Colors of the Year 2026: every brand’s pick, in rooms
Smoky jade, warm khaki, burnt umber, billowy white — the 2026 palette is quiet and grounded. Here is every pick, rendered where it belongs.
The 2026 colors in real rooms
Smoky jade wraps a bedroom in calm — warm white linens keep it from going cold.
The island treatment: jade cabinetry in satin, warm white walls, oak and brass around it.
Sherwin-Williams’ earthy neutral layers with jute, linen and off-white for a quiet room.
Benjamin Moore’s burnt umber at full strength: walls and built-ins together, lamplight, leather.
The minimalist counterpoint — a billowy white that reads serene, not sterile.
The soft green with warm undertones is a natural nursery pick.
AI-rendered visualizations (Gemini), generated from each brand’s published description of its color — labeled honestly. Screens shift color: judge any paint from a brushed-out sample, never a picture.
The 2026 Colors of the Year: Behr “Hidden Gem” (N430-6A, smoky jade green), Sherwin-Williams “Universal Khaki” (SW 6150), Benjamin Moore “Silhouette” (AF-655, burnt umber with charcoal notes), Pantone “Cloud Dancer” (billowy white), plus Dutch Boy’s Melodious Ivory, Valspar’s Warm Eucalyptus, Glidden’s Warm Mahogany and more. The shared theme is tonal depth and calm. Painting a 12×12 room in any of them takes 1.99 gallons for two coats — about $80–$140 in paint.
Rates and coverage figures updated August 2026.Every 2026 Color of the Year, brand by brand
| Brand | 2026 color | The brand’s description |
|---|---|---|
| Behr | Hidden Gem (N430-6A) | Smoky jade — “uncovers exceptional beauty in every space” |
| Sherwin-Williams | Universal Khaki (SW 6150) | Warm, grounded neutral with earthy undertones |
| Benjamin Moore | Silhouette (AF-655) | Luxurious burnt umber with delicate notes of charcoal |
| Pantone | Cloud Dancer | Billowy, balanced white imbued with serenity |
| Dutch Boy | Melodious Ivory (313-2DB) | Soft, creamy beige foundation |
| Valspar | Warm Eucalyptus | Soft green with warm undertones |
| Glidden | Warm Mahogany | Classic brick red with timeless appeal |
| Dunn-Edwards | Midnight Garden | Muddy green |
| Clark+Kensington | Hazelnut Crunch (09A-5) | Deep red-brown |
| C2 Paint | Epernay | Refined soft ochre with mineral undertones |
Read down the table and 2026’s theme is plain: tonal depth and quiet. Smoky jade, khaki, burnt umber, soft white — colors that settle a room rather than shout in it. The split is between the statement camp (Hidden Gem, Silhouette, Warm Mahogany — colors you commit a room to) and the foundation camp (Universal Khaki, Cloud Dancer, Melodious Ivory — colors you build a whole house on). The renders above show both in practice.
What painting a room in a 2026 color costs
Same math whichever brand wins you over — walls only, two coats, 8-ft ceilings, one door and one window deducted, 350 sq ft per gallon per coat:
| Room | Wall area (net) | Paint, 2 coats | Buy | DIY paint cost | Pro, walls only |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10×10 office | 284 sq ft | 1.62 gal | 2 gallons | $70–$120 | $285–$850 |
| 12×12 bedroom | 348 sq ft | 1.99 gal | 2 gal + 1 qt | $80–$140 | $350–$1,050 |
| 12×14 primary | 380 sq ft | 2.17 gal | 2 gal + 2 qt | $90–$155 | $380–$1,150 |
| 15×15 living room | 444 sq ft | 2.54 gal | 3 gallons | $105–$180 | $445–$1,330 |
Practical notes for this palette specifically. The dark picks — Silhouette, Warm Mahogany, Midnight Garden — usually need a tinted primer or a third coat over light walls, and repainting back to light later costs more than the way in. The finish rules hold as always: eggshell on walls, satin on cabinets and islands like the jade kitchen above — the full logic is in the sheen guide. Size your own room in the paint estimator, or price the job with the painting estimate calculator.
2026 or 2027? The window is changing
The 2026 colors above are in stores now and will be promoted through year-end. But the 2027 season has already started: Behr announced its 2027 pick (another green — the earthier “Grounded”) in late August, and Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore and Pantone follow through fall. If you are painting this month, the 2026 palette is the safe, available choice; if you want to be ahead of next year’s wave, see every 2027 announcement as it lands.
The 2026 colors, answered
What is the Color of the Year for 2026?
Each brand names its own. The headline picks: Behr “Hidden Gem” (smoky jade green, N430-6A), Sherwin-Williams “Universal Khaki” (SW 6150), Benjamin Moore “Silhouette” (burnt umber, AF-655) and Pantone “Cloud Dancer” (a billowy white). Dutch Boy, Valspar, Glidden, Dunn-Edwards and others named their own — the full table with every brand is on this page.
What is Behr's Color of the Year for 2026?
“Hidden Gem” (N430-6A) — a smoky jade green Behr says “uncovers exceptional beauty in every space.” It is a muted blue-green with grey undertones that works as full bedroom walls or as painted island and cabinet color, both rendered on this page. Behr's follow-up 2027 pick, the earthy olive “Grounded,” has its own page here too.
What is Sherwin-Williams' Color of the Year for 2026?
“Universal Khaki” (SW 6150), a warm, grounded neutral with earthy undertones — the foundation-color counterpoint to the year's statement greens and browns. It layers naturally with jute, linen, off-whites and wood, and works house-wide rather than room-by-room, which is exactly how the render on this page uses it.
What color did Pantone pick for 2026?
“Cloud Dancer” — a billowy, balanced white Pantone describes as imbued with serenity. Unlike the paint brands' picks it is a concept color first, but as a wall color it reads as a soft, airy white for minimalist rooms. Note that Pantone colors are not paint products; ask any paint counter to match it and, as with every color on this page, judge from a brushed-out sample.
How much does it cost to paint a room in a 2026 color?
A 12×12 room takes 1.99 gallons for two coats (348 sq ft of wall) — buy 2 gallons plus a quart, roughly $80–$140 across the brands' lines. Hiring it out runs $1.00–$3.00 per sq ft of wall. The dark picks — Silhouette, Warm Mahogany — usually need a tinted primer or third coat over light walls, so budget one extra gallon for those.
Are the 2027 colors out yet?
The season has started: Behr announced “Grounded” (an earthy olive green) on August 26, 2026, Dutch Boy named the terracotta “Deep Rooted,” and Sherwin-Williams' single pick is expected in September, with Benjamin Moore and Pantone to follow. Every 2027 announcement is tracked, rendered and priced on our 2027 page as it lands.
Sources and method
Figures on this page were compiled in August 2026 from the sources below, whose own publication dates run from 2023 to 2026. Where they disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than averaged away.
- Brand announcements of the 2026 Colors of the Year (published fall 2025): Behr “Hidden Gem” N430-6A, Sherwin-Williams “Universal Khaki” SW 6150, Benjamin Moore “Silhouette” AF-655, Pantone “Cloud Dancer,” Dutch Boy “Melodious Ivory” 313-2DB, Valspar “Warm Eucalyptus,” Glidden “Warm Mahogany,” Dunn-Edwards “Midnight Garden,” Clark+Kensington “Hazelnut Crunch,” C2 “Epernay.” Descriptions quoted are the brands' own.
- Repaint quantities and costs computed by this site's paint engines (350 sq ft/gal per coat, one door and one window deducted, 10% waste); cost basis per interior painting cost per square foot, compiled 2026.
- SmarterSquares is not affiliated with any paint brand or Pantone; color names are their trademarks, used to identify the colors discussed. Room images are AI-rendered visualizations, labeled as such; on-screen swatches are approximations.
This is an estimate for planning, not a quote or a bid. Confirm any figure against local contractor pricing before you commit money to it.