What color will homeowners want on their walls next year?

That’s the daunting question Sherwin-Williams seeks to answer every year with its annual Colormix Trend Forecast.

Sherwin-Williams brings together what it calls its trend site team, drawing from areas including industrial wood, performance coatings, and regional design teams. Those different perspectives help the group see how color is changing across industries and markets.

“I’m usually always looking at kind of the whys behind things,” said Emily Kantz, Global Color Marketing Manager for Sherwin-Williams, in an exclusive interview with APC.

Customers often look to painting contractors for more than application expertise, Kantz says. They also want reassurance that the color they’re considering is the right choice.

In previous forecasts, Sherwin-Williams often paired palettes with specific design styles or organized colors into families. This year, the company is deliberately giving people more freedom.

“It’s almost like a choose your own adventure,” Kantz said. “You have the power; we’re giving you the tools.”

This year, the company also created a group of 10 “continuity colors” pulled from the larger 48-color forecast. Kantz described them as usable colors with staying power that can give homeowners and contractors a manageable place to begin.

So, after spending so much time analyzing the 2027 collection, does Kantz have a favorite?

She does, although choosing one isn’t easy.

“They’re all like my children,” she joked.

If forced to pick, however, she gravitates toward Secret Garden, a rich green that taps into the continuing influence of nature.

“I’ve just been really gravitating towards the greens lately,” Kantz said.

For contractors, that may be one forecast worth remembering the next time a customer asks what color everybody is going to want next.