If your home has been looking a little lackluster lately, you may be wondering how to spruce it up. If your home is older, perhaps you’re investigating what’s on-trend or how to make your home look more modern. Creating fresh looks with tile is a great way to enhance your home’s appearance on a modest budget.

What Is Pantone’s Color of the Year?

If you love color or home design and you’re not aware of Pantone, now’s the time to learn! Pantone developed a color matching system a long time ago — 1963, to be exact — that is still in use today. Each color gets a number, and this helps designers, artists, and interior decorators communicate with each other and with their clients to be sure that they are seeing the same hues, shades, and tones.

Every year, Pantone picks a “color of the year”. For 2021, our colors are Ultimate Gray and Illuminating. Ultimate Gray is a deep, warm gray that pairs wonderfully with bright tones like the bold yellow of Illuminating. These colors look good together, but each offers something that could be used with other color schemes. For example, the bright yellow could be brought in as an accent color by using pillows, lamps, and tile designs in specific areas of your home. Gray can serve as a neutral backdrop, or it could be a tile accent as well in a smaller area like a bathroom or shower.

Creating Tile Looks Using These Colors

Usually, Pantone picks one standout color for each year, but this year we’re fortunate to have two. Creating fresh looks with tile is easier with multiple colors, and these colors are easy to bring into your home. Here are three ways in which you can update your space with this modern and timeless color scheme.

1. Incorporate Stone-Look Tile

Stone-look tile can take the place of natural stone for decorating fireplaces, bathrooms, and kitchens. If you’re used to thinking of gray as being a “cold” color, think again! Within the last decade, we’ve seen gray replace earth tones like khaki and brown as one of the most popular neutrals. This is evidenced in Pantone’s choice. Gray can be paired with bright colors (like the vibrant sunny tones of Illuminating’s yellow) to create a unique statement, or it can be toned down with other neutrals like black, white, and cream.

2. Use the Colors as Accents

If you’re not ready to commit to a fully gray-and-yellow house (or maybe you are, and we can’t fault you for that!), you can incorporate these colors as accents to create a timeless and sophisticated flair. Bathrooms can be updated with a gray-tiled shower with bright yellow lights, or kitchens that already feature gray walls may look nice with a stripe of yellow tile in the new neutral-toned backsplash. Tile is a great choice of material for adding pops of color while still keeping the room neutral.

3. Pick Yellow Tile for a Bold Statement

You may not be able to find the exact color of Illuminating in your favorite tile, there are certainly many options to choose from. Pick yellow tile for the most lively areas of your home such as a guest bathroom, a kitchen, or the kids’ shower, and bring a bit of Illuminating’s sun into your life. You can pair the brightness of yellow with other equally intense colors to create a playful look or use that warm gray to create a more mature, eye-catching design.

We’re here to help! If you’re still stuck on your interior design, peruse our catalog of affordable, on-trend tiles, read through our suggestions, or reach out to Mosaic Tile Outlet for help creating your perfect tile look.