01/01/2026
Happy New Year to all! I don't usually get to involved in the "trend" colors, door styles, or fads in the design community, as my focus has always been the individual customers I am working with and what is the best solution for their particular design. In that I gather not only their personal taste and feelings on color, texture, and styles, but also look at what fits the architecture of the house, and the timeline they plan to be in the home. All these things direct the overall design and personal fit for the customer with the project.
When I saw the 2026 Pantone color of the year was a white, I almost laughed, as I'm sure many others did as well. First off there are a million "whites" out there, so the first critics will likely comment on that this is a specific white, which is all well and good but it's a white! In my humble opinion white is a timeless color, and has been a vial color selection for your primary elements (in my world that means cabinets), for the last 30+ years I've been in the kitchen and bath business. Accenting white cabinetry with alternate colors of paint, cabinet hardware, plumbing & lighting fixtures can make the same room feel completely different to the customers and at the same time allows for the transition from one homeowner to another without completely blowing up the room on a renovation. I took a recent master bath project and transitioned the cabinet hardware, lighting and plumbing fixtures only to provide a quick visual change to the space with the following pictures, as an example. Let me know your thoughts on this revolutionary "white" color of the year, and if this is really anything new!