The Sherwin-Williams 2025 Color Capsule of the Year Is Effervescently Retro | Architectural Digest

All products featured on Architectural Digest are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The Sherwin-Williams 2025 Color Capsule of the Year may come as a surprise. Since 2010, the leading paint brand has helped designers and consumers sift through swatches by proclaiming an annual Color of the Year. Now, in honor of the program’s 15th anniversary, they haven’t just shared a 2025 Color of the Year, but a whole Color Capsule.

“We’ve gotten feedback that maybe just one color is not enough. ‘If I don’t love [the Color of the Year], then what do I do?’,” Sherwin-Williams’s director of color marketing Sue Wadden tells PRO. “So we’re using this as an opportunity to celebrate nine colors, which we feel like are all gorgeous, on-trend hues.”

Become an AD PRO member for only $25 $20 per month.

Name-checking influences ranging from this year’s European design shows to the warm glow of ’70s nostalgia, Wadden describes the 2025 Color Capsule of the Year as having “a little something for everybody.” The collection sports multiple eye-catching hues across several key categories, ranging from vibrant whites to rich browns and a host of other warming, quietly luxurious shades, empowering designers and DIY’ers to tell any kind of color story they choose.

The Sherwin-Williams 2025 Color Capsule of the Year

Browns are having a moment, and the presence of both true- and near-browns in the capsule reaffirms that notion. As its name suggests, Grounded, a “beautiful mid-tone” reflects a connection to the earth, yet it feels freed from the typical associations with nature that dominated the color landscape during the COVID era. Practically blurring the line between black and brown, the coolly undertoned Clove offers an elevated alternative to your typical charcoal embodying notions of warmth and coziness while keeping things decidedly on trend. If a true brown feels like a bridge too far, Malabar’s beige undertones introduce a little bit of smooth serenity.

Wadden notes that those browns look even more exquisite when paired with the right kind of white, and the 2025 Color Capsule of the Year’s doesn’t disappoint in that regard. The underrated Sunbleached, a “beautiful, creamy white that people don’t necessarily know about,” sits on an even cool between warm and cool tones, managing to offer more than the typical shade of white without losing its way. If you’re after the best and brightest, White Snow and its 93.5% light reflectance value is as crisp as they come, sure to add a sense of purity and spaciousness to any project.

One notable color story contained with Sherwin-Williams’s 2025 Color Capsule of the Year is the subtle but significant shift away from natural greens to something a bit more yellow. The fashion-forward Chartreuse alludes to trends in streetwear and athleisure, perfect for introducing small but impactful pops of color into the home. Similarly, Bosc Pear ripens up a dusty tone with something a bit yellowish-golden. You may not want to drench a whole space in these colors, but they’re a perfect opportunity to add little bits of cheer through restrained applications in side rooms or small nooks.

While the capsule showcases a full spectrum of timeless-yet-trending colors for 2025, Wadden wagers that the muted botanical of Mauve Finery might have been the go-to choice if Sherwin-Williams were to stick with just one color. A true mauve that offers a wisp of purple without feeling like something that Prince or a king might wear, it can mesh with an array of aesthetics and moods depending on the context.

“If you want something that’s a little more feminine or botanical, you can lean into the purple side by pairing Mauve Finery with Chartreuse, a beautiful white, or maybe Bosc Pear,” suggests Wadden. “If you’re trying to go for a more sophisticated, ’70s-inspired vibe, pairing it with a deep brown like Clove creates a totally different interpretation.”

While the capsule makes no claims to predict the colors we’ll still be loving 15 years from now, Wadden believes Rain Cloud’s blend of teal with notes of muted gray is most likely to stand the test of time.

“The brightness of a jewel tone sometimes bothers me, but Rain Cloud has just a little bit of muted gray that I think could be really sophisticated,” she says. “Blues do tend to last and have staying power, so I would lean into Rain Cloud for its longevity.”

Sure, one can see the selection of nine hues in the Sherwin-Williams 2025 Color Capsule of the Year as a way for the paint company to avoid hitching their wagon to any one color. But by presenting nine colors capable of working in concert, there’s much more space for creativity without the guesswork.

“A palette gives you flexibility to pull colors in and out. Maybe in one room you want something moody and deep, and in the adjacent room you want something bright and airy,” says Wadden. “We’ve shared the palette with some designers to get their take, and they’ve told us they’d just use this palette as is because it takes a lot of the guesswork away.”