While Pantone has been declaring a Color of the Year for 20 years, this marks the first time Belgard has decided to announce their own Color of the Year.
“With all of the work we’re doing around Collections by Belgard and mapping color trends to make sure we’re providing the right variety in our colors and blends, it just felt like the right time to share our expertise with our own color of the year,” says Julie Scott, senior brand manager for Belgard.
Unlike Pantone and Sherwin Williams, who both went with a dark blue this year, Belgard has selected Terrarium to be its Color of the Year.
Terrarium is an earthy green that is meant to pair well with biophilic designs, sleek grays in contemporary looks and warm tans and beiges.
“As a designer, the color of the year announcement from Pantone is super exciting for me and is an interesting indicator of where color trends might be going,” says Heather Cook, creative team lead with Belgard. “However, it’s very fashion and textile driven, meant to be fleeting and trendy, something that doesn’t always lend itself well to architectural spaces. 2019’s color was a bold coral, which I loved, but it felt like too sharp for outdoor living design. In addition, paint companies like Sherwin Williams and Behr, weigh in with their color of the year that we could have built. However, even those choices seem to be based on more short-term trends. We had been looking for a way to show homeowners that outdoor living spaces aren’t a fleeting trend and feel like Terrarium portrays that message.”
As for how Belgard went about selecting this color, Scott says it was chosen in conjunction with their colorist and trend expert and coordinates with their pavers as an accent.
Cook adds that the Belgard team looked at the details of what was happening in fashion and interior design trends and noted richer, moodier colors were being used as contrasts for bright, bold colors.
“Taking into account our growing desire to reconnect with nature and the prevalence of biophilic design, we kept coming back to this deep, velvety green that we ended up calling Terrarium,” Cook says. “It reminded us of succulents or the deep suede leaves of an Anthurium.”
Professional landscapers can incorporate this color into their projects in a number of ways including but not limited to plant material, furnishings, shade structures and more.
“Terrarium really speaks to the fundamentals of outdoor living and biophilic design,” says Joe Raboine, director or residential hardscapes with Belgard. “It can be paired with any hardscape product Belgard makes via accents, furniture, etc. and helps unite the space with the natural environment. There are so many options today when it comes to furnishings, shade structures, screens, etc. and all of those can incorporate this color. We hope it inspires our designers and contractors to add some interest, fun and color to their spaces!”
Cook says Terrarium isn’t limited to any particular landscape aesthetic but works especially well with biophilic designs.
“Terrarium is so versatile it really works with all of our textures,” Cook says. “A paver or wall from the Natural Collection in a warm beige or tan brings an earthy vibe to a space, while paring it with a product from our Metropolitan Collection in a cool or warm gray adds natural warmth to more modern spaces.”