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2025 COLOR OF THE YEAR

December 16, 2024

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The grand reveal of the new year’s chosen colors is an annual spectacle eagerly anticipated by those passionate about all aspects of design. It's exciting to see the selections from top paint companies for 2025 Color of the Year. From stunning jewel tones to deep chocolate browns, cool blues, not-so-basic neutrals, and more, there is so much potential for creating personalized spaces in your Santa Barbara home. The selections focus on crafting a cozy, relaxing atmosphere while embracing bold saturation. Whether you're planning to update your walls or give an old piece of furniture a fresh look, use the 2025 colors of the year for inspiration.

The Transformative Power of Color in Home Design

When it comes to home design, color is the brushstroke that brings a space to life, as demonstrated in the image above of my Prancing Horse Estate listing. Color influences every aspect of decor, evoking a range of emotions from the timeless to the cutting-edge. For the upcoming year, top paint companies are offering a diverse palette, from soothing neutrals to bold, vibrant hues, allowing Santa Barbara area homeowners and their designers to express their personal or professional style and individuality through the language of color.

A delicate goblet of chocolate mousse on a mouse-tone background, with a small superimposed label designating Pantone's Color of the Year: Mocha Mousse..

Pantone’s 2025 Color of the Year Captures Comfort, Connection, and Harmony

The Pantone Color Institute, recognized worldwide as a leading source of color expertise, launched the Color of the Year program 26 years ago to explore the dynamic relationship between color and society. Each year, Pantone selects a shade that encapsulates the collective mood, reflecting a global zeitgeist and forecasting trends in design and culture.

For 2025, Pantone has crowned Mocha Mousse, a hue with a sensory connection to nature and indulgence. It’s a warming color and shade described as “an evocative soft brown” with an earthy sophistication that nurtures and comforts. Reminiscent of yummy delights like chocolate and coffee, the color answers our collective craving for harmony in an ever-changing world and appeals to the human need for authenticity and connection.

According to the company, Mocha Mousse isn’t just a color, it’s a versatile design statement featuring an earthy elegance that allows it to stand alone or act as a foundation for a variety of palettes. From minimalist aesthetics to intricate designs, this plush brown is poised to influence everything from home decor to fashion and beyond due to its alignment with a more natural, harmonious way of living.

Bring the essence of comfort and sophistication into your Santa Barbara home with Mocha Mousse as it works beautifully on walls, floors, and home décor. Its natural elegance complements wood, stone, rattan, and leather, while its luxe feel pairs effortlessly with linen and other soft textiles. Whether refreshing a living room, enhancing a kitchen's natural tones, or adding a grounding touch, Mocha Mousse warmly invites relaxation and connection, embodying the timeless beauty of Santa Barbara living.

About 3 dozen open paint cans displaying paint in many colors, in a photo shot from overhead.

Diverse Picks by Other Experts for 2025

  • Benjamin Moore chose Cinnamon Slate, a sophisticated mix of heathered plum and velvety brown, offering versatility throughout your Santa Barbara home. This shade brings a contemporary edge to traditional interiors, adding a cozy atmosphere to modern spaces. This bold hue is the perfect way to add a touch of unique personalization while maintaining a sense of ease and soothing familiarity, making it both adaptable and distinct.
  • Sherwin-Williams has selected not just one but nine complementary hues for its 2025 Color Capsule of the Year, showcasing a curated collection of essential colors to help Santa Barbara area homeowners express their own unique color stories. The palette blends the brand’s timeless favorite shades, offering a harmonious modern take on color, whether used as a complete palette or in carefully chosen pairings, adding lasting beauty to any style or space.
  • Valspar's Encore, a deep blue, is perfect for Santa Barbara homes, blending a beachy ambiance and Old World charm with a modern aesthetic. Its adaptability makes it a thought-provoking choice as a bold standalone feature or a neutral backdrop enhanced with vibrant accents. The color works well in interiors and exteriors, complimenting wood and concrete surfaces.
  • Behr named Rumors, a rich ruby red, the color of the year. Another bold choice, this one reimagines the classic reds of the 1990s by blending them with the earthy, modern tones currently trending in interior design. Incorporate it into smaller projects, such as your front door or kitchen cabinets, or make a statement by saturating your living room or bedroom with this luxurious shade.
  • Dutch Boy Paints unveiled Mapped Blue, an adaptable medium blue with subtle yellow undertones, for its 2025 Color of the Year. This pigment effortlessly pairs with many other shades and styles while providing a timeless foundation for your home. Beyond its visual appeal, Mapped Blue symbolizes shifting consumer priorities and evolving design preferences. Plus, it’s a color that will grow with you, not on you.
  • Glidden says go bold or go home in 2025 by introducing the standout jewel tone Purple Basil. This striking shade embodies self-expression and self-discovery, two design philosophies gaining popularity in home design today. The brand encourages homeowners to embrace daring color choices and create unique spaces without worrying about outside opinions.
  • C2 Paint's Thermal is perfect for the Santa Barbara lifestyle we cherish. The refreshing blue evokes a clear sky, encouraging a calm and uplifting atmosphere. Thermal is selected as a bespoke pale yet punchy blue poised for adventure. It symbolizes loyalty, trust, and confidence and provides a call to action to live boldly and freely express matchless styles.

For those contemplating selling their homes, a fresh coat of paint aligned with one or more of the picks for 2025 Color of the Year is a strategic move to enhance your home’s appeal. As a luxury Santa Barbara Realtor with a trained artistic eye and a roster of distinguished designers, I bring invaluable insights when it comes to optimizing the salability of your home or estate. And, of course, I invite those searching for a new home to explore my portfolio of current listings. Contact me at (805) 886-9378 or Cristal@montecito-estate.com for a complimentary consultation. In the meantime, let’s all welcome these new colors into our lives!

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“It was an emotional experience selling our mother’s home in Montecito that we all loved so much but Cristal made the process easier on our whole family by guiding us through the transaction every step of the way. She knows the market so well and everything she recommended was on point including the asking price, painting, and staging the home, which looked beautiful and helped the buyer envision her new home. We sold it the first day it hit the market with an offer above asking! Cristal did an incredible job communicating with us and the buyer to ensure that the transaction would run smoothly. We highly recommend using Cristal, she was a pleasure to work with! ”

- J & A

“Cristal is a pleasure to work with! Her knowledge of the local real estate market coupled with her amazing listening skills resulted in her showing us an array of homes that were all excellent choices. Her low-pressure patient attitude made us feel extremely comfortable with the whole process. I cannot recommend her highly enough.”

- M.F.

“Cristal Clarke is #1 in her field - and you don't become #1 by luck. Cristal works harder, and longer, and with more charm and patience than any real estate agent I have ever worked with in the past; her calendar has no weekend, her days have no clocks, her only concern is selling your property as soon as possible and for the best price on the market. Am I a fan? You bet!”

- P.B.

“We have used Cristal now several times and cannot express how grateful we are for her expertise, dedication, and unwavering support throughout the entire home-buying process. Cristal is knowledgeable, patient and attentive. Her attention to detail is remarkable, and she consistently went above and beyond to provide us with all the information and resources we needed to make informed decisions. Cristal is a skillful negotiator and advocate. She can navigate complex negotiations with professionalism and grace and felt like a true partner to us in the home-buying process. Cristal has a genuine passion for real estate and a deep commitment to her clients' satisfaction. I cannot speak highly enough of Cristal and her exceptional service. She is a true expert in her field and her dedication to excellence, combined with unwavering support is the reason we choose to work with her for all our real estate buying needs.”

- T.C.

“Cristal is a top-notch realtor who sold my home before it ever went on the market. I had two competing offers that enabled me to get top dollar for my home. Not only is Cristal superb but her team is extraordinary. I cannot say enough about Cristal and her team. They are simply phenomenal, the consummate professionals, who took care of every possible detail, making the sale and transition period, smooth from our end. They are also lovely, caring people, who knew all the right professionals, to get the job done. Thank you, everyone!”

- D.R.

“I could list lots of cool adjectives to describe Cristal. All good by the way. But, that is not why I or anyone should hire Cristal. My reason for hiring her, which proved to be correct, is very simple. She got the job done. And, she does it time and time again and with zero issues. And, that is why she is one of the top agents in the country. End of subject. ”

- M.A.

“Working with Cristal was a complete pleasure. Cristal was extremely patient with us as we evaluated nearly 2 dozen homes over a span of 2 years. Her knowledge of the market is unmatched. Cristal provided us with exceptional counsel as we evaluated opportunities and negotiated pricing. The closing process was handled thoroughly and efficiently. We could not be happier with our purchase and even more happy to now call Cristal our friend.”

- D.K.

“Cristal Clarke has conducted numerous real estate transactions for me beginning 13 years ago with the purchase of a Lemon Ranch. She has handled both large and small purchases and sales with equal dedication. As a negotiator, you can’t find anyone better. Her transactions are always conducted in the most appropriate and professional manner. Cristal has considerable knowledge of the Santa Barbara market.”

- S.N. Decker Ph.D.

“Living in Europe, we were to say the least, unaccustomed to the nuances of Real Estate acquisition in California and Cristal steered us through the process with absolute professionalism and personal attention to detail at every turn. Her in-depth knowledge of the market place combined with enthusiasm and drive was the only reason we secured the property of our dreams and will be forever grateful. If you are looking for personal discrete and private representation of the highest quality we suggest you look no further than Cristal Clarke.”

- Johan and Paula van den Berg

“Cristal is very straightforward, cheerful, helpful, professional and trustworthy….we felt very lucky to work with her.”

- John and Lacey Williams

“After considering our many choices, we are grateful it was Cristal Clarke of Sotheby’s International who represented the sale of our Montecito cottage. We are familiar with Cristal’s reputation of hard work and dedication to clients, but it was her attention to detail that made our experience so positive. She offered suggestions for staging the property, worked in harmony with potential buyers and was even able to secure back up offers. The sale of our cottage was completed much sooner than we expected, due in great part to Cristal’s professional skills and support. We highly recommend Cristal as a first choice for anyone needing representation with real estate.”

- Michael & Nancy Lee

“Our experience in working with Cristal Clarke resulted in the successful and discrete acquisition of a property which was not yet on the open market. Her knowledge of the Montecito/Santa Barbara area and vast expertise blended with her passion for real estate and architecture, provided us with the very highest level of professionalism and personalized services. Cristal exhibited a rare combination of excellent communications, attention to detail, creativity and patience.”

- Richard and Catherine Frinier

“Cristal really breaks the mold. She knows every nook and cranny of this real estate market, understands value, and follows up on everything, all the time. She was incredibly patient with our two year quest to find the perfect house. Every house hunting trip from across the country was well planned, and our time was never wasted. On top of her professionalism and expertise, she is delightful to spend time with. We are thrilled with the home we purchased, and grateful to Cristal for so wisely advising us through this process, right through to the close and beyond.”

- Laurie Siegel

“We met Cristal first in the course of renting a winter home (for three years), then buying a house using her as our agent. She was amazingly good at listening to our wants and showing us homes that fit our needs. Her mastery of the paperwork was perfect. Most importantly, there was never a situation where we doubted her straightforwardness or integrity. If we do another real estate transaction in Montecito (which I doubt, we’re happy with what we purchased), without question we’d use Cristal again.”

- Ken Saffir

“Susan and I just want to thank you for your efforts in the sale of our home. You are really quite amazing. Your competence, persistence, optimism and humor made the entire process effortless. Every problem that arose, you somehow fixed; any obstacle, you overcame. We have bought and sold many homes. It has never been such a painless and enjoyable process!”

- Michael & Susan Marquart

“A little something about “our” realtor, Cristal Clarke. My wife and I came to Santa Barbara about fifteen years ago looking for a seasonal home from which to enjoy the weather and amenities of the central coast. Being in the real estate business myself I was familiar with agents and brokers so entered the market with open eyes. We “flipped” a few houses in the early years, dealing with various agents and finally ended up in Montecito. That’s when good fortune put us together with Cristal. To say we were impressed is to put it mildly. Cristal really knows the market. She is familiar with the area, its history and trends. When we have questions about a particular property she either has the answers immediately or gets back to us by phone or email. There is no waiting or wondering with Cristal. She is an agent who is “on top of it.” Her recommendations as to price points, contractors, inspectors and title agents have proven to be exceptional, showing great insight and the highest professional standards. We consider ourselves exceedingly fortunate to say that Cristal Clarke is our realtor and would recommend her services to any serious buyer or seller.”

- Rob & Judi Kelch