This Color Will Be Everywhere in 2019

We know, we know: It’s only June. Thinking ahead to 2019 sounds like an impossible feat when we’re trying to enjoy the (very) beginning of summer, but for anyone planning a large-scale renovation or a move to a new house in the new year, getting ahead of the color trends is key. And it looks like the first of the 2019 Color of the Year announcements is officially here—this time, courtesy of PPG Paints.

The color in question? Night Watch—a deep, luxurious shade of green hand-selected by PPG’s team of global color experts. After analyzing the runway, lifestyle, demographic, geographic, and global trends from the past year, the team decided that the overarching theme was a desire to be more closely connected to nature.

If, right about now, you’re thinking that the closest you’re personally interested in getting to nature is the salad bar at Whole Foods, know that the choice is more about what nature represents. According to Dee Schlotter, PPG’s senior color marketing manager, the calm and resiliency that nature symbolizes was the main draw for choosing Night Watch.

“The urge to reconnect with nature is driven by today’s tumultuous, still somewhat rebellious, always connected society. This was a recurring theme that our experts from around the world touched upon during this year’s Global Color Workshop,” she explains. “For example, empty space in our lives—such as downtime waiting for a bus or lulls in conversation—tends to be filled with the use of our smartphones. Being surrounded by Night Watch can give some of that empty space back by pulling our memories of natural environments to the surface to recreate the calming, invigorating euphoria we feel when in nature.”

A close runner up to Night Watch was Golden Field, an equally opulent mustard yellow color, suggesting that jewel tones will be big in the coming year. Night Watch, a more easily adaptable color for homeowners, was ultimately chosen for its versatility and more accurate representation of the zeitgeist—although, it is only one of 200 colors in the PPG 2019 Global Color Trends Forecast, which is definitely worth checking out if you’re interested in finding an equally trendy complementary color for your future Night Watch-filled home.

Speaking of versatility, one of the great things about having a deep, fairly uncontroversial color like this (ahem, Ultra Violet) to decorate with is that the possibilities are endless. Go big with a statement-making paint color like Night Watch on the walls, or try an accent wall. Offset lighter wooden accents with the deep color for something more casual, or bring in gold and brass accents to counteract the jewel tone for something that screams opulence.  

“If you are looking to envelop a full space in the color, it can be great to help define niche spaces in homes by giving the space significant attention,” offers Schlotter, who recommends a pairing of millennial pink or pebble gray for the deep green hue.

And if this color sounds familiar to you, it should: Pantone famously chose Greenery, a lighter (but still decidedly nature-inspired) shade for its 2017 Color of the Year. Like Night Watch, Greenery was chosen for its refreshing and revitalizing properties, suggesting that perhaps not much has changed in the cultural climate in the past two years.

“To me, Night Watch symbolizes this distraction-free euphoria that you seem to only find in nature today,” continues Schlotter. “When I’m hiking with my family and we pass others along the paths in the woods, we can’t help but notice how engaged and happy everyone is. I love that one of the main influences tied to color trends for 2019 is nature.”

How do you feel about Night Watch?

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