Yellow and Grey Pantone 2021

The two Pantone colors for 2021, yellow and grey. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Yellow and Grey Pantone 2021 Colors

I clearly remember wondering in the middle of the 1980s who picked country blue and pink mauve as popular colors, I used to see it everywhere especially home decor. Today we actually have someone who sets the tone and direction of popular colors, Pantone. Pantone is a New Jersey, USA company best known for its patented color matching.

For 2021, Pantone has chosen two colors, a canary yellow “Illuminating” and a leggings grey “Ultimate Grey.”

According to Pantone, “PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray + PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating, two independent colors that highlight how different elements come together to support one another, best express the mood for Pantone Color of the Year 2021. Practical and rock solid but at the same time warming and optimistic, the union of PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray + PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating is one of strength and positivity. It is a story of color that encapsulates deeper feelings of thoughtfulness with the promise of something sunny and friendly.

A message of happiness supported by fortitude, the combination of PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray + PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating is aspirational and gives us hope. We need to feel that everything is going to get brighter – this is essential to the human spirit.

As people look for ways to fortify themselves with energy, clarity, and hope to overcome the continuing uncertainty, spirited and emboldening shades satisfy our quest for vitality. PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating is a bright and cheerful yellow sparkling with vivacity, a warming yellow shade imbued with solar power. PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray is emblematic of solid and dependable elements which are everlasting and provide a firm foundation. The colors of pebbles on the beach and natural elements whose weathered appearance highlights an ability to stand the test of time, Ultimate Gray quietly assures, encouraging feelings of composure, steadiness and resilience.

Emboldening the spirit, the pairing of PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray + PANTONE 13-0647 highlights our innate need to be seen, to be visible, to be recognized, to have our voices heard. A combination of color whose ties to insight, innovation and intuition, and respect for wisdom, experience, and intelligence inspires regeneration, pressing us forward toward new ways of thinking and concepts.”

Okay so that’s a lot of - description and meaning - attached to two colors but I do like the message of hope.

Here’s how the two colors work together in Cat Mischief Lap Quilt and Wall Hanging.

Happy New Year!

Charlotte

Office Geranium

This hot pink geranium has kept me company for a good 8 years or more. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Office Geranium

As we all set up and maybe even dust off home offices, remember to add something green and growing, the sight of a plant will lift your spirits and make the space comfortable.

It doesn’t have to be anything special. I’ve had this geranium in my office for more than 8 years and can’t imagine the room without it.

Geraniums are originally from South Africa. They do not survive outside over winter in USDA Hardiness zone 5b, where I live so they tend to be tossed at the end of the growing season.

There are several reasons why I love geraniums. They are easy to grow, love sun and bloom almost continuously. They are also not very expensive. You can usually pick up plants on sale by June and almost given away by fall.

We tend to see them in tiny pots or among other plants. When given the space and right growing conditions, they can turn into a substantial focus plant. This pink geranium was a sale plant I picked up a good decade ago. I placed it in my office thinking it could spend winter with me and then go outside. It’s never left my office.

Why?

Take a look at this stunning color.

The geranium colors are so bright and cheery. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

What’s more, this geranium tends to bloom most of the year, taking a short 1-2 month break usually in fall.

I make sure it stays evenly watered sitting in a south facing window.

The last time I measured it, it was close to 4-feet tall.

I do clean out the dead leaves periodically and give it a weak fertilizer. I also periodically give it fresh rain water.

Geranium in a southern facing office window. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

I can personally tell you how much this plant has lifted my spirits when I was working on a project deadline. Not just the greenery of the leaves but the bright cheery flowers.

If you want cut flowers, geraniums make nice tiny flower vase companions, perfect for a little space on a home office. I have snuck a few over the years to my kitchen when I had nothing else in bloom.

With these plants, you don’t mind that it isn’t even spring yet!

Charlotte