June 29, 2024 • 39 mins
In this episode of the RepcoLite Home Improvement Show, Dan interviews Andrea Magno, the Director of Color Marketing and Design at Benjamin Moore. They discuss the history and process behind selecting Benjamin Moore's Color of the Year, the influence of cultural and societal factors on color trends, and how these trends come back in new ways. Andrea shares insights into the inspirations and research that drive their color selections and offers advice on choosing the right paint color for your home. The conversation also touches on current interior and exterior trends and the importance of color in creating a desired atmosphere in a space.00:00 Introduction and Special Guest Announcement00:44 History of Benjamin Moore's Color of the Year04:53 The Process of Selecting the Color of the Year12:06 The Impact and Use of Color Trends19:01 Tips for Choosing the Right Paint Color25:04 Exploring Favorite Color Collections30:42 Current and Future Color Trends37:09 Conclusion and Upcoming Color Reveal
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Episode Transcript
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(00:02):
Well, good morning everybody. You'relistening to the Repco Lite Home Improvement Show,
and quite honestly, you're going tobe really happy. You are more
happy than normal, if that's ifthat's even possible, I know that's tough
to believe, but this week's episodeis going to be a bit different.
The whole thing is a conversation thatI had with Andrea Magno from Benjamin Moore.
And if that name doesn't ring abell for you, Andrea is the
(00:23):
director of Color Marketing and Design,and she plays a key role in the
development of color tools and color research, and on top of all of that,
she heads up the search for BenjaminMoore's Color of the Year. She
and her team are constantly working toposition Benjamin Moore as a leader in the
world of color, and we're reallyexcited to have her on the show today.
Andrea, it's good to talk toyou. Thanks, it's great to
(00:44):
be here. Now. I wantto get into a big conversation on what
you do and what you think aboutcolor and trends and all of that.
But let's start with Color of theYear. You play a major role when
it comes to the big reveal everyOctober. Let's just begin there. How
long has Benjamin Moore been doing thiswhole color of the Year thing? So
actually, it's kind of funny.It has been going on for separate decades.
(01:07):
As a matter of fact, Iwas actually recently going through our archives
and I found some trend reports goingall the way back to the early sixties.
So the difference is that, youknow, while there were trend reports
happening, you know, year afteryear after year, it really wasn't until
i'd say about ten years ago thatit started becoming a really big thing where
(01:30):
we had you know, events anda virtual launch and you know, so
on and so forth. But evenI would say, going all the way
back to about two thousand and five, Benjamin Moore has had a brochure and
some of the different collateral that goesalong with it. Sure, but I
think I think over time, youknow, more and more people have become
interested in it, and it's becomethis anticipated announcement, you know. So
(01:53):
you know, so it's it's funny, you know, people think, oh,
you know, maybe this is somethingthat's a new phenomenon for the past
ten fifteen years, but you know, it's impressive to see the way that
trends had been tracked, you know, many years ago. Now, you
said you went back through archives andyou found stuff going back to the sixties.
(02:13):
How cyclical are some of these colortrends that you see, Well,
you know, I mean it hasa lot to do with, you know,
what's going on in the world,and you know, is it a
time of optimism? Is it atime when things are a little bit uncertain?
And that's I think a component thatcomes into what colors people are really
gravitating towards. So if it's areal optimistic time, you know, you're
(02:36):
going to see the more bold andbright, happy kinds of colors, whereas
when it's you know, uncertain,it's a little bit more comforting, that
sort of thing. But then thereare also some correlations that you can make
between colors being a little bit warmer, a little bit cooler, you know.
So there's a lot, there's alot that goes into it, and
it's very interesting to track over timethe way that it changed and the way
(03:00):
that things come back. You know, I mean you look at you know,
colors from the seventies, right therewas a lot of brown, a
lot of greens. We're seeing alot of that now. You know,
I know, those of us whogrew up with it, you know,
I remember the gold carpet, goldshake carpet, and the avocado you know,
appliances. I don't need more ofthat in my life. But it
(03:23):
is funny to see younger people,Wow, look at this. This is
really cool, right, It's true, It's true. And then you get
into some of that, you know, the nostalgia, you know, some
some different things like oh it's vintage, are right? You know that that
absolutely is so true because you know, even though I don't really have a
great vibe towards those some of thosecolors, part of the time, it
(03:46):
really does tug at you. Youknow, that's what grandma had, and
that's what my mom had when wewere growing up. Who knows. It
comes back in a fresh, newway, right, So it's not exactly
the same, but you know theremight be notes, say whatever year,
but then you know it's got awhole new, revamped persona. So it
feels current, right, well,and that's cold and that's really good because
(04:10):
I've seen and I'm sure you've seen. You know, fashion is connected to
this. You know, it's kindof strange how that works, but I've
seen all kinds of ads. Idon't know why lately, but from seventies,
you know, clothing, clothing adsand guys wearing these ridiculous plaid shorts,
and so I know, these thingscome back. I'm glad they come
back in a little more modern versionof themselves, so I can tolerate them
(04:32):
a little better. That's true.All right. How long have you been
heading up this whole color of theyear thing. I've been involved in it
for many years. I would saysince about twenty fourteen. I started becoming
really involved with it, and Iwould say heading it up since about twenty
twenty one. All right, allright, all right, So this year's
(04:54):
color it's blue Nova. I guesstalk to us about the process. You
know, what goes into picking acolor of the year. So there's a
lot, there's a lot that goesinto it, you know. I mean
it may not seem that way atface value, but you know, there's
a number of months of research thatwe do, whether it's travel, it's
(05:15):
you know, international travel, it'sdomestic travel, it's going to different events,
it's going to you know, lookingat what's happening at retail, looking
at what's happening culturally, socially indesign, you know, different even looking
at influences in art, you know, in the way that colors are used
together, even if it's artwork,you know, you're you're walking through a
(05:35):
museum and it's a piece of youknow, it's a painting from you know,
two hundred years ago. But maybethere's something about the way that colors
being used that you're seeing replicated andother things happening today. And so basically
what we'll do is right when weso if we launch in October, immediately
after we launch, we're already thinkingabout the next year. So you know,
(05:58):
our antenna goes up. We're lookingto see, you know, what's
happening in the world. And soour team, everyone individually is pulling together
all of these bits and pieces,taking pictures of anything in everything that just
catches our eye. And honestly,nothing is off limits. I mean,
if you see a car that isin some you know, really interesting finish
or an interesting color, take pictureof it. Really anything, you know,
(06:21):
anything is brought to the table.And then what we'll do is get
together as a team and start workshoppingit and synthesizing it to see you know,
how are the puzzle pieces fitting together? Is there a color family that's
really standing out? You know?And usually when everybody is gravitating towards maybe
(06:43):
cooler colors, normal colors, particularcolor family, that's where, you know,
we start to say, Okay,there's definitely a story starting to unfold
here, and you know what,how is the concept, you know,
what is happening in the world thatis going to be part of whatever the
concept will be. How can wethen articulate that through color and looking at
(07:04):
the colors that we've been seeing throughall of our travels. So there's a
number of things that are happening concurrently. Yeah, and it's really amazing the
way that everything starts to come togetherand really really form this narrative that really
shapes what we put out there.Then, you know, several months later,
(07:24):
so I would say by end ofJanuary, we usually have the color
and the palette picked out, soit's picked out well in advance. Yeah,
So you start in October right afterthe reveal, you don't get any
breaks at all. You go straightinto it again, and by January you've
already got it figured out. Yeah. Yeah, and it takes a while.
(07:46):
You know, when you think aboutall of the different pieces, whether
it's the photo shoot and planning forall of the different components and you know,
building out all the you know,whether it's trainings and presentation and so
there's there's a number of moving partsand it takes time. So you know,
to stick to our timeline. Wedo have everything pretty locked in in
(08:07):
the first quarter. Yeah. Wow. How much stress does this bring about?
I mean, is it just allsheer joy the whole time or is
there a level of stress that happensas you're choosing that next color. You
know, it's not choosing the colorand working on the palette is really not
stressful. I think it's more amatter of iterating, you know. I
(08:30):
mean sometimes we'll land on a paletteor we'll have you know, sort of
a sketch of a direction, andeverybody's really on board. We think it's
great, and then we'll come backliterally two days later and say, huh,
what were we thinking? That justdoesn't see right, it's not hitting
the right note. And that's where, you know, and that's the most
part of the fun of it,where you know, you keep iterating,
(08:50):
you kind of keep working the paletteso that way, we get it to
a place where we all feel reallygood about it and we have a really
solid story to put out there.You know, that's a really important part
of it. And unfortunately, youknow, I would say that, you
know, the team is very agreeable, you know, I mean that we'll
(09:11):
definitely have some healthy debates over somecolors, typically colors that maybe are a
little bit more wild, maybe thatyou know, maybe are a little bit
more daring for a paint color.But you know, we do have we
have very good relationships. We're luckyso that we do land in a place
where everybody feels heard and you know, the different things we're seeing or represented.
(09:33):
How big is that team. It'sonly six of us. Wow.
Yeah, well so if it gotugly, it'd get ugly fast. So
it's a good thing that everybody.Everybody works out, you know, it
works out fairly well. I lovewhat you said about, you know,
the story finding that story. Idon't know what role you played when simply
(09:56):
white came out, uh huh afew years back, and I remember hearing,
oh my goodness, simply white,how can that be the color of
the year? You know, AndI love the story behind that. You
know, and I got behind theidea of you know, white doesn't need
to be this sterile atmosphere like Ihad had anticipated, you know, the
(10:16):
story to be the narrative to be. I couldn't imagine a narrative, and
yet the narrative was so great withthat, and it really helped, you
know, propel that that color forward, at least in our conversations. You
know, we sell paint and we'retalking to people, and it was really
fun to have that story. Thatstory so important for selling the color and
the idea of it. Yeah,yeah, no, for sure, And
(10:37):
that was that was a good Thatwas a lot of fun that year because
we kind of looked at it fromdifferent personas and the way that different creative
people would use the color white andyou know, how it would come to
life in their home and what theywould pair it with, you know,
like we had a cerammesist was oneof our personas. One was a gallery
(11:00):
owner, you know, so itwas almost even thinking about the undertones of
white, right, there's so manyvariations of white, and how we were
able to you know, bring thatto life in a home that had exposed
wood beams and maybe you know,it was a little bit of a warmer
white, whereas in another home itwas a cooler white, and then the
colors that were paired with it fella little bit to the cooler side.
(11:22):
So you know, that was andI would say that was probably the first
year where we had the big event, and you know, I think that
was when the whole anticipation for colortrends and color of the year really started
to take some solid momentum. Allright, I think we're going to hit
pause right there and take a quickbreak, and then I'll be back with
(11:43):
more of my conversation with Andrea Magna. Stick around and we're back. You're
listening to the Repcolite Home Improvement Showand in the middle of a conversation with
Andrea Magno, the director of colorMarketing and Design at Benjamin Moore. Now,
(12:07):
Andrea, my next question. It'sa little bit long winded, but
when it comes to color trends andcolors of the year, how do you
envision people using them? I mean, last year's color was raspberry blush,
and it kind of seemed more likea conceptual color. I guess what I
mean is it felt like you weregiving bold, saturated color the Okay,
not necessarily use this one, butjust use something with some color. Now,
(12:30):
as you and your team work todistill everything that you're seeing into the
color of the year for any givenyear, do you anticipate people will be
using that exact color in all kindsof different applications throughout their homes and businesses
because it's been named a color ofthe year or do you unveil the color
of the year kind of as anidea? You know, basically with blue
nova, are you telling people youmay want to consider blue. We're going
(12:52):
to see a lot of it intwenty twenty four and here's a great blue
you might want to think about,long, long question, But what's your
idea behind how these colors get used? Well, so you have it,
You have it exactly right with twentytwenty three with raspberry blush. Yes,
that was definitely a bold color andand really it was it was really intended
(13:16):
to be more conceptual. I think, you know, you put it really
well where you know, what wewere feeling that year was you know,
we were kind of coming out ofeveryone being shut in their house, We're
on lockdown. You know, peoplewere just looking for color, you know,
and we were we were hearing thatagain and again, you know,
in different conversations. It was peoplewere like, you know, it's been
(13:39):
all neutrals for a number of years. Neutrals are great, but I need
a moment of color. And sothat's where that's where we felt like,
you know what, here's our opportunityto really go for it and make that
color statement. And and like yousaid, you know, we knew that,
you know, we were going tohave cans of raspberry blush flying off
(14:03):
the shelves, and that really wasn'tI mean, I'll be honest, like,
that really wasn't our intention. Youknow, we we wanted to spark
the idea of using a boulder colorand if it wasn't one of the colors
in that palette, that's fine.It was more about just getting people to
think about, you know, maybethey had some smaller room in their house
(14:24):
where it was an opportunity to playa little bit or you know, dip
their toe in the water, touse a color that was either brighter or
darker or whatever the case may be. That could be a break from where
their color comfort zone falls. Andso so you know, you have that
exactly right, you know, Imean, it was kind of like,
(14:46):
huh, you know, maybe maybeI should look at something that you know,
is outside of the you know,revere pewters and white doves of the
world. Right, sure, butyou know, and I did see there
were a number of in the thatwere sent into us of customers who did
use colors from the palette, andthey weren't fabulous. You know, I
(15:07):
really like I remember there was akind of almost like a vestibule, like
a very small space in a house, kind of like a hallway, little
area that this I think she wasa designer. She painted it in raspberry
blosh the molding, the walls.It looked fantastic and it was just this
small moment of color that just sortof like punctuated the space, and it
(15:31):
was really it was it was reallyinspiring. I wish I had a spotlight
where I could have done something likethat in my home. So you know,
so yes, you have, youhave that exactly right. And I
would say too that you know,when we put our Color Trends palette and
the Color of the Year out there, it's not a you know, mandate
to run out and use one ofthese colors. It's really what I look
(15:54):
at it as it's this opportunity tobring you know, to highlight these colors
that maybe nobody's noticed in the collection. You know, it's really binding these
hidden gems and sparking these ideas onhow to look at color differently or you
know, widen the consideration set,you know. I mean there's a number
(16:14):
of colors. It's always interesting tosee, you know, what are the
colors that we wind up going througha lot of samples that we sell a
lot of the samples. You know, what are the colors that are almost
I call it like a sleeper colorthat people really like, they really latch
onto, you know. So it'sit's a lot of fun, but it's
it's all about you know, havingthat color conversation, getting people inspired.
(16:40):
You know, it's not you betterrun out and paint your room X y
Z color because otherwise you'll be outof style. It's really just a matter
of you know, getting people inthe mindset and expanding their horizons. You
know, that was a big thatwas a big part of this year was
really you know, getting people toexpand their color horizons. So with blue
(17:02):
nova, yes, yeah, it'sit's a you know, blue is a
comfort color for me. You know, and if I like it, that
means other people should like it.That's how we roll for that. But
it's an unusual one. You know, it's got a little more of that
violet to it or a little bitof a purple le very very you know,
light undertone, but it's there,and it's just not the normal blue
that I would use. And yetit's really intriguing for that reason. I
(17:26):
like that. I like that itpushes me a little bit outside. It's
still a zone that I feel somewhatcomfortable in, but I am stretching a
little bit. Yep, yeah,yeah, exactly. And you know,
in looking at twenty twenty three,Starry Night Blue was you know, that
was a really striking color, andBlue Nova felt almost like a slightly more
(17:47):
muted still you know, strong andthen you know, standalone kind of color,
but it felt more livable. Sothat was almost you know, like
looking at the color progression, youknow, blue Nova is definitely not a
you know, timid color i'll callit, but it's you know, it
definitely makes a statement, but itfelt more livable than you know, maybe
the colors that we had in twentytwenty three. But you know, it's
(18:12):
it really has that mystical, youknow, mysterious kind of quality to it
that we really fell in love with. No, I think that was great.
I really like that. I mean, for what that's worth. Now,
you guys, can you can takethat to your team let them know.
Dan from Repcollect well, big thumbsup. Color is so powerful,
you know, that's what we're talkingabout, and it's really what determines how
(18:34):
we feel about a given space andhow we feel in that space. And
because that's so true, we reallyneed to make sure we get that color
right when we tackle paint project.Now, when we come back, we're
going to be getting Andrea's recommendations forhow you do exactly that. That's all
just ahead, stick around and we'reback. You're listening to the Repcolite Home
(19:03):
Improvement Show and we're in the middleof a conversation that I had last week
with Andrea Magno from Benjamin Moore.Now, Andrea is the director of Color
Marketing and Design at Benjamin Moore,and we ended the last segment talking about
how important color is on a paintproject. In fact, it kind of
feels that color is more important,at least in my mind, than the
(19:25):
paint itself. You know, youcould have the right paint, and that's
really important. You've got to havethe right paint because that determines how long
a space is going to look greatand hold up. So I don't mean
that paint doesn't matter. The paintquality itself doesn't matter. But really,
I could paint my walls with apaint that's as durable as steel. You
know, it's going to last aslong as marble. But if I hate
the color, I don't think thatdurability is going to matter to me one
(19:47):
little bit. Really, you know, color really trumps almost everything I think.
So with that said, we gota lot of people out there who
have projects on the horizon. Ifthey're just starting that search for the right
color for their next project, whatwould you recommend that they do so they
achieve the best results possible. Well, I think a lot of times,
you know, it's it's interesting youkind of have two camps of people.
(20:08):
There will be the people who havea decent idea of where they want to
be color wise, and then youhave people who have no idea where to
begin. So for the people whoreally don't know where to start, you
know, that's where it's useful totake a moment to you know, find
some points of inspiration, you know, and it doesn't have to be anything
(20:30):
crazy. It's you know, goonline, you know, even scrolling through
you know, Instagram and looking atsome of the images from different companies,
or it's even thinking about, youknow, what are the colors that you
wear and you feel best in them, or is there maybe a picture from
a vacation or a hotel that youstayed in where you know there was something
(20:53):
really striking, you know, likefind any any point of inspiration is a
great starting point, right and thenmaybe you know, if you're you're a
little bit more you know, furtherdown the funnel, I would say,
if there's something in this space tobe painted that you can use as a
point of inspiration, that's useful too, you know, like maybe it's an
(21:14):
area rug or you know, acountertop has you know, marble banting or
something like that. But taking atthe time to find that that that uh,
you know, hug that you canwork from is so important because it's
going to be really instrumental and narrowingdown the colors and then and then it's
a matter of figuring out, youknow, do you want it to be
(21:37):
darker? Do you want it tobe lighter? And you know, you
kind of go step by step tofigure out, you know, to narrow
down within a particular color family,and then once you get to the point
where you have a small number ofcontenders, maybe it's three colors, four
colors, whatever it may be.I can't stress enough how important it is
to sample, because I mean,I'm sure you see it all the time.
(22:00):
You know, if you're looking atcolor in the store, the lighting
is going to be totally different thanit's going to be in the home,
and you have to you really haveto look at how that color is going
to look in you know, rightdaylight, in the evening, artificial light.
You know, particularly if it's aroom that doesn't get great light.
(22:22):
You know, you really want togive yourself, you know, a day
or two to be able to ormore. You know, time is not
of the essence, but really tounderstand what that color looks like, because
then once the paint actually goes onthe wall, you're going to feel more
confident that you know what the endresult is going to be. You know,
and we see it all the timewhere people are under the gun,
(22:44):
they don't have time to really gothrough you know, this whole process.
But you know, if you atall possible can that is absolutely the way
to go. So you know whatyou're you're going to get right. There's
so many times, like you said, where people rush through or you don't.
I think, honestly, a lotof the time I've been in the
(23:06):
same boat. I could have avoidedthis if I just reminded myself that the
color sampling is an important part ofthe process. But I don't remind myself,
and so I get other things linedup for my weekend project and I'm
driving to the store and I realize, oh, I got to figure that
out. I kind of have anidea, and oh man, so many
times that ends poorly or you know, a lot of the times people don't
(23:29):
end up repainting, but they don'tend up loving that space like they could
have. You know, Benjamin Moorehas the samples, the color samples.
You can get half a pint's worthof paint. You can literally put it
on the wall. You could putit on phone board and look at it
and just live with it for alittle while and get an idea what it's
going to do in your lighting.We talked to somebody on the show years
back where I believe they had aton of greenery, you know, green
(23:53):
you know, plants and whatever outtheir window, and at a certain time
of the day enough light came insted off of that and made the color
on their wall look really crazy.For about a half an hour. They
had us out to the you know, we had to go out to the
house and take a look at it, and it turned out there's nothing much
you can do with that. Butman, there's so many things that can
(24:14):
affect how that color looks. Andsince the color is so important, you
know, taking that time to dothat sampling is just going to save you
headaches and whatever down the road.Yeah. Yeah, I've heard that actually
about the greenery thing, because that'sagain that's the kind of thing that people
don't necessarily take into consideration. Butif you're using you know, particularly a
white and then you know, youhit a certain time of the day and
(24:36):
you're like, but it has agreen cast, well it's reflecting the right
side, you know. And ifyou hate that, you know, some
people love that, and they lovethe variety that happens with the way,
you know, the light changes andso on, but you know, for
other people, they want it tobe, you know, feel a little
bit more constant. So yeah,exactly. Yeah, the sampling is huge,
(24:59):
so much is determined by the conditionsin your space. Make sure you're
checking out the color there, allright, Benjamin Moore, you guys have
like a bazillion different color collections.It sometimes feels like, do you personally
have a favorite, you know,and if you do, which is it
and why? Well it's really hardto play favorites because you know, it
depends. It's you know, prettydependent upon what you're doing. But I
(25:22):
would say probably my first go towould be the classics, the Benjamin war
classics, just because there's such goodvariety within that one fan deck, you
know, or that one portion ofthe display, and you know, do
you have such a wide range.You know, there's some really really great
neutrals in there. You have somebeautiful off whites. But then if you
(25:45):
need something that is a little bitmore colorful, you know, you do
have a lot of options that arecolorful, but yet I feel they're muted
to the right degree that they makefor good paint colors. They're really livable.
Sure, So so that would thatwould probably be my first choice.
But I do love the off Whitecollection just because I think it's so helpful
(26:08):
to have all of the whites inone place. You can really see the
different undertones and you know, decipher, well, this one has more yellow
in it, this one has alittle bit more blue or green in it,
which is really great. And Idon't know if you've you know,
entered into the Williamsburg for a butthere's some great colors in that collection.
(26:30):
Yeah. I like that one alot. Yeah, there's some really good
ones in there. You know.I always kind of, you know,
go through it, and I feellike I always find another color that I'm
like, oh, that's a reallyreally good one. And the work that
was put into pulling that those historicalcolor collections together is it's just amazing,
you know, the research that youguys did. Yeah, yeah, no,
(26:53):
in Williamsburg. I mean, andI love the Historical collection too.
I mean I could go on andon here, but but I feel like
the Williamsburg collection is almost kind oflike the I don't know, more punchy
cousin to the historical colors, right, But yeah, the amount of research
that was done in partnership with theColonial Williamsburg Foundation is really amazing. We
(27:19):
actually had the opportunity to go there, what was it, last spring,
and we went on a tour oftheir facilities, and it's unbelievable the way
that they will take a fragment ofpaint that they take from these actual buildings,
you know, these eighteenth century buildings, and then looking at it underneath
a microscope, and the way thatthey can decipher, you know, while
(27:41):
they use these different resins or bindersor whatever it is, that they can
separate the layers to understand, youknow, what color was and what was
used to achieve that color. It'shonestly fascinating. So you know that,
and then understanding that there's a storybehind a lot of these colors. You
(28:03):
know, they were used in certainhouses or you know such and such name
is associated with, you know,the family that lived in a particular house
down there. So you know,there's there's a lot lot to it.
And great colors. You know,there's a lot of really nice neutrals,
but then the boulder colors are terrific. I really like them for front doors
(28:25):
sure as well. You know,some of the darker colors ever are blue.
Love that one brush blue is reallygorgeous. So there's some some definite
favorites in there. It's really interestinghow much color was used way back in
the past. We've done a numberof segments and there's one that I want
to get on, but I don'tthink i've recorded it yet. But there's
(28:47):
letters that George Washington wrote during theRevolutionary War, writing back to Mount Vernon
about the color that he wanted inwhatever parlor or whatever it was being built
at the time, and it wasthis really really really deep green, and
Thomas Jefferson used a really bright yellow. You know, I never expected that.
I expected these these guys to bevery you know, the colors are
(29:11):
pretty muted, you know, prettybasic. But no, it was all
over the place. So digging intothese you know, don't so don't hear
about these colors that go back awaysand think, wow, they're going to
be boring. They're not. Absolutelynot. No. And you know the
other thing too with that is alot of times the colors that you used,
or how bold the colors were,it was a articulation of your like
(29:36):
wealth and you know, where youstood in the social hierarchy, which is
kind of crazy, right. Soit's like if you can afford to paint
your walls whichever color. It's like, Wow, you've arrived, you know.
So it's it's really amazing. Yeah, I'm still painting my walls and
my walls with the color of thelowest tier of that ladder. But someday,
some day I can see that otherwrong and maybe I'll get there.
(30:00):
I'm on the phone with Andrea Magnofrom Benjamin Moore, and I've got a
few more questions. We're just goingto keep working through them. But we're
going to have to do that onthe other side. So we're going to
take a break and when we comeback, we'll have the conclusion to my
interview with Andrea Magno from Benjamin Moore. Stick around and we're back. You're
(30:22):
listening to the Repco Light Home ImprovementShow, and we're reaching the end of
a conversation that I had last weekwith Andrea Magno from Benjamin Moore. Now,
Andrea is the director of Color Marketingand Design at Benjamin Moore, and
among a ton of other responsibilities,she heads up the search and reveal of
Benjamin Moore's Color of the Year.All right, let's get to the conclusion.
Andrea, You've always got your eyeon trends and color. I'm curious
(30:45):
about interior trends, you know,what's trending out there right now that you're
really drawn to. I feel likethings are starting to balance out, you
know. I think we've seen alot of you know, the pendulum kind
of swinging, like everyone's going reallyreally cool or you know, I think
we're getting to a place where warmsand pools are really working together nicely.
(31:10):
And I really like the way thatpeople are bringing some of these darker colors
into the home, you know,going for maybe a color drenching kind of
situation. You know, I'm tryingto figure out how I can bring that
into my own home and get myfamily to go along with it. But
you know, it's really I reallylove that, you know. I love
the darker colors, you know,in a small dose, right, but
(31:33):
it's very dramatic. It's impactful,and I think there's staying power for a
lot of those colors too. Youknow. It doesn't it doesn't strike me
as something that you know, isnecessarily going to be a bad you know,
I think there's some longevity to it, you know, particularly if you're
going for something like a deeper greenlike a maybe you know, yeah,
(31:56):
they can last. I remember whenall the I remember lime green. I
was working the paint store at thatpoint, and I was so excited when
all these vivid, bright colors.I mean, I'm talking fifteen or more
years ago when that was big forlike a brief section of time. It
was exciting to me because I wasmixing you know, off whites all the
time. It was really fun tomake some crazy colors. And I was
(32:19):
dead set on using lime green everywherein my new house. You know,
I just had the first house andstuff like that, and thankfully, thankfully
I gave myself a couple of weeksto think about it, and I realized,
these don't have stained power. Theseare the colors that make you crazy
by the end of the day.So what about any old trends that we
don't have back but you really thinkshould come back. We do see some
(32:44):
of the warmer colors coming back,you know, so not not quite the
Tuscany motif that you know, wesaw like what was that two thousand and
eight ish, but you know,definitely definitely some warmth, you know,
more wood tones coming back back inand so using war more colors to complement
that I think is really nice.You know, greens, you know,
(33:07):
you talk about avocado green. Youknow, I think the greens are quite
popular too. So yeah, howabout outside? Anything trending in exteriors that
you're excited about? You know,I really like the way people are moving
away from the notion that you haveto use a bright white on the trim.
You know, I think even ifyou're using an off white, or
(33:30):
if you're doing like a tone ontone monochromatic kind of thing, you know,
people are using the trim and highlightingthe detail. And I think that
that really makes a house look somuch more pulled together, and you know,
it makes the color of choices lookreally really deliberate, you know,
which I think is really nice.I do like the darker colors on the
(33:52):
exterior. I think we're seeing alot more kind of organic, you know,
nature inspired kind of you know,for a couple of years now,
we've been seeing like the black andthe charcoal, which I think is cool.
But now I think you're seeing morealmost like mossy olive greens and that
kind of thing, which is reallynice too. So, you know,
(34:14):
people are getting more daring. Ithink even with the exterior well, and
I think that's good. The charcoalthat was really cool when I first started
to see that. And the otherday, I was driving somewhere and I
look down the road, you know, down a side street, and I
see five houses right in the middleof nowhere. It's country area. Five
houses in a row, every singleone the same. They're not in a
(34:34):
condo association. They're all private residences. So somebody was the first and everybody
else got on board. And I'msure that they're not thrilled about that.
But what's you going to do anyway, Let's keep going. What's your favorite
part of your job? You know, what gets you excited to get up
and get to work in the mornings. I think a lot of things.
I think it's really the variety thatcomes with my job. You know.
(34:58):
I love that there's always something differentthat we're working on. You know,
Noaday is exactly the same. We'rejumping from one project to another, and
it's all creative. But then it'salso with the intention of helping people use
color. You know. I justlove the way that paint can It's such
an attainable way to transform a room. You know, it's not ripping out
(35:25):
walls, it's not ripping out akitchen, you know, but you can
do so much with a color change. And so for me, it's building
things, whether it's digital tools orexperiences, or it's the color cards or
the different color tools that we produce, you know, being able to help
people to you know, make thatchange and transform their space. And for
(35:50):
me, it is really satisfying andgratifying. I would say, when you
know people have that moment of like, oh my god, you know,
I'm breathing new life into my Iabsolutely love my room, and you know,
having a hand and helping people dothat, I just that's really I
love that. Yeah, no,that's really cool. I completely agree.
And yeah, the change that cancome about with color. You know,
(36:15):
I have a ranch built in thefifties, but they did an addition in
the eighties, and the whole backhalf of the house really feels like the
eighties. And it's coming around.We're bringing it out of that decade.
By the time I get it out, that decade's going to be the decade
to decorate in or to design in. So I'll miss the boat on that.
But I had this huge fireplace that'sjust beautiful. We love it,
(36:37):
but it's this heavy, dark brickand it just completely I didn't even really
notice it because I'm living with it. But I had visitors come over with
an eye for color, and theyrecommend it. I should get that,
you know, I should paint that, should do something to that. And
we did, and oh my goodness, what a change to the room.
Unbelievable. A gallon or two ofpaint, a couple hours, and a
(36:58):
room that I thought was as goodas as it could be. You know,
it was really good as it was, was just over the top.
So yeah, it's a ton offun to help people see that, realize
that, and pull the colors together. Now, I know you guys are
hard at work. You know youjust said you've got that color pinned down.
You've had it pinned down since January. So the color of the year
for twenty twenty five, you guysalready know what it is still going to
(37:20):
be October that the reveal comes out. Is that when we're expecting to hear
do you have an official date ornot yet? Well I can't share the
official date, gotcha, but October, So keep your eye out, I
would say, in the coming weeks, we'll start to have some teasers and
things like that, but definitely staytuned for October. Well, we definitely
(37:43):
will. How hard is that tokeep the lid on that there's a lot
of people involved, and you know, a lot of uswearing people to secrecy.
Yeah sure, but you know,and then sometimes you know, it's
harder than others to you know,keep it, you know, zip blips.
But but you know, we doa good job or we try to
(38:04):
try it pretty hard to do agood job and that we don't you know,
lose the surprise. Now, youguys do a good job with that.
And excited to hear Andrew as apaint retailer. You know, it's
really exciting to be so closely alignedwith a leader in the world of color
like Benjamin Moore. Is everything thatyou guys do, you and your team
specifically, you know, not tomention all the other people at Benjamin Moore,
(38:25):
but what you guys do really makesour jobs, you know, in
the paint store a lot easier.Is we're trying to do the things that
you just talked about, trying tohelp people find the colors that are going
to make their spaces feel like home. Thanks for taking the time to chat
with us today. Thank you forhaving me. It's great. All right,
there you go. That's it.That's a wrap. Another episode in
the books, all packed up andready to launch as a podcast where it's
(38:46):
going to live on forever, notin infamy, but in sheer glory.
If you missed any parts of thisinterview with Andrea Magno from Benjamin Moore,
make sure you go find the podcastand check it out. You owe it
to yourself to do that. Youcan find the podcast wherever you get your
podcasts, you know, iTunes,Spotify, Audible, pretty much anywhere.
Just search the Repcollite Home Improvement Showand then hit subscribe and you'll never miss
(39:08):
another episode. All right, whateveryou do today, make sure paints a
part of it. Have a greatweekend, everybody, and I'll see you
next week. I'm Dan Hansen.Thanks for listening.
Well, good morning everybody. You'relistening to the Repco Lite Home Improvement Show,
and quite honestly, you're going tobe really happy. You are more
happy than normal, if that's ifthat's even possible, I know that's tough
to believe, but this week's episodeis going to be a bit different.
The whole thing is a conversation thatI had with Andrea Magno from Benjamin Moore.
And if that name doesn't ring abell for you, Andrea is the
(00:23):
director of Color Marketing and Design,and she plays a key role in the
development of color tools and color research, and on top of all of that,
she heads up the search for BenjaminMoore's Color of the Year. She
and her team are constantly working toposition Benjamin Moore as a leader in the
world of color, and we're reallyexcited to have her on the show today.
Andrea, it's good to talk toyou. Thanks, it's great to
(00:44):
be here. Now. I wantto get into a big conversation on what
you do and what you think aboutcolor and trends and all of that.
But let's start with Color of theYear. You play a major role when
it comes to the big reveal everyOctober. Let's just begin there. How
long has Benjamin Moore been doing thiswhole color of the Year thing? So
actually, it's kind of funny.It has been going on for separate decades.
(01:07):
As a matter of fact, Iwas actually recently going through our archives
and I found some trend reports goingall the way back to the early sixties.
So the difference is that, youknow, while there were trend reports
happening, you know, year afteryear after year, it really wasn't until
i'd say about ten years ago thatit started becoming a really big thing where
(01:30):
we had you know, events anda virtual launch and you know, so
on and so forth. But evenI would say, going all the way
back to about two thousand and five, Benjamin Moore has had a brochure and
some of the different collateral that goesalong with it. Sure, but I
think I think over time, youknow, more and more people have become
interested in it, and it's becomethis anticipated announcement, you know. So
(01:53):
you know, so it's it's funny, you know, people think, oh,
you know, maybe this is somethingthat's a new phenomenon for the past
ten fifteen years, but you know, it's impressive to see the way that
trends had been tracked, you know, many years ago. Now, you
said you went back through archives andyou found stuff going back to the sixties.
(02:13):
How cyclical are some of these colortrends that you see, Well,
you know, I mean it hasa lot to do with, you know,
what's going on in the world,and you know, is it a
time of optimism? Is it atime when things are a little bit uncertain?
And that's I think a component thatcomes into what colors people are really
gravitating towards. So if it's areal optimistic time, you know, you're
(02:36):
going to see the more bold andbright, happy kinds of colors, whereas
when it's you know, uncertain,it's a little bit more comforting, that
sort of thing. But then thereare also some correlations that you can make
between colors being a little bit warmer, a little bit cooler, you know.
So there's a lot, there's alot that goes into it, and
it's very interesting to track over timethe way that it changed and the way
(03:00):
that things come back. You know, I mean you look at you know,
colors from the seventies, right therewas a lot of brown, a
lot of greens. We're seeing alot of that now. You know,
I know, those of us whogrew up with it, you know,
I remember the gold carpet, goldshake carpet, and the avocado you know,
appliances. I don't need more ofthat in my life. But it
(03:23):
is funny to see younger people,Wow, look at this. This is
really cool, right, It's true, It's true. And then you get
into some of that, you know, the nostalgia, you know, some
some different things like oh it's vintage, are right? You know that that
absolutely is so true because you know, even though I don't really have a
great vibe towards those some of thosecolors, part of the time, it
(03:46):
really does tug at you. Youknow, that's what grandma had, and
that's what my mom had when wewere growing up. Who knows. It
comes back in a fresh, newway, right, So it's not exactly
the same, but you know theremight be notes, say whatever year,
but then you know it's got awhole new, revamped persona. So it
feels current, right, well,and that's cold and that's really good because
(04:10):
I've seen and I'm sure you've seen. You know, fashion is connected to
this. You know, it's kindof strange how that works, but I've
seen all kinds of ads. Idon't know why lately, but from seventies,
you know, clothing, clothing adsand guys wearing these ridiculous plaid shorts,
and so I know, these thingscome back. I'm glad they come
back in a little more modern versionof themselves, so I can tolerate them
(04:32):
a little better. That's true.All right. How long have you been
heading up this whole color of theyear thing. I've been involved in it
for many years. I would saysince about twenty fourteen. I started becoming
really involved with it, and Iwould say heading it up since about twenty
twenty one. All right, allright, all right, So this year's
(04:54):
color it's blue Nova. I guesstalk to us about the process. You
know, what goes into picking acolor of the year. So there's a
lot, there's a lot that goesinto it, you know. I mean
it may not seem that way atface value, but you know, there's
a number of months of research thatwe do, whether it's travel, it's
(05:15):
you know, international travel, it'sdomestic travel, it's going to different events,
it's going to you know, lookingat what's happening at retail, looking
at what's happening culturally, socially indesign, you know, different even looking
at influences in art, you know, in the way that colors are used
together, even if it's artwork,you know, you're you're walking through a
(05:35):
museum and it's a piece of youknow, it's a painting from you know,
two hundred years ago. But maybethere's something about the way that colors
being used that you're seeing replicated andother things happening today. And so basically
what we'll do is right when weso if we launch in October, immediately
after we launch, we're already thinkingabout the next year. So you know,
(05:58):
our antenna goes up. We're lookingto see, you know, what's
happening in the world. And soour team, everyone individually is pulling together
all of these bits and pieces,taking pictures of anything in everything that just
catches our eye. And honestly,nothing is off limits. I mean,
if you see a car that isin some you know, really interesting finish
or an interesting color, take pictureof it. Really anything, you know,
(06:21):
anything is brought to the table.And then what we'll do is get
together as a team and start workshoppingit and synthesizing it to see you know,
how are the puzzle pieces fitting together? Is there a color family that's
really standing out? You know?And usually when everybody is gravitating towards maybe
(06:43):
cooler colors, normal colors, particularcolor family, that's where, you know,
we start to say, Okay,there's definitely a story starting to unfold
here, and you know what,how is the concept, you know,
what is happening in the world thatis going to be part of whatever the
concept will be. How can wethen articulate that through color and looking at
(07:04):
the colors that we've been seeing throughall of our travels. So there's a
number of things that are happening concurrently. Yeah, and it's really amazing the
way that everything starts to come togetherand really really form this narrative that really
shapes what we put out there.Then, you know, several months later,
(07:24):
so I would say by end ofJanuary, we usually have the color
and the palette picked out, soit's picked out well in advance. Yeah,
So you start in October right afterthe reveal, you don't get any
breaks at all. You go straightinto it again, and by January you've
already got it figured out. Yeah. Yeah, and it takes a while.
(07:46):
You know, when you think aboutall of the different pieces, whether
it's the photo shoot and planning forall of the different components and you know,
building out all the you know,whether it's trainings and presentation and so
there's there's a number of moving partsand it takes time. So you know,
to stick to our timeline. Wedo have everything pretty locked in in
(08:07):
the first quarter. Yeah. Wow. How much stress does this bring about?
I mean, is it just allsheer joy the whole time or is
there a level of stress that happensas you're choosing that next color. You
know, it's not choosing the colorand working on the palette is really not
stressful. I think it's more amatter of iterating, you know. I
(08:30):
mean sometimes we'll land on a paletteor we'll have you know, sort of
a sketch of a direction, andeverybody's really on board. We think it's
great, and then we'll come backliterally two days later and say, huh,
what were we thinking? That justdoesn't see right, it's not hitting
the right note. And that's where, you know, and that's the most
part of the fun of it,where you know, you keep iterating,
(08:50):
you kind of keep working the paletteso that way, we get it to
a place where we all feel reallygood about it and we have a really
solid story to put out there.You know, that's a really important part
of it. And unfortunately, youknow, I would say that, you
know, the team is very agreeable, you know, I mean that we'll
(09:11):
definitely have some healthy debates over somecolors, typically colors that maybe are a
little bit more wild, maybe thatyou know, maybe are a little bit
more daring for a paint color.But you know, we do have we
have very good relationships. We're luckyso that we do land in a place
where everybody feels heard and you know, the different things we're seeing or represented.
(09:33):
How big is that team. It'sonly six of us. Wow.
Yeah, well so if it gotugly, it'd get ugly fast. So
it's a good thing that everybody.Everybody works out, you know, it
works out fairly well. I lovewhat you said about, you know,
the story finding that story. Idon't know what role you played when simply
(09:56):
white came out, uh huh afew years back, and I remember hearing,
oh my goodness, simply white,how can that be the color of
the year? You know, AndI love the story behind that. You
know, and I got behind theidea of you know, white doesn't need
to be this sterile atmosphere like Ihad had anticipated, you know, the
(10:16):
story to be the narrative to be. I couldn't imagine a narrative, and
yet the narrative was so great withthat, and it really helped, you
know, propel that that color forward, at least in our conversations. You
know, we sell paint and we'retalking to people, and it was really
fun to have that story. Thatstory so important for selling the color and
the idea of it. Yeah,yeah, no, for sure, And
(10:37):
that was that was a good Thatwas a lot of fun that year because
we kind of looked at it fromdifferent personas and the way that different creative
people would use the color white andyou know, how it would come to
life in their home and what theywould pair it with, you know,
like we had a cerammesist was oneof our personas. One was a gallery
(11:00):
owner, you know, so itwas almost even thinking about the undertones of
white, right, there's so manyvariations of white, and how we were
able to you know, bring thatto life in a home that had exposed
wood beams and maybe you know,it was a little bit of a warmer
white, whereas in another home itwas a cooler white, and then the
colors that were paired with it fella little bit to the cooler side.
(11:22):
So you know, that was andI would say that was probably the first
year where we had the big event, and you know, I think that
was when the whole anticipation for colortrends and color of the year really started
to take some solid momentum. Allright, I think we're going to hit
pause right there and take a quickbreak, and then I'll be back with
(11:43):
more of my conversation with Andrea Magna. Stick around and we're back. You're
listening to the Repcolite Home Improvement Showand in the middle of a conversation with
Andrea Magno, the director of colorMarketing and Design at Benjamin Moore. Now,
(12:07):
Andrea, my next question. It'sa little bit long winded, but
when it comes to color trends andcolors of the year, how do you
envision people using them? I mean, last year's color was raspberry blush,
and it kind of seemed more likea conceptual color. I guess what I
mean is it felt like you weregiving bold, saturated color the Okay,
not necessarily use this one, butjust use something with some color. Now,
(12:30):
as you and your team work todistill everything that you're seeing into the
color of the year for any givenyear, do you anticipate people will be
using that exact color in all kindsof different applications throughout their homes and businesses
because it's been named a color ofthe year or do you unveil the color
of the year kind of as anidea? You know, basically with blue
nova, are you telling people youmay want to consider blue. We're going
(12:52):
to see a lot of it intwenty twenty four and here's a great blue
you might want to think about,long, long question, But what's your
idea behind how these colors get used? Well, so you have it,
You have it exactly right with twentytwenty three with raspberry blush. Yes,
that was definitely a bold color andand really it was it was really intended
(13:16):
to be more conceptual. I think, you know, you put it really
well where you know, what wewere feeling that year was you know,
we were kind of coming out ofeveryone being shut in their house, We're
on lockdown. You know, peoplewere just looking for color, you know,
and we were we were hearing thatagain and again, you know,
in different conversations. It was peoplewere like, you know, it's been
(13:39):
all neutrals for a number of years. Neutrals are great, but I need
a moment of color. And sothat's where that's where we felt like,
you know what, here's our opportunityto really go for it and make that
color statement. And and like yousaid, you know, we knew that,
you know, we were going tohave cans of raspberry blush flying off
(14:03):
the shelves, and that really wasn'tI mean, I'll be honest, like,
that really wasn't our intention. Youknow, we we wanted to spark
the idea of using a boulder colorand if it wasn't one of the colors
in that palette, that's fine.It was more about just getting people to
think about, you know, maybethey had some smaller room in their house
(14:24):
where it was an opportunity to playa little bit or you know, dip
their toe in the water, touse a color that was either brighter or
darker or whatever the case may be. That could be a break from where
their color comfort zone falls. Andso so you know, you have that
exactly right, you know, Imean, it was kind of like,
(14:46):
huh, you know, maybe maybeI should look at something that you know,
is outside of the you know,revere pewters and white doves of the
world. Right, sure, butyou know, and I did see there
were a number of in the thatwere sent into us of customers who did
use colors from the palette, andthey weren't fabulous. You know, I
(15:07):
really like I remember there was akind of almost like a vestibule, like
a very small space in a house, kind of like a hallway, little
area that this I think she wasa designer. She painted it in raspberry
blosh the molding, the walls.It looked fantastic and it was just this
small moment of color that just sortof like punctuated the space, and it
(15:31):
was really it was it was reallyinspiring. I wish I had a spotlight
where I could have done something likethat in my home. So you know,
so yes, you have, youhave that exactly right. And I
would say too that you know,when we put our Color Trends palette and
the Color of the Year out there, it's not a you know, mandate
to run out and use one ofthese colors. It's really what I look
(15:54):
at it as it's this opportunity tobring you know, to highlight these colors
that maybe nobody's noticed in the collection. You know, it's really binding these
hidden gems and sparking these ideas onhow to look at color differently or you
know, widen the consideration set,you know. I mean there's a number
(16:14):
of colors. It's always interesting tosee, you know, what are the
colors that we wind up going througha lot of samples that we sell a
lot of the samples. You know, what are the colors that are almost
I call it like a sleeper colorthat people really like, they really latch
onto, you know. So it'sit's a lot of fun, but it's
it's all about you know, havingthat color conversation, getting people inspired.
(16:40):
You know, it's not you betterrun out and paint your room X y
Z color because otherwise you'll be outof style. It's really just a matter
of you know, getting people inthe mindset and expanding their horizons. You
know, that was a big thatwas a big part of this year was
really you know, getting people toexpand their color horizons. So with blue
(17:02):
nova, yes, yeah, it'sit's a you know, blue is a
comfort color for me. You know, and if I like it, that
means other people should like it.That's how we roll for that. But
it's an unusual one. You know, it's got a little more of that
violet to it or a little bitof a purple le very very you know,
light undertone, but it's there,and it's just not the normal blue
that I would use. And yetit's really intriguing for that reason. I
(17:26):
like that. I like that itpushes me a little bit outside. It's
still a zone that I feel somewhatcomfortable in, but I am stretching a
little bit. Yep, yeah,yeah, exactly. And you know,
in looking at twenty twenty three,Starry Night Blue was you know, that
was a really striking color, andBlue Nova felt almost like a slightly more
(17:47):
muted still you know, strong andthen you know, standalone kind of color,
but it felt more livable. Sothat was almost you know, like
looking at the color progression, youknow, blue Nova is definitely not a
you know, timid color i'll callit, but it's you know, it
definitely makes a statement, but itfelt more livable than you know, maybe
the colors that we had in twentytwenty three. But you know, it's
(18:12):
it really has that mystical, youknow, mysterious kind of quality to it
that we really fell in love with. No, I think that was great.
I really like that. I mean, for what that's worth. Now,
you guys, can you can takethat to your team let them know.
Dan from Repcollect well, big thumbsup. Color is so powerful,
you know, that's what we're talkingabout, and it's really what determines how
(18:34):
we feel about a given space andhow we feel in that space. And
because that's so true, we reallyneed to make sure we get that color
right when we tackle paint project.Now, when we come back, we're
going to be getting Andrea's recommendations forhow you do exactly that. That's all
just ahead, stick around and we'reback. You're listening to the Repcolite Home
(19:03):
Improvement Show and we're in the middleof a conversation that I had last week
with Andrea Magno from Benjamin Moore.Now, Andrea is the director of Color
Marketing and Design at Benjamin Moore,and we ended the last segment talking about
how important color is on a paintproject. In fact, it kind of
feels that color is more important,at least in my mind, than the
(19:25):
paint itself. You know, youcould have the right paint, and that's
really important. You've got to havethe right paint because that determines how long
a space is going to look greatand hold up. So I don't mean
that paint doesn't matter. The paintquality itself doesn't matter. But really,
I could paint my walls with apaint that's as durable as steel. You
know, it's going to last aslong as marble. But if I hate
the color, I don't think thatdurability is going to matter to me one
(19:47):
little bit. Really, you know, color really trumps almost everything I think.
So with that said, we gota lot of people out there who
have projects on the horizon. Ifthey're just starting that search for the right
color for their next project, whatwould you recommend that they do so they
achieve the best results possible. Well, I think a lot of times,
you know, it's it's interesting youkind of have two camps of people.
(20:08):
There will be the people who havea decent idea of where they want to
be color wise, and then youhave people who have no idea where to
begin. So for the people whoreally don't know where to start, you
know, that's where it's useful totake a moment to you know, find
some points of inspiration, you know, and it doesn't have to be anything
(20:30):
crazy. It's you know, goonline, you know, even scrolling through
you know, Instagram and looking atsome of the images from different companies,
or it's even thinking about, youknow, what are the colors that you
wear and you feel best in them, or is there maybe a picture from
a vacation or a hotel that youstayed in where you know there was something
(20:53):
really striking, you know, likefind any any point of inspiration is a
great starting point, right and thenmaybe you know, if you're you're a
little bit more you know, furtherdown the funnel, I would say,
if there's something in this space tobe painted that you can use as a
point of inspiration, that's useful too, you know, like maybe it's an
(21:14):
area rug or you know, acountertop has you know, marble banting or
something like that. But taking atthe time to find that that that uh,
you know, hug that you canwork from is so important because it's
going to be really instrumental and narrowingdown the colors and then and then it's
a matter of figuring out, youknow, do you want it to be
(21:37):
darker? Do you want it tobe lighter? And you know, you
kind of go step by step tofigure out, you know, to narrow
down within a particular color family,and then once you get to the point
where you have a small number ofcontenders, maybe it's three colors, four
colors, whatever it may be.I can't stress enough how important it is
to sample, because I mean,I'm sure you see it all the time.
(22:00):
You know, if you're looking atcolor in the store, the lighting
is going to be totally different thanit's going to be in the home,
and you have to you really haveto look at how that color is going
to look in you know, rightdaylight, in the evening, artificial light.
You know, particularly if it's aroom that doesn't get great light.
(22:22):
You know, you really want togive yourself, you know, a day
or two to be able to ormore. You know, time is not
of the essence, but really tounderstand what that color looks like, because
then once the paint actually goes onthe wall, you're going to feel more
confident that you know what the endresult is going to be. You know,
and we see it all the timewhere people are under the gun,
(22:44):
they don't have time to really gothrough you know, this whole process.
But you know, if you atall possible can that is absolutely the way
to go. So you know whatyou're you're going to get right. There's
so many times, like you said, where people rush through or you don't.
I think, honestly, a lotof the time I've been in the
(23:06):
same boat. I could have avoidedthis if I just reminded myself that the
color sampling is an important part ofthe process. But I don't remind myself,
and so I get other things linedup for my weekend project and I'm
driving to the store and I realize, oh, I got to figure that
out. I kind of have anidea, and oh man, so many
times that ends poorly or you know, a lot of the times people don't
(23:29):
end up repainting, but they don'tend up loving that space like they could
have. You know, Benjamin Moorehas the samples, the color samples.
You can get half a pint's worthof paint. You can literally put it
on the wall. You could putit on phone board and look at it
and just live with it for alittle while and get an idea what it's
going to do in your lighting.We talked to somebody on the show years
back where I believe they had aton of greenery, you know, green
(23:53):
you know, plants and whatever outtheir window, and at a certain time
of the day enough light came insted off of that and made the color
on their wall look really crazy.For about a half an hour. They
had us out to the you know, we had to go out to the
house and take a look at it, and it turned out there's nothing much
you can do with that. Butman, there's so many things that can
(24:14):
affect how that color looks. Andsince the color is so important, you
know, taking that time to dothat sampling is just going to save you
headaches and whatever down the road.Yeah. Yeah, I've heard that actually
about the greenery thing, because that'sagain that's the kind of thing that people
don't necessarily take into consideration. Butif you're using you know, particularly a
white and then you know, youhit a certain time of the day and
(24:36):
you're like, but it has agreen cast, well it's reflecting the right
side, you know. And ifyou hate that, you know, some
people love that, and they lovethe variety that happens with the way,
you know, the light changes andso on, but you know, for
other people, they want it tobe, you know, feel a little
bit more constant. So yeah,exactly. Yeah, the sampling is huge,
(24:59):
so much is determined by the conditionsin your space. Make sure you're
checking out the color there, allright, Benjamin Moore, you guys have
like a bazillion different color collections.It sometimes feels like, do you personally
have a favorite, you know,and if you do, which is it
and why? Well it's really hardto play favorites because you know, it
depends. It's you know, prettydependent upon what you're doing. But I
(25:22):
would say probably my first go towould be the classics, the Benjamin war
classics, just because there's such goodvariety within that one fan deck, you
know, or that one portion ofthe display, and you know, do
you have such a wide range.You know, there's some really really great
neutrals in there. You have somebeautiful off whites. But then if you
(25:45):
need something that is a little bitmore colorful, you know, you do
have a lot of options that arecolorful, but yet I feel they're muted
to the right degree that they makefor good paint colors. They're really livable.
Sure, So so that would thatwould probably be my first choice.
But I do love the off Whitecollection just because I think it's so helpful
(26:08):
to have all of the whites inone place. You can really see the
different undertones and you know, decipher, well, this one has more yellow
in it, this one has alittle bit more blue or green in it,
which is really great. And Idon't know if you've you know,
entered into the Williamsburg for a butthere's some great colors in that collection.
(26:30):
Yeah. I like that one alot. Yeah, there's some really good
ones in there. You know.I always kind of, you know,
go through it, and I feellike I always find another color that I'm
like, oh, that's a reallyreally good one. And the work that
was put into pulling that those historicalcolor collections together is it's just amazing,
you know, the research that youguys did. Yeah, yeah, no,
(26:53):
in Williamsburg. I mean, andI love the Historical collection too.
I mean I could go on andon here, but but I feel like
the Williamsburg collection is almost kind oflike the I don't know, more punchy
cousin to the historical colors, right, But yeah, the amount of research
that was done in partnership with theColonial Williamsburg Foundation is really amazing. We
(27:19):
actually had the opportunity to go there, what was it, last spring,
and we went on a tour oftheir facilities, and it's unbelievable the way
that they will take a fragment ofpaint that they take from these actual buildings,
you know, these eighteenth century buildings, and then looking at it underneath
a microscope, and the way thatthey can decipher, you know, while
(27:41):
they use these different resins or bindersor whatever it is, that they can
separate the layers to understand, youknow, what color was and what was
used to achieve that color. It'shonestly fascinating. So you know that,
and then understanding that there's a storybehind a lot of these colors. You
(28:03):
know, they were used in certainhouses or you know such and such name
is associated with, you know,the family that lived in a particular house
down there. So you know,there's there's a lot lot to it.
And great colors. You know,there's a lot of really nice neutrals,
but then the boulder colors are terrific. I really like them for front doors
(28:25):
sure as well. You know,some of the darker colors ever are blue.
Love that one brush blue is reallygorgeous. So there's some some definite
favorites in there. It's really interestinghow much color was used way back in
the past. We've done a numberof segments and there's one that I want
to get on, but I don'tthink i've recorded it yet. But there's
(28:47):
letters that George Washington wrote during theRevolutionary War, writing back to Mount Vernon
about the color that he wanted inwhatever parlor or whatever it was being built
at the time, and it wasthis really really really deep green, and
Thomas Jefferson used a really bright yellow. You know, I never expected that.
I expected these these guys to bevery you know, the colors are
(29:11):
pretty muted, you know, prettybasic. But no, it was all
over the place. So digging intothese you know, don't so don't hear
about these colors that go back awaysand think, wow, they're going to
be boring. They're not. Absolutelynot. No. And you know the
other thing too with that is alot of times the colors that you used,
or how bold the colors were,it was a articulation of your like
(29:36):
wealth and you know, where youstood in the social hierarchy, which is
kind of crazy, right. Soit's like if you can afford to paint
your walls whichever color. It's like, Wow, you've arrived, you know.
So it's it's really amazing. Yeah, I'm still painting my walls and
my walls with the color of thelowest tier of that ladder. But someday,
some day I can see that otherwrong and maybe I'll get there.
(30:00):
I'm on the phone with Andrea Magnofrom Benjamin Moore, and I've got a
few more questions. We're just goingto keep working through them. But we're
going to have to do that onthe other side. So we're going to
take a break and when we comeback, we'll have the conclusion to my
interview with Andrea Magno from Benjamin Moore. Stick around and we're back. You're
(30:22):
listening to the Repco Light Home ImprovementShow, and we're reaching the end of
a conversation that I had last weekwith Andrea Magno from Benjamin Moore. Now,
Andrea is the director of Color Marketingand Design at Benjamin Moore, and
among a ton of other responsibilities,she heads up the search and reveal of
Benjamin Moore's Color of the Year.All right, let's get to the conclusion.
Andrea, You've always got your eyeon trends and color. I'm curious
(30:45):
about interior trends, you know,what's trending out there right now that you're
really drawn to. I feel likethings are starting to balance out, you
know. I think we've seen alot of you know, the pendulum kind
of swinging, like everyone's going reallyreally cool or you know, I think
we're getting to a place where warmsand pools are really working together nicely.
(31:10):
And I really like the way thatpeople are bringing some of these darker colors
into the home, you know,going for maybe a color drenching kind of
situation. You know, I'm tryingto figure out how I can bring that
into my own home and get myfamily to go along with it. But
you know, it's really I reallylove that, you know. I love
the darker colors, you know,in a small dose, right, but
(31:33):
it's very dramatic. It's impactful,and I think there's staying power for a
lot of those colors too. Youknow. It doesn't it doesn't strike me
as something that you know, isnecessarily going to be a bad you know,
I think there's some longevity to it, you know, particularly if you're
going for something like a deeper greenlike a maybe you know, yeah,
(31:56):
they can last. I remember whenall the I remember lime green. I
was working the paint store at thatpoint, and I was so excited when
all these vivid, bright colors.I mean, I'm talking fifteen or more
years ago when that was big forlike a brief section of time. It
was exciting to me because I wasmixing you know, off whites all the
time. It was really fun tomake some crazy colors. And I was
(32:19):
dead set on using lime green everywherein my new house. You know,
I just had the first house andstuff like that, and thankfully, thankfully
I gave myself a couple of weeksto think about it, and I realized,
these don't have stained power. Theseare the colors that make you crazy
by the end of the day.So what about any old trends that we
don't have back but you really thinkshould come back. We do see some
(32:44):
of the warmer colors coming back,you know, so not not quite the
Tuscany motif that you know, wesaw like what was that two thousand and
eight ish, but you know,definitely definitely some warmth, you know,
more wood tones coming back back inand so using war more colors to complement
that I think is really nice.You know, greens, you know,
(33:07):
you talk about avocado green. Youknow, I think the greens are quite
popular too. So yeah, howabout outside? Anything trending in exteriors that
you're excited about? You know,I really like the way people are moving
away from the notion that you haveto use a bright white on the trim.
You know, I think even ifyou're using an off white, or
(33:30):
if you're doing like a tone ontone monochromatic kind of thing, you know,
people are using the trim and highlightingthe detail. And I think that
that really makes a house look somuch more pulled together, and you know,
it makes the color of choices lookreally really deliberate, you know,
which I think is really nice.I do like the darker colors on the
(33:52):
exterior. I think we're seeing alot more kind of organic, you know,
nature inspired kind of you know,for a couple of years now,
we've been seeing like the black andthe charcoal, which I think is cool.
But now I think you're seeing morealmost like mossy olive greens and that
kind of thing, which is reallynice too. So, you know,
(34:14):
people are getting more daring. Ithink even with the exterior well, and
I think that's good. The charcoalthat was really cool when I first started
to see that. And the otherday, I was driving somewhere and I
look down the road, you know, down a side street, and I
see five houses right in the middleof nowhere. It's country area. Five
houses in a row, every singleone the same. They're not in a
(34:34):
condo association. They're all private residences. So somebody was the first and everybody
else got on board. And I'msure that they're not thrilled about that.
But what's you going to do anyway, Let's keep going. What's your favorite
part of your job? You know, what gets you excited to get up
and get to work in the mornings. I think a lot of things.
I think it's really the variety thatcomes with my job. You know.
(34:58):
I love that there's always something differentthat we're working on. You know,
Noaday is exactly the same. We'rejumping from one project to another, and
it's all creative. But then it'salso with the intention of helping people use
color. You know. I justlove the way that paint can It's such
an attainable way to transform a room. You know, it's not ripping out
(35:25):
walls, it's not ripping out akitchen, you know, but you can
do so much with a color change. And so for me, it's building
things, whether it's digital tools orexperiences, or it's the color cards or
the different color tools that we produce, you know, being able to help
people to you know, make thatchange and transform their space. And for
(35:50):
me, it is really satisfying andgratifying. I would say, when you
know people have that moment of like, oh my god, you know,
I'm breathing new life into my Iabsolutely love my room, and you know,
having a hand and helping people dothat, I just that's really I
love that. Yeah, no,that's really cool. I completely agree.
And yeah, the change that cancome about with color. You know,
(36:15):
I have a ranch built in thefifties, but they did an addition in
the eighties, and the whole backhalf of the house really feels like the
eighties. And it's coming around.We're bringing it out of that decade.
By the time I get it out, that decade's going to be the decade
to decorate in or to design in. So I'll miss the boat on that.
But I had this huge fireplace that'sjust beautiful. We love it,
(36:37):
but it's this heavy, dark brickand it just completely I didn't even really
notice it because I'm living with it. But I had visitors come over with
an eye for color, and theyrecommend it. I should get that,
you know, I should paint that, should do something to that. And
we did, and oh my goodness, what a change to the room.
Unbelievable. A gallon or two ofpaint, a couple hours, and a
(36:58):
room that I thought was as goodas as it could be. You know,
it was really good as it was, was just over the top.
So yeah, it's a ton offun to help people see that, realize
that, and pull the colors together. Now, I know you guys are
hard at work. You know youjust said you've got that color pinned down.
You've had it pinned down since January. So the color of the year
for twenty twenty five, you guysalready know what it is still going to
(37:20):
be October that the reveal comes out. Is that when we're expecting to hear
do you have an official date ornot yet? Well I can't share the
official date, gotcha, but October, So keep your eye out, I
would say, in the coming weeks, we'll start to have some teasers and
things like that, but definitely staytuned for October. Well, we definitely
(37:43):
will. How hard is that tokeep the lid on that there's a lot
of people involved, and you know, a lot of uswearing people to secrecy.
Yeah sure, but you know,and then sometimes you know, it's
harder than others to you know,keep it, you know, zip blips.
But but you know, we doa good job or we try to
(38:04):
try it pretty hard to do agood job and that we don't you know,
lose the surprise. Now, youguys do a good job with that.
And excited to hear Andrew as apaint retailer. You know, it's
really exciting to be so closely alignedwith a leader in the world of color
like Benjamin Moore. Is everything thatyou guys do, you and your team
specifically, you know, not tomention all the other people at Benjamin Moore,
(38:25):
but what you guys do really makesour jobs, you know, in
the paint store a lot easier.Is we're trying to do the things that
you just talked about, trying tohelp people find the colors that are going
to make their spaces feel like home. Thanks for taking the time to chat
with us today. Thank you forhaving me. It's great. All right,
there you go. That's it.That's a wrap. Another episode in
the books, all packed up andready to launch as a podcast where it's
(38:46):
going to live on forever, notin infamy, but in sheer glory.
If you missed any parts of thisinterview with Andrea Magno from Benjamin Moore,
make sure you go find the podcastand check it out. You owe it
to yourself to do that. Youcan find the podcast wherever you get your
podcasts, you know, iTunes,Spotify, Audible, pretty much anywhere.
Just search the Repcollite Home Improvement Showand then hit subscribe and you'll never miss
(39:08):
another episode. All right, whateveryou do today, make sure paints a
part of it. Have a greatweekend, everybody, and I'll see you
next week. I'm Dan Hansen.Thanks for listening.
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