From the Sherwin Williams website

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! I wish you all good health, lasting peace, and lots of love and laughter in 2012.

To kick off the year, Sherwin Williams (whose paint products and palettes I frequently recommend to my clients and friends), have published their 2012 color palette forecast, with 40 hues that “stick close to home with earth-inspired, color family groupings…”.

I think the promotional material is accurately descriptive: blues a “…soothing palette (that) celebrates a pair of functional and treasured blues: denim and water…”; reds include “…hues of brilliant flowers and glowing embers…”; greens “…an eclectic palette (that) focuses on greens that are lush, moody and complex…”; and neutrals “…a field of grain, a pile of pebbles, weathered wood and earthen clay… an understated yet refined palette…”   Yummy!

You can view the forecast at swcolor.com – and be sure to check out the beautifully-crafted videos that accompany each group.  You’ll find information about the newly-developed zero VOC primer to accompany the zero VOC paint (the ProMar 200 series) that became available earlier in 2011. There’s also a Color Visualizer on the site, and a smart ‘phone app for color-matching. Browsing lush paint colors feels a bit like finger-painting for grown-ups … enjoy!