Every year the Color Team at Benjamin Moore & Co. conduct a sort of zeitgeist analysis. Their mission: to select one paint chip out of more than 3,500 that somehow captures the mood of the moment—the Color of the Year. With Andrea Magno, director of color marketing and development, at the helm, usually, that investigation involves seeing exhibitions, canvassing trade shows, and doing quite a bit of international travel. This year, not so much.

“We had to be more nimble,” explains Magno, who, like so many of us, found ways to collaborate with her team virtually amid the work-from-home days of the pandemic. Physical pin boards were traded for virtual ones; team members spent more time in solitary contemplation and brought their findings back to the group. “It actually became a nice exercise, more of an inward-looking process than other years, where we’ve really focused on outside influences.”

“As the spaces in our homes continue to evolve, we uncover more opportunities to express our individuality and leverage the power of color to design environments that serve different functions and styles,” said Andrea Magno, Benjamin Moore Director of Color Marketing & Development. “October Mist 1495 and the corresponding Color Trends 2022 palette reflects an effortless harmony of colors, while inspiring unique combinations for any paint project.”

When they reconvened, one idea floated to the top: “People are looking for a means of self-expression. There’s this craving for individuality.” What hue best reflected, even encouraged, that newfound need? October Mist 1495, a soft, likable sage green that could act as a bridge to a rainbow of colors.

In recent years, when deciding on the final choice of the palette, the American manufacturer of Ultra-Premium paints has been paying attention to external trendsetters in a broad, cultural sense. This year, a slightly different approach has been taken.

When it was time to decide on the official color choices for the 2022 season, Color Team Benjamin Moore looked "inward". This time, daily observations, hobbies, personal rituals and cultural influences were thoroughly analyzed.

“One of the team members did a floral study,” Magno recalls. “That green stem of the flower becomes this connector—this enabler, almost. It’s able to bring together all these other colors.”

And that’s exactly how October Mist behaves alongside the 13 other colors in the Benjamin Moore Color Trends 2022 palette, which includes High Park 467, an herbaceous green; Wild Flower 2090-40, a sunbaked pink red; and frothy, ethereal shades like Steam AF-15, Morning Dew OC-140, and Natural Linen 966/CC-90. Just like that flower stem, October Mist plays well with nearly every color on the wheel.

Much like the green stem of a flower, October Mist creates a canvas for the Color Trends 2022 palette—and the imagination—to blossom.

Drawing from everyday observations, hobbies, personal rituals and cultural influences, the Color Trends 2022 palette features 14 Benjamin Moore colors that encourage experimentation and make room for any design style. The different shades of green that took root in that initial meeting are present in the chosen colors, which include three other verdant hues—Fernwood Green 2145-40, High Park 467 and Gloucester Sage HC-100.

October Mist was chosen as Benjamin Moore Color of the Year in part for its versatility.

The color’s connective qualities are fitting for intermediary spaces like hallways or staircases, where it can act as a gateway to whatever lies in the next room. And it can even work to create or accentuate the architecture of a space: “If you don’t have millwork or wainscoting, you can create it with this grounded color at the base of the room,” she explains. “Or, if the room does have built-in millwork, you can play it up with sheen in an all-over effect.”

“This [is a] transitional period,” Magno explains. “We’re at this point in time where we’re looking for stability and a feeling of being rooted. But at the same time we want an escape; we’re ready to express ourselves.”

The idea of self-expression in the home was a key concept throughout the team’s curation process. “We feel that the palette is a jumping-off point for people to express themselves in the decoration of their homes, an idea which has become so important over the last 18 months,” says Magno. “We want people to create combinations that are unique to their homes and really play with color in new ways.”

The flexibility of October Mist, which can both ground a room solo or complement another hue, is part of what clinched its selection. “It has a nice dual presence,” says Magno. “There’s something mystical yet nurturing in the idea of mist—something about it evokes the stem of a flower, which is a great metaphor for how you can approach it in the home. It lays a foundation you can build upon.”