How to Use Color to Create a Mood [Sherwin-Williams’ Color of the Year 2025]

Posted by Val Malnar on October 30, 2024

When it comes to designing a space that feels right to you, your family and the people you entertain, choosing the right colors for your design is key.

Today I’m sharing Sherwin-Williams' 2025 Color Capsule of the Year (they selected 9 paint colors this year to celebrate their 15^th anniversary). I’m going to tell you how to use them to create a mood in your home - whether it’s one of relaxation, fun and liveliness or calm comfort.

Let’s explore the moods these nine colors can help you create in your space.

GROUNDED
Mood: This earthy brown, as the name suggests, brings a sense of stability and comfort. It offers a calming backdrop that invites a warm, grounded energy, making it ideal for spaces meant for relaxation or reflection.

Where to use it: Use Grounded in living rooms, dining rooms or bedrooms or anywhere else that you want to create a nurturing atmosphere.

Sherwin Williams Color of the Year 2025 Grounded

SUNBLEACHED
Mood: Sunbleached is a soft, muted pink that evokes feelings of calm and tranquility. Its understated warmth brings a sense of gentleness, making it perfect for unwinding after a long day.

Where to use it: Sunbleached works beautifully in bedrooms or bathrooms, spaces where you want to cultivate peace and restfulness.

Sherwin Williams Color of the Year 2025 - Sunbleached

CHARTREUSE
Mood: This yellow-green is vibrant and lively and is known to boost energy levels and creativity. It’s a playful shade, ideal for sparking imagination and enthusiasm.

Where to use it: Use Chartreuse in creative spaces such as play rooms and studies or office spaces to stimulate mental activity.

Sherwin Williams Color of the Year 2025 - Chartreuse

BOSC PEAR
Mood: A rich, deep golden yellow with a grounding quality, Bosc Pear conveys immense warmth making it ideal for creating a welcoming environment.

Where to use it: Bosc Pear is perfect for entryways, living rooms, dining areas or any space that you want to feel friendly and inviting.

Sherwin Williams Color of the Year 2025 - Bosc Pear

Source

WHITE SNOW
Mood: A crisp, cool white that evokes clarity and focus. White Snow serves as a blank canvas making any space feel clean, open and airy.

Where to use it: Great for open concept homes, kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms or any other area where a sense of cleanliness or expansiveness is desired.

Color of the year 2025 Sherwin Williams - White Snow

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RAIN CLOUD
Mood: Rain Cloud is a smoky blue that provides a sense of calm, making it ideal for spaces intended for reflection, relaxation and tranquility.

Where to use it: Retreat with Rain Cloud in bedrooms, meditation spaces, offices, reading nooks or bathrooms.

Sherwin Williams Color of the Year 2025 - Rain Cloud

CLOVE
Mood: This bold brown exudes a sense of strength, depth and coziness. Brown is a comforting, earthy color that epitomizes the desire to have natural things around. It's casual, stable and reliable.

Where to use it: Use this deep, moody brown for dens, libraries, living rooms or any space where you want to create a cozy, comfortable feel.

Sherwin Williams Color of the Year 2025 - Clove

MALABAR
Mood: Malabar is a soft, mid-tone beige that feels dependable, conservative and traditional. It's a flexible neutral in that it is warm and inviting, but also calm and relaxing.

Where to use it: Use Malabar freely throughout the home. This beige will go well with almost any other color.

Sherwin Williams Color of the Year 2025 - Malabar

MAUVE FINERY
Mood: This muted mauve offers a feminine sophistication. Mauve tones are known to inspire creativity and a sense of calm without overpowering a space.

Where to use it: Use Mauve Finery in bedrooms, craft rooms or meditative areas to reflect, feel peaceful or inspire new ideas.

Sherwin Williams Color of the Year 2025 - Mauve Finery

By now you're likely seeing how various colors can psychologically impact how you feel in a space. Because of this, you’ll want to consider how color supports the activities and emotions you want to encourage in your own home. Choosing colors that align with how you want to feel can have a significant effect on your well-being. You can use the paint colors from Sherwin-Williams’ 2025 Color of the Year Capsule to cultivate spaces that boost energy, nurture comfort and relaxation or inspire creativity - or you can use a myriad of other colors to create whichever feelings you desire in your home.

If you’re not sure how to do this and you’d like help with creating a space that “feels” aligned with who you are and how you want to feel, please consider our virtual paint consult service. We’d love to help you.

And if you'd like more paint color inspiration check out Benjamin Moore's 2025 Color of the Year, read 2024's Coziest Paint Colors or get our 2024 eBook of 20 expertly curated paint color schemes.

Original Paint Color Scheme eBook also available here.

As always, if you need help decorating your home, we’d love to help you. Check out our virtual interior design services here.

See some of our projects and how clients felt about the services we offer via our portfolio here and testimonials here.

We also wanted to let you know that we now offer virtual interior design services for vacation rental properties. If you'd like your rental to stand out from the crowd, we'd love to help you. Check out our Airbnb Vacation Rental Design Services.

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Lastly, if you’d like to see more of my favorite home decor and furniture, make sure you visit the furniture and home decor shop to see some of my favorite pieces to incorporate into your home interior.

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