Warm Earth Tones Surge as Top Paint Choice, New Data Shows
A paint-sample company's three-year sales data reveals that warm tones now make up nearly 70% of U.S. purchases, up from 64% two years ago. Meanwhile, gray and blue have declined in popularity, with gray dropping from 35.9% to 30.9% and blue from 38.7% to 34.7%. The shift points to a growing preference for earthy, warm neutrals over cool shades in home interiors.
The data comes from Samplize, a company selling peel-and-stick paint samples across major U.S. brands, tracking millions of customer purchases over three years. While design professionals have recently highlighted cool blue tones — with Glidden and Valspar both naming blue hues for 2027 — consumer behavior tells a different story.
Brown shades showed the strongest growth among earth tones, climbing from 9.2% to 13.4% of customer shortlists. Green also emerged as a versatile favorite, appearing on over 36% of palettes with shades ranging from sage to deep botanical tones. Warmer grays like greige and pewter serve as transitional colors between the fading cool palette and the rising warm aesthetic.
This shift could influence more than individual paint choices. Homeowners may find their existing cool-toned decor feels dated, potentially driving spending on new furnishings and accessories. Renters and buyers might reconsider how they evaluate neutral interiors in listings, while paint manufacturers could adjust their product lines and marketing toward warm earth tones. The trend may also affect interior designers' recommendations and home staging practices, as warmer palettes become the expected baseline for appealing residential spaces.