PAINT
“For many people of a certain age, calamine lotion was an intrinsic part of early life. Applied to treat scraped knees, stings and the general travails of a lively childhood, it was always of comfort. And what was more calming, the actual lotion or its extraordinary delicate color? It certainly creates soothing rooms in the modern world,” she says.
As for the fishy one, the name was found on a decorator’s invoice dated 1805 for a library. “Salmon is the color, and ‘Dead’ actually refers to the matte paint finish,” Studholme says.
Another rosy paint that Studholme thinks is wellnamed was inspired by the soft, feminine shade found in traditional ladies’ private quarters. But
“Boudoir Pink” didn’t sit right, she says.
“So, we spent time considering how the boudoir got its name, only to discover it comes from the French ‘bouder,’ meaning ‘to sulk.’ Thus, Sulking Room Pink was born,” she says.
Pink has enjoyed a favored position in the color pantheon since at least 2014, when movie director Wes Anderson clad his “Grand Budapest Hotel” in the hue. That was followed by rose gold fever. Color company Pantone designated light pinks as signature colors in both 2016 and 2017.
Paint marketers generally like names that are aspirational, that stir the imagination. First Light is Benjamin Moore’s 2020 Color of the Year, a dreamy, soft shade of pink. The company’s director of color marketing and development, Andrea Magno, says that while the color was already part of Benjamin Moore’s 3,500-hue library, “it’s always fortuitous when the trend concept and color name complement one another. While descriptions like ‘light pink’ are quite straightforward, we also look for names that evoke positive associations and experiences.”
PPG Paint’s senior color marketing manager, Dee Schlotter, says Linen Ruffle is the top pink requested on the company’s Paintzen platform. It’s a pale, taupetinged white with a pink undertone, named to evoke images of ruffly pillows and curtains.
And what about Kenny’s Kiss or Salsa Diane, two other pinks in the PPG collection? The former was named after an employee’s dog; the latter after a color lab stylist’s beachy dress.
Sherwin-Williams’ color of the year is Romance, another gentle pink with a name that stirs feelings.
Ebel, of Backdrop, says pinks have been the most fun to name. “I wanted to keep the colors and names approachable for people like me — I wasn’t a huge pink person before Backdrop,” she says.
“Harajuku Morning was inspired by a trip we took to Tokyo in 2016. The color is bright, airy and fun, and reminded us of the playfulness of Takeshita Street, but in the morning before the crowds. Modern Love was inspired by one of my favorite New York Times columns — the color makes me think of the beautiful, messy feelings that come with relationships,” she says.
Just like the beautiful, messy relationship we all have with the brushes, rollers and paint colors we bring home.