Interior Design

Benjamin Moore's Color of the Year Has All of the Cozy, Chill Vibes

It's comforting. It's relaxing. It's...

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October 11, 2018
11 Comments
Benjamin Moore's Color of the Year Has All of the Cozy, Chill Vibes
Photo by Benjamin Moore

It feels like just yesterday we were painting the town kitchen Caliente, with Benjamin Moore's pick for last-year's color. And it sounds like we're not alone in wishing we could hit the pause button, for a sec: stepping up to the plate as the hotly anticipated 2019 color of the year is a soft, silvery gray that epitomizes silence and serenity.

You can find us sitting by this window with a book for the next, well, forever.
You can find us sitting by this window with a book for the next, well, forever. Photo by Benjamin Moore

“Comforting, composed and effortlessly sophisticated, Metropolitan AF-690 exudes beauty and balance,” said Ellen O’Neill, Benjamin Moore director of strategic design intelligence, in the press release. “It’s a color in the neutral spectrum that references a contemplative state of mind and design. Not arresting nor aggressive, this understated yet glamorous gray creates a soothing, impactful common ground.”

In an interview with Architectural Digest, O'Neill comments on why a gray, neutral color palette resonates with her for 2019: "I came back to the office and I said, 'I don't know about any of you, but I need quietude. I need a pause. I need earplugs.' I don’t even know what was going on at the time, but it was just like, stop the aggression, the crescendo of voices, the cacophony of tweets and breaking news. It’s so invasive. I said, I know this is totally uncharacteristic of me personally, but I have a feeling that we should look in this [neutral] spectrum of colors."

Full disclosure: My kitchen has been this calm and clean approximately zero times.
Full disclosure: My kitchen has been this calm and clean approximately zero times. Photo by Benjamin Moore

As far as neutral-tone fandom goes, we're about as die-hard as it gets over here at Food52—we're basically like the Deadheads of oatmeal-shade linen. We've been touting "greige" since the days when Google still thought it was a typo:

Will this be the excuse we need to dial it up even one notch further? It's too soon to tell—frantically paints entire house Metropolitan AF-690 and downloads a deep-breathing app—but we're certainly not lodging any complaints over Benjamin Moore's choice.

Join The Conversation

Top Comment:
“Color of the year huh, isn't gray a tone---the absence of light combined with its opposite, black + white = Gray. Oh it's so sophisticated. Again. I'll date myself. My grandmother's house was a moderate gray outside, and a pale gray like this inside. In 1960, when much of the rest of the landscape was in heavy (as opposed to tropical) pinks, yellows and greens, and lighter seafoam greens. Then my parents painted our Oregon farm house a light gray in 1970. I painted my first apartment's kitchen, in Hollywood, a dove gray and installed a black and white tiled floor, in 1980. Within five years suddenly Gray was the new landlady tan. It came back in the nineties. It came back much darker in the aughts. And now we're breathlessly told it's the color of the year. Forgive me if I can't muster the appropriate enthusiasm.”
— Paul
Comment

Here are a few ways you can join us in (softly) celebrating this tranquil development:

Put Some Neutral Tones On Your Plate

Black Sesame Seed Ice Cream

Black Sesame Seed Ice Cream

Creamy Mushroom Soup

Creamy Mushroom Soup

Slow-Cooker Beef Stroganoff with Mushrooms
Baked Eggs with Mushrooms and Gruyere

Baked Eggs with Mushrooms and Gruyere

Is Activated Charcoal the Cure-All It's Said to Be?

Is Activated Charcoal the Cure-All It's Said to Be?

Is there any better tone with which to contextualize wistful gazing?
Is there any better tone with which to contextualize wistful gazing? Photo by Benjamin Moore

Deck Your Home In Soothing Grays

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Handcrafted Quilted Lumbar Throw Pillow $155–$165

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Grey Splatter Enamel Cake Stand

Grey Splatter Enamel Cake Stand $42

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[OLD] Grey Swirl Glass Shallow Bowls, Set of 4

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Handmade Studio TN Dinnerware

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Grey Swirl Glass Deviled Egg Tray

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One more, for good luck!
One more, for good luck! Photo by Benjamin Moore

What do you think—are you all in on gray, or do you prefer a pop of color? Let us know in the comments!

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Ella Quittner

Written by: Ella Quittner

Ella Quittner is a contributing writer and the Absolute Best Tests columnist at Food52. She covers food, travel, wellness, lifestyle, home, novelty snacks, and internet-famous sandwiches. You can follow her on Instagram @equittner, or Twitter at @ellaquittner. She also develops recipes for Food52, and has a soft spot for all pasta, anything spicy, and salty chocolate things.

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11 Comments

ELLE
ELLE December 10, 2018
UGLY!
 
kristine
kristine November 5, 2018
Yuck
 
Felicia O.
Felicia O. October 25, 2018
As Adam Duritz sang with Counting Crows in Mr. Jones, gray is my favorite color!
 
Tiffany R.
Tiffany R. October 16, 2018
Just did a tonal grey and grey/aqua bedroom and bathroom. I agree, too much cacophony and I needed a serene respite from it all.
 
Amanda L.
Amanda L. October 13, 2018
Grey all day!
 
Dallas G.
Dallas G. October 11, 2018
Boring and depressing. There are so many other beautiful colors to list your spirit. Just saying.
 
Helen K.
Helen K. October 11, 2018
I think it’s a lovely peaceful color that could be used in any room
 
Margaret L.
Margaret L. October 11, 2018
I agree. It also looks as though you could pull a lot of colors out of it. Pair it with lilac in a bath, celadon in a dining room, moss in a living room, navy in the kitchen, gold, silver, wrought iron, and copper all look great with it. (Unlike last year's pick, the hot-pepper Caliente, which did not "work and play well with others," as my elementary school report card said.) I'm sold!
 
Ella Q.
Ella Q. October 11, 2018
I agree—easy to pair!
 
Paul
Paul October 11, 2018
That's a gray, isn't it? Dove gray at some point? Color of the year huh, isn't gray a tone---the absence of light combined with its opposite, black + white = Gray. Oh it's so sophisticated. Again. I'll date myself. My grandmother's house was a moderate gray outside, and a pale gray like this inside. In 1960, when much of the rest of the landscape was in heavy (as opposed to tropical) pinks, yellows and greens, and lighter seafoam greens. Then my parents painted our Oregon farm house a light gray in 1970. I painted my first apartment's kitchen, in Hollywood, a dove gray and installed a black and white tiled floor, in 1980. Within five years suddenly Gray was the new landlady tan. It came back in the nineties. It came back much darker in the aughts. And now we're breathlessly told it's the color of the year. Forgive me if I can't muster the appropriate enthusiasm.
 
Teresa
Teresa February 3, 2019
Grey? Still? Are we there yet?