THE INSPIRATION PLACE PODCAST
Miriam Schulman: They’re calling this the era of anti trend practicality. So colors that are built to last not just photograph well. Architectural digest headline said Non-boring beige is back.
Speaker 2: It’s The Inspiration Place podcast with artist Miriam Schulman. Welcome to The Inspiration Place podcast, an Art World insider podcast for artists by an artist, where each week we go behind the scenes to uncover the perspiration and inspiration behind the art. And now your host, Miriam Schulman.
Miriam Schulman: Hey, you know what I love best about this time of year? It’s not the pumpkin spice lattes.
Miriam Schulman: It’s not Halloween. It’s not Thanksgiving. Every fall, the top paint companies reveal the color of the year, and 2026 is giving us a powerful roadmap for what buyers are craving, not just for their walls, but in how they connect with your art, with your creativity and your brand. So let’s talk about why this matters. Color trends influence everything from home decor, fashion, branding, and the emotional cues that collectors respond to. As a creative entrepreneur, aligning with, or at least responding to these palettes makes your work feel of the moment without being trendy for trends sake. So let’s talk about the big picture of 2026 color trends. It’s shifting away from cool grays and stark whites. In fact, it’s been moving away from grays for quite some time, actually, in case you didn’t know. But it’s moving more towards warm neutrals, whether that’s grounding greens, even heritage Inherited Reds and what they are calling reassuring blues. So the overall theme that color companies are noticing are comfort and heritage intentionality, and that audiences are craving sanctuary, but also richness and depth. So I’m going to first talk about what’s going on across brands and break down some of the specifics. So across the brands, there is a consensus that people want more of that warm khaki ivory neutrals. So example of this would be Sherwin Williams Universal Khaki Dutch Boys melodious ivory. Another trend that people are noticing are what’s known as biophilic greens.
Miriam Schulman: Those are new neutrals, so green that kind of has more of a gray feel. Here’s an example. Bears hidden gem is kind of a smoky jade. So it’s a bluish greenish gray color. Valspar has a color called warm eucalyptus. It’s very similar idea. And then we have other brands showing things like heritage reds and plums. So that’s glidden’s warm mahogany. And then the third trend that is picking up steam are blues. Blues because you can trust blues like blue glasses. Blues are a reassuring color. So Dulux Indigo Spectrum they have colors. Free groove, slow swing, mellow flow. And then of course, there are always paint companies that give you colors that are outliers. So Dunn Edwards Sun washed florals, which is a plum ocher tone in a quiet joy. So there is room for softness. There’s room for optimism alongside these more grounded tones. Now let’s review what the media has to say about all these color trends. So outlets like House, beautiful, Elle Decor and Real Simple, they’re calling this the era of anti trend practicality. So colors that are built to last not just photograph well. One Architectural Digest headline said Non-boring beige is back. So just like these pink companies are choosing colors that won’t feel dated in two years, your creative business thrives when you build for the long game, not just the quick dopamine hit of what’s hot right now. And for those of you listening who are visual artists, this is also good news.
Miriam Schulman: I have one client, both Sapphire, who loves to do white and blue. And she said, do I have to change? Well, obviously you don’t, especially since blues are actually on trend. It’s very traditional. Now I want to talk about what each color family represents for buyers. We’re going to start first with the warm neutrals. Then we’re going to talk about the greens. Then we’re going to talk about those traditional cool colors. Okay so first starting with our warm neutrals. So the warm neutrals are khaki ivory wood tones. Now every color has kind of a color story behind it. The color story of warm neutrals. It’s it’s comfort. It signifies longevity. It signifies heritage. It signifies livability. Now in terms of the way paint companies are talking about it, the way these paint corporations are talking about it, Sherwin Williams are calling their neutral collection Honest Essentials, notice how they’re not selling you on beige. They’re selling you on honest and essentials. That’s values based language. That’s something that I teach my artists who are part of the inner circle, or somebody who signs up for my messaging vault. When you use value based language, it calls in people who are attracted to those values. Now you can borrow some of these values as well so you can borrow that honest essentials language. So if you feel that you’re offering something that’s grounding, authentic and timeless, let’s talk about how to pair this color with others.
Miriam Schulman: So color pairing Sherwin Williams is showing this khaki with lemon chiffon cordovan, and Stillwater. So it’s kind of nostalgic color meets now. This is kind of like how fashion trends come back. So it’s showing you like, okay, this is something that’s traditional, but here’s how to make it 2026. And you can think about this in terms of how you show your art. If you’re a painter, how you’re showing it in a room. If you’re a fiber artist, these are the colors you need to be using in your fibers. More practical application. Dutch Boys melodious ivory was specifically highlighted as a light amplifier. In other words, better for dark rooms. So let’s take that idea and think about that metaphorically. How can your work be a light amplifier? Notice the language that corporations, the paint companies, are using to describe their colors As something that people want right now. So the pain company knows people are looking for a light amplifier. That’s powerful positioning for your message. Now for creatives, you can be positioning your work as timeless as grounding or quiet luxury. Also, think about these trending colors in terms of your photo backdrops. Perhaps your product packaging. Maybe the way you frame. Maybe handmade textures, depending on what you do. All right. Now let’s talk about the next category.
Miriam Schulman: These are greens the biophilic greens eucalyptus J smoking jade. So the color story behind these are wellness healing and connection to nature as well as restoration. So they are trying to promote these greens as like the new neutral Valspar explicitly markets warm eucalyptus as like spa calm but not quite gray because gray. Remember what I said? Grays are kind of out. So these are greens that behave like neutrals but can pair with everything. It’s so it’s neutral without being boring. Now in terms of your language, think about how to talk about your process or your art as restorative, mindful, eco conscious or calming because those are the values that they are assigning to these colors. That’s what they’re saying. People are drawn to these colors. So as we go through all these trends, I want you to keep those two things in mind. That’s what I keep bringing up. One is, yes, you can use these trending colors, or you can think about how they talk about how corporations are talking about these colors. Those are the two things. Now, if you’re talking about how to use these colors in your staging, if you’re staging something to show your art often. Maybe you’re staging with plants, textiles, maybe your website background. Although I do think website backgrounds are best done. Just leave it white to be honest. Like especially if you’re a visual artist. Product photography for wellness oriented work, maybe painting a door, bathroom accents, things like that.
Miriam Schulman: All right, now let’s move on to the third color category. This is the heritage reds, the plums, the mahogany, the Burgundy, the oxblood. So let’s talk first about the color story. The color story of these are depth, intimacy, richness, color, luxury, both heritage and modern. So you can talk about the return of red rooms. But done right. Not not like not something that’s fuddy duddy or looks like something that a real estate agent would really cringe over. This isn’t the loud, aggressive red read of decades past. It’s grounded, it’s sophisticated, and it signals boldness without shouting. Now for creatives. This is perfect for your message, your messaging around courage, resilience, passion, sophistication in terms of art, think staging, a dining room, library, intimate spaces or luxury product. Hero shots. Those are the environments that these colors pair well with. So again, it’s not about using the exact colors. It’s about understanding the why behind these colors and going for that. So it could be an accent wall for a gallery show. It could be branding for a collection. It could be a seasonal offering tied to these colors or holiday luxury. But it could just be the way you talk about your art. Okay, let’s move to the next category, which are Blues, Indigo, Navy, smoky blue. So first let’s talk about that color story. So blue is always the trust color reassurance tradition.
Miriam Schulman: That’s why you always see bankers wearing a blue shirt. But it’s also the color of calm meditation adaptability. And it’s a modern classic. The brand Dulux tied their entire blue palette to music and rhythm. They actually gave their color names names like Free Groove, Slow Swing, Mellow Flow. And this shows how metaphor shapes consumer perception. When you name your collection, when you describe your work, when you name a piece, are you being literal or are you tapping into an emotion, a movement, a feeling or a fantasy. If you have trouble with titling, think about music, nature and emotion. Those are all universal entry points for how you can name artwork or a collection. All right. Next let’s talk about design pairing logic. So the research emphasized that using indigo as a cool counterpoint to warm schemes, specifically to avoid what designers called a 90s beige relapse. That’s your business reminder, by the way, when we want a stable base, you want your consistent offers, you want your reliable systems, but you also always want your bold accents. So you’re going to have things that are completely timeless. Maybe you always offer portraits, but maybe this season you’re offering wedding bouquet portraits. So think about what are your anchor things and then what is something new that you can bring to the table? That’s how you keep your business fresh. Now, Dulux is a huge brand in the UK and Canada showing how color shifts globally.
Miriam Schulman: Blues might be more traditional and they might read as traditional in one market, but they might read as modern and avant garde in a different market. So if you’re selling internationally or you want to expand, think about how your color and visual language resonates across cultures. Now, in terms of what kind of brand language you can pull in, think about positioning your work as trustworthy, contemplative, spiritual, or professional. So for the language you can use, you position your work as trustworthy, contemplative, spiritual, and professional. Notice how language Which is just as important as color when it comes to branding and describing your work. Color doesn’t sell itself, art doesn’t sell itself. Nothing really sells itself, and neither does your work. Your words matter. That’s why I offer one on one Artpreneur messaging intensives. Let’s take Heidi Werner. She came to me for a messaging intensive before we worked together one on one. Her about page said I’m a mixed media artist from Western Pennsylvania. When I’m not in my studio, I can be found fishing. It’s nice, but not very magnetic. After our session, her message sounded like this. Art has always been part of my family’s DNA, just as much as fishing with my dad on Lake Erie shaped my love for water and wildlife. My art is about honoring those who came before me while holding on to the wild beauty that still surrounds us.
Miriam Schulman: See the difference? She went from listing facts to articulating her values. And that’s the power of what we can do together. Inside the messaging intensive, you will leave with a vault of these types of phrases. Ai tools like ChatGPT. They can give you speed, but it’s like a Lamborghini. Yes, it’s fast, but it’s useless without the right driver. That’s where I come in. I can help you steer toward language that reflects who you are and why your art matters. That’s the power of the Artpreneur messaging intensive and vault will transform your personal Stories into language that collectors instantly connect with. So if you’re ready to create messaging that feels as magnetic as your art, head on over to SchulmanArt.com/VAULT and book your session today. Now we’re going to talk about how to apply this to your creative business. So first we’re going to talk about brand storytelling. Brand storytelling. You want to infuse your marketing copy with the emotion of these pallets. For example. This collection is about finding the calm and chaos. Use color as a metaphor. Mahogany equals courage. Eucalyptus equals renewal. Indigo is rhythm. Ivory is light. Borrow the same type of framing that these corporate paint companies use. Just like honest essentials Reframes beige as a value system. How can you reframe your offerings? Not just landscape paintings, but portals to stillness? Not just handmade ceramics, but vessels for quiet joy.
Miriam Schulman: Two collector positioning buyers want to see how art and design fits their homes. If walls are trending towards khaki and ivory as the foundation, you need to see how your art looks on that color wall. Art with rich greens or moody reds will pop without clashing. Your work can be the accent to this year’s neutral vase, the indigo or Burgundy moment that elevates an entire space. Now we’re going to talk about these colors in terms of product launch timing, because these colors will lend itself better to different times of year. So for example, winter is a better time to offer red Burgundy focused work. It ties to heritage. It ties to quiet, cozy luxury. It ties to holiday gift giving. This has always been true, by the way, those artists who are inside my incubator, they know that my 2019 Black Friday series featured a lot of art with that focused on my red. And it’s not that people are necessarily buying Christmas art, but they’re thinking in terms of these types of color feelings that we’re talking about in the springtime. This is a better time to release those green blue collections. Think about wellness, calm, renewal, and fresh starts and year round. Consider neutrals for versatile foundation pieces that collectors can build around and think about how your art looks against neutral backdrops. If you create products or prints, lead with these colors.
Miriam Schulman: The sage and jade. The warm wood and red accents. See how these things work together in what’s trending right now? See how your products work with what’s trending right now. Next, we’re going to talk about social media and photography. So absolutely you need to stage content with trending backdrops even if your art doesn’t have the khaki in it. Photographing it against a khaki ivory wall can make it seem 2026 current. And here’s a very important tip you can photograph your art against a white backdrop, but change the color of the wall in Photoshop or whatever your photo program is. It’s very easy to do these days, so you may want to include showing your art against several different colors if you’re a painter. If you’re not a painter and you create products, show your jewelry, show your products against these backdrops. I noticed that in catalogs they use different backdrops that colors that are in trend in order to show off the products. It’s not only on a white background anymore. They try to show it that, okay, are these browns? Are these pinks? How can we make this look cohesive? Now I want to say again that blues will always convey professionalism and trust, which is why I said before bankers like blue. So for yourself, how can you communicate that you’re somebody that can be trustworthy? I tend to wear blue when I am showing up, let’s say on LinkedIn, in my email headers or my course materials.
Miriam Schulman: People trust people because of the blue color. Now, when you reference these colors specifically, it can really speak to some designers. So for example, when communicating with collectors or with interior designers, you may want to reference the actual paint names. So instead of I used a beige backdrop, you might want to say I staged this against melodious ivory to amplify natural light. And that builds trust with sophisticated buyers. And now let’s talk about five copy hooks that you can reuse, that you can borrow directly from the paint companies. So comfort colors elevated greens that behave like neutrals. Heritage reds for modern rooms. The rhythm of blues. Non boring beige is back a quiet joy. These are all copy hooks that you can absolutely use. Six. How pain companies frame trends and what you can learn about that. What I want you to notice is that corporations don’t just announce the color, they announce the values. Honesty. Rhythm. Joy. Restoration. When you launch a new collection, are you just describing your product or are you positioning it in what it represents in your buyer’s life? This is how you move from treating your art like a commodity. For example, another landscape print to connecting with your collectors. A portal to the stillness you’re craving. See the difference? You’ve probably noticed something in the way paint companies talk about their color of the year.
Miriam Schulman: They don’t just announce a shade of beige or green. They talk about the values honesty, restoration, rhythm. That’s what makes people care about it. And the same is true for your art. The same is true for your business. The way you talk about your work has to reflect the values you stand for. And here’s the thing. It’s very hard to do this on your own. You’re too close to your art. You’re too close to your own story. You may not know what makes you and your art special, and that’s why I created the Artpreneur Messaging Intensive Plus Vault. It’s a one on one session where I help you craft a vault of language that reflects your unique values and voice. Let’s take Mike Abruzzi, for example. Mike spent decades as a finished carpenter before becoming a portrait artist in his vault session. We pulled forward that story how that same precision that he used to shape his fine mill work now goes into preserving family legacy. With every portrait he draws, suddenly his message wasn’t about portraits. It was about craftsmanship, dignity and devotion. We even weaved in his family’s influence in this way. Example. My father worked in construction and I grew up admiring his skill and work ethic. My uncle was the artistic one in the family, and from him I saw that creativity had a place alongside hard work. Those influences shaped how I see the world with respect for tradition, compassion for people, and a belief that beauty belongs in every day life.
Miriam Schulman: That’s the power of this false session. It transforms your personal story into language that collectors instantly connect with. So if you’re ready to create messaging that feels as magnetic as your art. Head on over to SchulmanArt.com and book your session today. Okay, so I want to give you some warnings. Don’t get trapped inside the trend. Remember, these trends are conversation starters with collectors. You do not have to change your palette or abandon your authentic voice. Although I will say some of my artists last year when I went through color trends, they found out very quickly that our consultants were looking for the colors that I was talking about, and they were happy that they experimented. If your work is already red based, then you’re going to want to lean more into those color stories like warm mahogany. Talking about heritage, talk about boldness. If you’re a nature artist, perhaps you want to connect with those types of colors like eucalyptus. Maybe that narrative about restoration and the new neutral. If you work in blues, perhaps you want to talk about the rhythm and tempo language that Dulux used. But I want you to adapt that anti trend mindset as well. So you’re going to hold both truths at the same time. Remember what the design process is saying.
Miriam Schulman: Longevity over flash. Your job is not to take. Your job is not to chase every trend. It’s not. It’s to find ways where your authentic voice already intersects with what people are craving right now. Trends just give you a bridge to your buyers current emotional state, Date, not a script that you have to follow. So the goal is to position your art as timely and timeless. Be of the moment. But don’t feel trapped by it. Let’s wrap up 2026. Trends show that there is a collective craving for warmth, grounding, heritage and sanctuary. As a creative entrepreneur, you can tap into that emotional landscape by aligning your messaging, your staging, and your storytelling without betraying your own authentic style. Now remember, the smartest brands aren’t selling colors. They’re selling values. Honesty. Rhythm, light. Restoration. So what are you really selling? What does your work amplify in somebody’s life? The way you talk about your art should also reflect your values, Does not sound like something generic that anyone could say. That’s exactly what I do with my clients inside the Artpreneur messaging vault. If you’re ready for language that feels true to you and connects with the right collectors, book your session at SchulmanArt/VAULT. All right, my friend, thank you so much for joining me here today. I’ll see you the same time, same place next week. Until next time, stay inspired. Bye for now.
Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to the The Inspiration Place podcast. Connect with us on Facebook, at Facebook/SchulmanArt, on Instagram @SchulmanArt. And of course on SchulmanArt.com.
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