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Pantone Picks Its Weirdest Color of the Year Ever

Feeling a bit green lately? Apparently, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

While others hang obsessively to end-of-year lists like Time’s Man of the Year (snore) or E! Network’s Kardashian Calamity Forecast (ditto), we eagerly await the announcement each December of Pantone Color Institute’s next “Color of the Year.” The firm, which develops and markets unique shades, names the hue it believes will pervade home decor, fashion, and just about everything. The firm says it captures the mood of the country. And according to Pantone, America is in a sickly green frame of mind.

Say hello to Pantone 15-0343, aka Greenery—an intense yellow-green that the company’s press release dubbed a “life-affirming shade” that will “dictate a hope we collectively yearn for amid a complex social and political landscape.”

Here it is:

What is Pantone trying to tell us, anyway? Green pastures? Green money? Green climate-change denial? Green bile? Instead of being a mere shade to slap on scarves or walls, Pantone’s COTY is billed as an encapsulation of our hopes and emotions. For instance, last year‘s picks—a pink-and-blue duo of Rose Quartz and Serenity—were described as a craving for “gender equality and fluidity” (ahem, Caitlyn Jenner).

As for 2017, there’s no question that many of us are yearning for a sense of rejuvenation after a bruising and depressing year. Still, we’re not quite sure if Greenery feels all that rejuvenating … or more like just one more jolt to our system.

“It’s a bit of a punch in the cornea, isn’t it?” said Sam Jernigan, an interior designer in Northern California.

The intensity of this color inspires questions of how pervasive it will become in America’s homes. Are you ready to pay thousands for a lime-green couch? Or, bequeath this color to your walls or kitchen cabinets? Will you love it, or will it give you indigestion over time? And, hey, what is it going to do for your home’s resale value?

“Even if people may like to have this color in their home, they might not feel the same way when listing the place to sell,” Texas-based Realtor® Wendy Flynn noted. “Home sellers are always reluctant to make decorating choices that may drive away potential buyers.”

So, for now, home decor experts seem to be hedging (green reference intended!) their bets on this shade for the home. As with other COTY selections, they see it more as a starting point than a destination stop.

“Colors of the year are subject to broad interpretation by designers, manufacturers, and end users alike,” said Annie Elliott, a Washington DC–based interior designer. “Marsala, the 2015 selection, didn’t cause us to become obsessed with burgundy. The color translated into home decor in the form of brown, red, and pink. I predict we’ll see an uptick in many more shades of green in 2017.”

All that said, if you would like to add a dash of Greenery to your home, experts say it’s best used in small doses.

“Due to the intense and saturated nature of this hue, Greenery will be best used as an accent,” Jernigan said. For instance, a throw pillow may be all you need.

Here are a few other ideas on how to bring Greenery into your home.

Moroccan influence is still all the rage, so why not knock out two trends with one stone? ($203.99, Allmodern.com)

Remember when we mentioned adding little touches of Greenery to your home? A vase is a great way to dip a toe in the trend. ($59.99, Allmodern.com)

If your home boasts a monochrome white or gray palette, a rug in a punch of green could push you out of your comfort zone. ($71+, Birchlane.com)

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