The 8 Paint Color Trends You're About to See Everywhere in 2023, According to Experts (2024)

The paint colors you surround yourself with are more than just a backdrop for your gallery walls and favorite reading nook: They can affect your mood, energy level, and mindfulness, making them a key element of your home aesthetic and lifestyle.

After a world-changing few years, where soothing greens, pale pinks, and cool neutrals helped create more calming indoor environments, expect to see the start of a return to more dramatic shades for 2023. "Strength, earthiness, and positivity: These are the feelings people will be hoping to inspire, so we'll be seeing rich, bold colors with lots of pigment and backbone," says paint and color expert Annie Sloan, creator of Chalk Paint. "There's been a thirst for joy-sparking hues and a lot of experimentation recently (long may it continue!) that shows no signs of slowing down."

Here, experts share the color families, specific shades, techniques, and trends that might just inspire a mini home makeover of your own.

All Shades of Brown

Whether you're charmed by the pale beiges of a coastal beach or the deep soil hues of your backyard garden, incorporating hues of warmer brown inspired by the world around you—instead of the cooler grays that have been popular recently—helps anchor and richen the atmosphere of your space.

"Brown is an earth tone, meaning it makes us feel grounded and more connected to nature," says Sue Wadden, director of color marketing at Sherwin-Williams. "People are looking to bring warmth into the home but they also are looking to bring energy into their spaces, and browns can help a space feel both warm and lively."

Wadden points to softer, lighter hues in the brown and beige color families, like Redend Point, Cool Beige, and Malted Milk. These are all alluring options for those interested in the brown color trend, since they inspire "self-care and providing care for others," she says.

A Range of Reds

In contrast to the ubiquitous blush pinks of the last few years, richer, more energetic reds will dominate in 2023. And we're not just talking about cherry shades—berry tones, wine hues, and bold magentas are here to stay. "For those who want to play around with red, but aren't ready to bring in the full brightness of the color, I recommend more muted and darker reds, like a blackberry or merlot," says Wadden. "My favorites are Red Barn and Carnelian."

Ready to go for it? Pantone's 2023 Color of the Year, Viva Magenta, is a crimson hue that balances warm and cool undertones. "Viva Magenta is a celebratory color—it's more active and has vigor attached to it," says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. "We are trying to encourage and uplift people who use it."

Warmer Neutrals

Neutral shades are the foundation of most color palettes, since they allow homeowners to adjust furniture, accessories, or accent walls without a full makeover. Next year, expect to see whites, beiges, tans, and grays with warmer undertones, say experts.

"There is certainly a move away from the cooler gray tones, so beloved for the last decade, to those that feel kinder and warmer," says Joa Studholme, color curator at Farrow & Ball. "We now want colors that are lasting experiences in our homes and reflect a little more of our personality." She suggests the brand's Stirabout and slightly stronger Jitney—both still have an underlying gray, but give homeowners a chance to embrace earthy, subtle tones that warm and nourish.

Behr's neutral pick for 2023 is Blank Canvas, a creamy, use-anywhere, goes-with-everything white. "Blank Canvas, a timeless warm white, is a great choice to create a clean and crisp feel in any setting," says Erika Woelfel, vice president of color and creative services. "It also works nicely when combined with a dark green like Vine Leaf, a blue-gray like Adirondack Blue, or even with a black tone like Cracked Pepper."

Green Everything

Green—one of the most popular color families for several years—remains a go-to shade. Expect to see it used increasingly as a neutral, and not just in olive, Kelly, or leaf-colored accents. "If you think of green in nature, we see it against everything—everything works against green," says Eiseman.

Pair it with tropical brights, like mauve, mango, peach, and aqua, or understated, comforting neutrals. "Greens are certainly an ongoing theme," says Eiseman. "It has that wonderful neutrality that makes it work with so many other shades."

"Shades of green, as a color that evokes nature, can be more calming and serene," says Clare founder Nicole Gibbons, noting that ocean, leaf, and forest shades are some of the brand's most popular.

Pairing Warm and Cool Tones

Eiseman thinks homeowners will lean into mixing warm and cool tones within the same room—using a turquoise or green to complement beige, adding a vibrant, blue-toned pop of purple against tan, or allowing a deep green to cool a warm brown. The overall goal, she says, is to offer ways to incorporate favorite items you already own—like a yellow bedspread, lavender plates, or pink vase—into updated palettes for a refreshed atmosphere.

"Trends are all about creating freshness and newness," she says. "We're not suggesting you throw everything out and start over. If you have things you love, using them in a new color combination can make all the difference."

If you do decide to mix warm and cool tones within the same space, just make sure you have an overarching vision based on one or the other, Eiseman cautions; use the second within your accents. "A room should never be so mixed up that you can't tell if it's warm or cool," she says. "One temperature should be more prevalent than the other."

Colors That Convey Comfort and Peace

Making your house feel like a home—inviting, cozy, and comfortable—remains a powerful motivator when picking paint, say our experts. "Overall, comfort will continue to be a key design element as we transition into 2023," says Sue Kim, director of color marketing at Valspar. "Shades that offer a soothing environment with nature's touch inside the home—that are also versatile in many spaces—will continue to be popular."

"A color like Cozy White evokes the feelings of warmth and security that come with being in familiar and comfortable surroundings—or a color like Southern Road is grounded and natural and embraces slowing down and the organic lifestyle," she adds.

Bold Accent Shades

Experts also anticipate seeing clients combine eye-catching shades in unexpected places—moving away from layers of white, ivory, beige, and cream layered into minimalist rooms and into more adventurous palettes and techniques. "We no longer have to stick to only thinking about color being used between the baseboard and the ceiling: Color can enhance our lives in a myriad of ways, be it checkered floors, colored trim, two colors with a tide line on walls, or a gloss ceiling," says Studholme.

Studholme believes that the most defining paint trend of 2023 will involve how we use color—not just the color itself. "People will become braver in using stronger colors, even if they use them in very small amounts. Think spicy Bamboozle on the inside of a closet just to make you smile, or earthy yellow, like India Yellow, painted on the reveals or frames of windows to create a constant feeling of sunshine," she says.

A More Colorful Aesthetic Overall

Open floorplans may have inspired many homeowners to use a single color throughout their entire space, but incorporating different tones into each area—or adding unexpected accents—allows you to create visual zones for different parts of your layout. "Since the pandemic, our houses have to work so much harder for us, as we need to zone areas to cook, work and play in, so we are introducing more color and using it in different ways," says Studholme.

At Clare, Gibbons and her team see "punchy, vibrant" colors drawing the most interest via social media and page views. "For the average person, there's something really aspirational about going outside of that beige or white box," she says. "People default to what's easy, so we're working on ways to inspire people more to step outside of that color comfort zone and try things that they otherwise wouldn't have considered. I think that's where the real magic happens."