#behr – America's Color Consultants

America’s Color Consultants (ACC), the nation’s first color consulting franchise, is pleased to introduce its first “Real” Colors of the Year choice for 2023. While the major paint companies spend millions to introduce their colors for the coming year, ACC takes a different approach. ACC franchisees help their clients select colors they’ll love for more than 6-12 months. The average, real homeowner – those who use ACC services – paint their interiors an average of 5-8 years and exteriors 10-15 years.They may add to their interior furnishings, but few change everything enough to necessitate a wild swing in paint color. A color refresh, yes, but few ever ask about the vibrant hues offered as the color or palette for the coming year. Quite the opposite: occasionally a new client will ask “you’re not going to tell me to paint any of those loud colors of the year I see are you?” We assure them that what we select with them will work with their furnishings, and set the mood they want for each space while still looking fresh. ACC sees the trends of the past few years continuing for another five: the turn to neutrals for living spaces. Neutrals do not mean just shades of white or gray, but any subdued color. They can be warm or cool: Paper Mache, Baby Fawn, and Silver Strand are just a few of the colors that have proven popular and usable time and again.

Greek Villa, Sherwin-Williams 7551, is ACC’s first “Real” Color of the Year for 2023. For a space refresh or for resale staging purposes, it works in just about all situations and no client has ever been unhappy with this choice.

On occasion we suggest a color (or 2 or 3!) that a client may not have considered for their space. Our second color is Benjamin Moore’s Dark Celery (2146-10), a bold rich choice for the right space that works with neutrals, grays, as well as deeper jewel tones. It is also the compliment color to Pantones Magenta.

Sherwin Williams – Introducing Redend Point SW 9081, the Sherwin-Williams 2023 Color of the Year. In this soft and soulful neutral, we know what it is to feel cared for, to appreciate what we have, to create deeper connections as we move through the world.
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Benjamin Moore – Raspberry Blush 2008-30 strikes the right chord, setting the stage for Color Trends 2023.Never a backdrop, Raspberry Blush is the definition of charismatic color. This unapologetic shade of red orange had us thinking: bold, bolder, boldest. This sentiment flows through the rest of the palette as we immerse ourselves in hues that make a statement. Inspired by an artist’s desire to communicate through color, shape, and sound, Color Trends 2023 was built to envelop you in vivacious color.
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Behr – The 2023 Color of the Year is a hopeful and welcoming warm white with limitless possibilities to help transform any vision into a reality. BLANK CANVAS DC-003

PPG – PPG and Glidden paint by PPG announced their 2023 Color of the Year: Vining Ivy (PPG1148-6) – an energizing, yet grounding blue-green that can be used in any space. Its versatility takes the guesswork out of design, leaving consumers with more time to indulge in the things that matter most to them.
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Pantone – Pantone’s Color of the Year, Viva Magenta 18-1750, vibrates with vim and vigor. It is a shade rooted in nature descending from the red family and expressive of a new signal of strength. Viva Magenta is brave and fearless, and a pulsating color whose exuberance promotes a joyous and optimistic celebration, writing a new narrative.
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A few years ago, I received a call from a desperate homeowner. She told me she had hired an interior designer, and she just hated her new living room. She told me that the room was beautiful, but she just felt something was wrong.

When I arrived for the consultation, I looked at the room: it was beautiful. She had paid about $14,000 for the new furnishings and paint job. So why did she feel it was not right?

It was because she hated blue, and the entire room was decorated in shades of blue.

What is the difference between a paint color consultant and an interior designer?

Not all interior designers are experts in color or paint. They are experts on styles and products. Color is often just a single class in an interior designer’s degree program. Interior designers make their money on upselling products – buying at a significant professional discount and reselling to the client. The paint color of the room is often dictated by the available products for that year.

The Color Marketing Group works on forecasting future color trends which then defines product development and the colors that will be used that season. Interior designers often follow trends and buy those products for their clients.

Paint color consultants are experts on color. Their training is all about how paint is made, used, applied and perceived. Paint color consultants can improve the look of a room with color, at the same time using either existing furnishings or new. Understanding a client’s color perception and mutual communication is key. A good consultant will listen closely to the likes and dislikes of their clients, and will consider lighting, use and mood when helping select the perfect color for a specific space. Not everyone wants to change everything: nor can they afford to. A carefully selected paint color can go a long way to refresh any space.

So what did we do for the desperate homeowner? We could not do anything about the blue patterned rug and blue sofa and blue chairs. We DID change the color of the walls to a soft shade of white, removed some blue pillows, changed out the blue chairs with others we shopped from another room, and recommended the use of an analogous color (that we selected together) for accents to distract from the blue overuse.

Now she loves her new living room.

(BTW: We would never recommend blue if blue was strongly disliked.)

Tag: #behr

America’s Color Consultants “Real” Colors of the Year

Interior Designer or Paint Color Consultant?