While at NeoCon, The Drill Down team ran into two people with their fingers on the pulse of paint and color trends:

• Erika Woelfel, Behr Paint VP Color and Creative Services
• Stephanie Lindsey, Principal Designer at Etch Design Group

Naturally, we had to pick their brains. 

Behr has four new exciting color palettes for the upcoming year. The palettes were inspired by nature, nostalgia and technology.

• Metro Chic is a mix between NYC and Paris. 
• Mystic Wave has aquatic tones for healthcare.
• Soulscape is rooted in the Mediterranean.
• Fusion Dream contains edgy colors from tech and AI.

Erika and Stephanie had plenty more to share so we’ve distilled the four topics from our conversation that could be most productive for home improvement marketers and designers alike.

1) AI is speeding up decision-making.

AI this, AI that. No matter where you fall on the role of AI, one thing has become clear on the impact of AI in this space: people without any design experience can now visualize environments they otherwise wouldn’t have.

🎨 Paint the picture

Stephanie’s daughter saw an AI rendering from her mattoboard material palette. She immediately asked for this to be her exact room. That would have never happened had she just seen individual color swatches and furniture selections.

2) Pinterest still reigns supreme for inspiration.

Yep, Pinterest has the most sway. Not Instagram. Not TikTok. Pinterest. Despite the rise of other social platforms for other use cases, the place consumers are mood-boarding is still Pinterest. They go there for inspiration, and to define and refine their vision.

🎨 Paint the picture

Pinterest has unlocked a seamless starting point for designers to communicate with their clients. 

“We launched our inaugural Designer Council—to bring a curated group of visionary professionals into the fold as we developed the 2026 Commercial Color Forecast.”

– Erika Woelfel, Behr Paint VP Color and Creative Service

3) Designers are influencers. 

The heavy hitters of the paint world now have design councils. Professional designers are invited into the conversation, helping shape palettes based on what they’re hearing and seeing. Currently, color trends are influenced by lifestyle, tech and automotive. 

🎨 Paint the picture

Paint can help sell a home. A pop of color on the front door can be a fun way to catch attention. Light, warm colors are inviting and can be personalized — e.g. Silver Ash from Behr. Warm, light neutrals work well as primary wall colors because they play best with a variety of furniture styles.

“Clients are asking us how to make their teams feel more energized and engaged the moment they walk in the door. Make people want to be there.”

– Stephanie Lindsey, Principal Designer at Etch Design Group

4) Office workers are craving color.

Return to office mandates come with a need to energize those previously neutral spaces. More and more offices are looking for curated environments. Paint is a cost-efficient way to make rooms and other spaces more purposeful. One example: bright colors can be great for wayfinding. 

🎨 Paint the picture

Fusion Dream palette was developed for energetic office colors, specifically for tech and AI companies. This color palette is designed to be inviting, making people feel like they belong there.  

Next time you’re at NeoCon, we recommend that you also randomly run into Erika and Stephanie. Our conversation about paint sure did pay off. 

Knowing full well that NeoCon is focused on the commercial side of things, we were able to glean insights for both the residential and commercial sides of the color spectrum. Lucky us. And now, lucky you.