The 2024 Color of the Year: A Breezy Blue with a Hint of Silver Lining

3 min read

Described as “a breezy, blissful blue with a hint of silver lining,” Upward SW 6239 (224-C1) is the Sherwin-Williams 2024 Color of the Year.

“We’re really excited about this color,” says Sue Wadden, director of color marketing at Sherwin-Williams. “It’s very light, it’s very beautiful, it’s kind of a silvery undertone, which we haven’t explored in a couple of seasons. So I think people are really going to like it.”

Upward is part of the Blues and Greens palette in Anthology Volume One, the Sherwin-Williams 2024 Colormix® Forecast.

“Coming out of COVID, blues and greens have been important as the colors of nature,” Wadden says. The blue color family, featuring shades ranging from blue-green to navy, is on the rise.

“The blue-and-green color group finds transitional harmony within a world of like colors and resonates beautifully with both cool and warm coordinates. Additionally, the commercial appeal of pale blue hues resonates widely. I can see this color used everywhere!”

Bottom line: You don’t need to be an expert on every color, not when you’ve got this one. Share this breezy and relaxed color with customers and encourage them to try a sample to help guide their color decision.

You can send your customers directly to the 2024 Color of the Year website to get a free color chip, order paint samples and get more inspiration and ideas for color pairings.

Perfect combinations

Sherwin-Williams color experts recommend the following complementary colors to pair with Upward SW 6239:

SW 9166 Drift of Mist

Gale Force SW 7605

Tricorn Black SW 6258

Honeydew SW 6428

Palm Leaf SW 7735

Antiquarian Brown SW 0045

Part of the Anthology Volume One collection

Upward SW 6239 (224-C1) is one of the 48 colors selected for the Sherwin-Williams 2024 Color Forecast.

Anthology: Volume One highlights the latest color directions with a curated collection organized by color family,” Wadden says. This makes color selection easier than ever for customers, and provides painting contractors with a valuable tool to differentiate themselves from the competition.

See all the colors in the collection at swcolorforecast.com.

For more color ideas and inspiration, check out these PPC stories:


This article was originally published in the Winter 2023 issue of PPC. ©2023 Randall Reilly. Read more stories about helping your customers in the paint color selection process in the PPC magazine archive.