The Pantone Color Institute recently announced “Greenery” as 2017’s Color of the Year. Officially Pantone 15-0343, the hue is described as “a fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring when nature’s greens revive, restore, and renew.” Seemingly appropriate given our need for a fresh start after what can best be described as a strenuous 2016.
Pantone executive director Leatrice Eisman adds: “Greenery bursts forth in 2017 to provide us the reassurance we yearn for amid a tumultuous social and political environment. Satisfying our growing desire to rejuvenate and revitalize, Greenery symbolizes the reconnection we seek with nature, one another, and a larger purpose.”
Forest Bathing
Attributing Greenery’s popularity to our desire to retreat to nature, which was fueled by our deep immersion in current events, urban life, and contemporary technologies, Eisman connects this color to Shinrin-yoku, “a Japanese concept called ‘forest bathing,’ which says that when you are feeling stressed, one of the best things to do is go walk in the forest.”
Yet how can one do when nowhere near a forest? Bring it into your own living environment of course, decorating and equipping your home with 2017’s featured color. You need not buy all the latest in décor, even if many manufacturers would expectedly use Greenery with their new offerings, but rather just look for what you may need or want for your home and consider having them in this color.
It Can Be Easy Being Green
Before you say “it is not easy being green,” remember that your home need not turn entirely into the Incredible Hulk. You can definitely use Greenery as a centerpiece color combined with others. For example, instead of completely repainting your living room walls, you could opt for your doors and curtains to be in Greenery.
The same can be said of the home’s exterior, where you can choose to have your front door or windows in Greenery. It is understandable if you do not want Greenery to have a minimal presence in your home; complimentary items like a set of drinking glasses, a lamp, or kitchen towels are a good way to still decorate with this hue.
Use Actual Greenery
What actual decorating items would best feature the color Greenery in your home? Actual living greenery, of course. Plants undoubtedly are the best embodiment of the revival, restoration, and renewal that inspired this color in the first place. Again, you need not take forest bathing in the most literal sense, but if your home is devoid of plants, 2017 would be the best time to add some.
Apart from being an understated yet elegant addition to your home, decorative foliage also helps improve its air quality. If possible, try growing consumable plants, like the basil pictured above, to get even more benefit from your decorative plants.
Environmentally Friendly Living
It is complemented by other Pantone hues like Oil Yellow and Faded Denim that also reflect the desire to live healthfully and make repurposing and reusing natural and industrial materials a habit.
Some brands, too, have not failed to notice, often featuring Greenery and others in their environmentally friendly product lines. Hit two birds with one stone and opt for environmentally friendly products for your home, while exploring the color combinations that you can do with Greenery and other eco-colors.
This article was originally posted on Lamudi.com.ph.
Main image via Shutterstock
