Sherwin Williams color of the year is Evergreen Fog, a gray-green shade

• Sherwin-Williams has chosen Evergreen Fog as the official color of the year 2022.
• The paint maker’s latest choice is a soft gray-green mid-tone.
• Sherwin Williams director Sue Wadden told Insider that the shadows are all about “positivity”.

Sherwin-Williams has chosen Evergreen fog – a soft gray-green hue – as the color of the year for 2022. Each year, the paint manufacturer’s global color and design team selects a specific hue to convey topics that should appeal to consumers. For the year 2022 this means resurrection and renewal.

“We wanted to talk about positivity,” Sue Wadden, director of color marketing for Sherwin-Williams, told Insider. “What was the color that symbolized this idea of ​​rebirth and resurrection? This is where green really comes in. Green is the color of nature and rebirth and all of those positive associations with nature and growth.”

Choosing a particular green would be more of a challenge for the Sherwin-Williams team. In addition to choosing a color of the year, this team is also charged with publishing an annual color forecast. The group considered an avocado hue and a dark, deep hue until they “fell in love” with the soft, medium-tone Evergreen Fog.

Evergreen Fog marks a change for Sherwin-Williams. For the past two years, darker colors – deep blue naval and gray-brown urban bronze – have taken the top spots. Watten said that Evergreen Fog can be combined with natural textiles and metals like gold and brass.

When organizing photo shoots for Evergreen Fog, Wadden and her team looked for an organic, modern “vibe,” a style trend that focuses on sustainable materials, plants, and natural light. But Wadden emphasized that the gray-green color could complement a number of styles, including rustic, cottage-core, and granny-chic.

“It’s a really usable color from the inside out,” she said. “When you talk about modern vintage – retro interiors – it’s great there too, because it’s a nostalgic color in various uses.”

Vintage styles had a moment during the pandemic when millennials and Gen Z turned to retro looks to decorate their new homes: reused and recycled decor was touted as both sustainable and fashionable.

The Sherwin Williams team recommended Evergreen Fog for both private and commercial use. Wadden said it was a “versatile color” that would work in bedrooms and kitchens and even in closets and paneling. The only place the director of color marketing warned consumers not to use it was on the walls of a bathroom.

“Sometimes green doesn’t work in a bathroom because you can see a green tinge on your face in the mirror when you put makeup on,” she said. “You can look a little jaundiced if you don’t have natural light in your bathroom.”

Even so, Wadden is considering adding Evergreen Fog to her own bathroom.

“I’m considering painting my vanity this color because I think it’s great,” she said.