristics, to create a spa-like environment,” says Wadden.
“Pairing this shade with Malabar takes this look even further with a lovely soft and feminine feel,” Wadden says.
Green is having a moment, and is one of the more effective color choices to recreate the spa vibe. HGTV Home by Sherwin Williams’ Quietude is a good choice, as one of the more muted color choices this year, with sage and blue influences.
A powder room is the perfect place to experiment with dark colors without too much of a commitment. Minwax’s playful purple, aptly named Violet, is a fun and fancy choice to deck out this smaller space.
Foyer and Hallways
Don’t forget about secondary spaces in your home, that still play a role in communicating your style.
Yeo suggests Cinnamon Slate is a good choice for both hallways and the foyer.
“This hue also works wonders in smaller spaces, offering a striking color moment while maintaining a sense of softness. Consider it for entryways, welcoming guests with warmth, or hallways that showcase artwork and photographs,” she says.
Or, use a strategy where color is presented with accents, against a relatively neutral backdrop, such as with Valspar’s cool blue Encore.
“Encore adds a playful pop of color when painted on doors and trim paired with neutrals in hallways,” says Sue Kim, director of color marketing at Valspar.
Calm and Colorful Home Office
Last year’s Paint Colors of the Year were predominantly blue, and for the most part, less saturated than this year’s offerings. However, a couple of blues remain on the radar, including a medium blue with yellow and grey undertones from Dutch Boy: Mapped Blue.
Its contemplative, calm vibe makes it a good choice for home office, where you need to balance productivity with the ability to take a breath and mindfully attack a lengthy to-do list.
Cuddle up and be Cozy in a Reading Room
Feeling cozy at home is an overarching goal with a number of the paint color choices presented this year, including Truffle by Stainmaster, one of the richer colors from 2025’s selections. A sweet and sultry brown, Stainmaster suggests enveloping a room with this warm brown to re-create the cozy comfort of a cave.
It’s a good choice for a reading room, or a den.
For Decor and Accents
Paint Colors of the Year for 2025 are not just about applying colors to the walls, but are effective when applied to decor and accent pieces, for purposeful contrast.
Encore’s cool blue “looks beautiful painted on wood paneling, such as beadboard, shiplap and board-and-batten,” says Kim.
Or, embrace the principles behind the unexpected red theory and scatter pops of red around your space for dramatic contrast.
“Using Rumors on a smaller scale like revitalizing a bench, a planter or a fireplace mantel will instantly elevate the surrounding space and bring eye-catching appeal,” says Woelfel.
Use one of the jeweled-tone purples for a striking accent wall that is paired with wallpaper, such as Purple Basil. “It adds an additional element of energy and harmony that makes your patterns pop,” says Ferrari.
Colorful Home Exteriors
It’s encouraged to go bold outside your home, as well as inside. You might not be prepared to paint your house purple, but what about an eye-catching front door?
“Purple Basil adds major curb appeal to exterior accents like front doors and shutters,” says Ferrari.
Blue is a popular exterior color, especially with the popular Crafstman and Victorian housing styles.
“Encore lends a sense of atmosphere when used in exteriors, such as house siding or upcycled outdoor furniture,” says Kim.
Rethinking Neutrals
A clever color strategy is to style a room in neutrals, and then add pops of color with accents and decor. One of the main benefits of this approach is that you can quickly and inexpensively change up your aesthetic, without a major commitment to one color over another.
With this year’s roster of color choices, neutrals have been redefined, moving away from traditional whites, creams and taupes for base colors in favor of warm hues such as Dunn-Edwards’ terracotta-inspired Carmelized, and Pantone’s low-key chic Mocha Mousse.
The warmth of both of these shades make them a good choice in a kitchen or bathroom, to counter the sterility of hard surfaces, which are usually abundant in these rooms.
Pick accents that will amplify the warmth that these colors offer, with a focus on textured materials like linen, boucle or wool, soft furnishings and metals with cozy undertones, like rose gold, brushed brass or brushed gold.
For paint and home decor goods, Mocha Mousse works both as a neutral base, or as a rich accent.
