A Very Peri New Year: Decorating Your Apartment with Pantone’s Official Color for 2022

A lot of folks need brightening up as we head into 2022 (and the third year of a global pandemic). Lucky for us all, Pantone has just declared the cheerful and uplifting “Very Peri” as 2022’s Color of the Year.

From design and architecture to beauty and fashion, all kinds of industries rely on Pantone, and all await their annual announcement of the year’s official color. But you don’t have to be a famous designer or a captain of industry to have fun playing with the color of the year.

Here are some easy ways to add dashes of Very Peri to your own home and freshen up your space:

Getting to Know Very Peri

Very Peri is named after the periwinkle, a small flower that comes in several colors, but is best known for being a purplish blue. Pantone describes Very Peri (aka PANTONE 17-3938) as a blue with a violet-red undertone. As Laurie Pressman, Pantone Color Institute’s VP puts it, “The Pantone Color of the Year reflects what is taking place in our global culture, expressing what people are looking for that color can hope to answer.”

And the institute didn’t just grab a color off their swatches this year, either. For the first time in Pantone’s history, they created an entirely new color. Pressman wants Very Peri to instill hope, adding that: “As society continues to recognize color as a critical form of communication, and a way to express and affect ideas and emotions and engage and connect, the complexity of this new red violet infused blue hue highlights the expansive possibilities that lay before us.”

It’s a lot to ask of a color, but what have we got to lose?

What About Walls?

When we think of new paint colors, walls immediately come to mind. Depending on the terms of your lease agreement, you may or may not be allowed to repaint your apartment’s walls. If you are able to do this, consider painting with Very Peri. Depending on your apartment and personality, this dynamic color could be perfect for you, or perfectly overwhelming. If you’re more restrained with color, a single Very Peri accent will do to brighten up a room. Alternatively, you could consider using the vibrant blue for trim.

Another choice is removable wallpaper. This stick-on paper is easily removable if you decide to move later on, or if your landlord doesn’t want you making permanent changes. It’s a great product, and it’s sure to be available in Very Peri soon.

Home Textile Reboot

Manufacturers everywhere have started gearing up to meet demand for the new color of the year. You can expect to find periwinkle everywhere you look both online and in brick and mortar shops as 2022 gets underway.

Adding some new textiles is one of the easiest ways to change the look of your apartment. Hang Very Peri curtains or, even easier, spread out a new rug. This Very Peri rug from Rug Society features black and white snakes on a periwinkle background. Eye catching, for sure. Or you can drape a new throw blanket over your couch, combining the year’s trendiest color with coziness while you binge Netflix.

The cure for a boring white or gray bathroom? A Very Peri shower curtain. Best of all, it should only take five minutes to secure all those little plastic hooks in the loops. Or hang some Very Peri towels on your racks.

Homewares and Little Decorative Items

Many apartment dwellers always have a move in the back of their minds, so even buying drapes or shower curtains might seem like too much investment in their space. If that’s you, consider buying a few Very Peri homewares or small decorative items, which are both beautiful and a cinch to move. These also make good gifts for other renters needing some color in their lives.

If you’re crafty, buy a quart of Very Peri paint and make your own fun gifts for yourself and others. Repaint an old wooden chair or nightstand. Decorate some flower pots for your indoor plants. This could be much less expensive than buying pre-made stuff, and it gives your apartment a more personal touch.

Be Official

Of course, there are also online retailers who will try to pass anything purple off as Very Peri. Do a quick search and you’ll find lots of stuff for sale being billed as the new color that clearly isn’t. If you want to be really official, you can buy some limited edition color of the year gear directly from Pantone’s online shop. They’ll fix you up with a mug or keychain that’s even marked with the official color number, 17-3938, so there will no doubt you’ve invested in Very Peri. For something super special, buy Pantone’s Very Peri cortado cup, made exactly for that Italian beverage which combines a shot of espresso with steamed milk.

Contrast Colors for Very Peri

Trying to design around Very Peri? Make it easier on yourself by borrowing a color palette from the pros. Pantone has released several palettes that feature periwinkle in different ways. Balancing Act includes other warm and cool colors that are still fairly bright, such as rose, clay, and green. The Star of the Show palette lets Very Peri stand out in a sea of neutrals like taupe and off-white. Wellspring brings periwinkle into spring, with several greens and golds and dewberry, a redder shade of purple. Amusements is even brighter, surrounding Very Peri with vibrant pinks.

However you want to play with Very Peri, remember to have fun with the new color of the year. Let it fulfill its New Year’s resolution of bringing joy, pizazz, and style into your home.