The colors of 2015: Just add a squirt of black pigment to last year’s colors. Did you know you can buy just the squirt of color, so you can mix your own paints at home?

You might want to start.

Sherwin Williams is striking out for the tropics with something called “Coral Reef.” I painted my kitchen this color once, and lived to regret it. It’s Pepto Bismol with a squirt of black. You’ll like it if you’ve ever dreamed of living inside of a seashell.

Benjamin Moore: Ben is sticking with the foggy-beach palette. In 2012 Ben called for Wyeth Blue, a pale gray-blue. In 2013 Wyeth was supplanted by the unlikely and unremarkable Lemon Sorbet. In 2014, Wyeth Blue shed some of the black to return as Breath of Fresh Air. And for 2015 we have dusty and inoffensive Guilford Green, categorized as a “natural neutral.”

Pantone, which last year picked a desperately unattractive color, which I also have used in my house by accident, will not name its next color until January. Here’s last year’s Hollering Orchid, aka Purple Teletubby, aka Grape Kool-Aid.

Pantone has released the palette–the card of color it feels will dominate the year to come. Im glad to see gray is still in there; and orange. But the blues aren’t working for me. Especially with the grayed-out almond and custard. And there’s more pink, this time as “Strawberry Ice.” 

I’m not inspired by any of these. The natural neutral green is my favorite of the lot, but it looks a little faded to me, like it’s already 10 years old. What am I in the mood for? I’m not exactly sure, but perhaps something like this: I know–same as last year.