While there are certainly “comfort colors” in the world of home design, there’s been a shift towards more vibrant (yet still approachable!) hues. Benjamin Moore’s Color of the Year 2025, “Cinnamon Slate” (2113-40), represents that change, carefully blending the desire for more color with the need for nuance.
Cinnamon Slate, described by the popular paint brand as a “delicate mix of heathered plum and velvety brown,” is lively enough to brighten up a room while still remaining familiar enough to encourage guests to step inside and get cozy. Sometimes it looks more like a soft purple, and sometimes it appears more brown — that balance is what makes it “quietly colorful,” according to the brand.
“As the use of more saturated color in design has increased in recent years, we are seeing a growing interest in more nuanced colors, whose undertones add intricacy and dimension,” says Andrea Magno, director of color marketing & design at Benjamin Moore. “Cinnamon Slate is an inviting hue that offers enduring style and modern sensibility. Its depth and richness bring an air of approachability and sense of comfort throughout the home, making it a new favorite for years to come.”
Benjamin Moore’s Color of the Year 2025 answers this need for subtle color with a shade that’s still easy to integrate into any room. And what better way to do it than with a purple-brown hybrid? Purple has been popping up in home design recently, not only for its liveliness, but for it’s ability to create a soothing environment. It’s only right to highlight a color that blends plum, a hue that’s somehow energetic and calming all at once, with a tried-and-true brown, a color we all can trust.
Yet just because Cinnamon Slate and the rest of Benjamin Moore’s Color Trends 2025 palette is of course based on, you guessed it — trends — doesn’t mean they won’t be fan favorites for years to come. Shades like Tissue Pink and Leather Saddle Brown offer that same adaptability we all seem to be looking for in the colors we choose to drench our homes in. The slow yet steady move away from minimalistic home design is still happening, and colors like these, ones that combine the energy of one hue with the subtlety of another, are part of that journey.
For most of us who are looking for a bit more color than we’ve experimented with in recent years but are still not ready to go full-blown saturated, Benjamin Moore has responded with its Color of the Year 2025. Who knows, maybe Cinnamon Slate will even become our go-to comfort color one day.
Laura Millar (she/her) is the assistant editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers home design. Prior to joining Good Housekeeping in 2024, she wrote for NBC’s TODAY.com where she covered everything from entertainment news to product reviews to pop culture updates.
