Creating a Mountain Modern Aesthetic with Sherwin-Williams

Having served on the 2021 Sherwin-Williams design council, Laura knew Sherwin-Williams was the ideal paint partner for her new home in Snowmass. They deliver the best in paint and coatings products in the world. Sherwin-Williams worked with Laura to create a modern mountain exterior and interior aesthetic that is giving us all the cozy vibes. We sat down with Sue Wadden, director of color marketing at Sherwin-Williams, to learn more about their paint, service, and why they wanted to be involved in the Mountain Lane Show House. Follow along below!

When you enter Laura’s newly renovated home, the handsome foyer provides a warm welcome, with Sherwin-Williams’ moody Urbane Bronze.

a conversation with sherwin-williams

Laura U Design Collective (LUDC): Sherwin-Williams is our go-to partner for paint, and we utilize your products in almost all of our designs. For our firm, your quality and wide array of options are key when we are selecting paint. What makes you stand out from other paint providers?

Sue Wadden, Sherwin-Williams (SW): Our service! Not only do we have a vast selection of quality paint colors and paint products, we also have several color tools and experts to help homeowners and professionals every step of the way in their painting project. Our employees at our retail store locations are highly knowledgeable and great resources for information! Our products are best in class and I think the combination of great color, great product and great service make us an amazing partner to the design community!

LUDC: One of Laura's favorite colors, Urbane Bronze SW 7048, is used throughout the home, including the primary bedroom, the foyer walls, trim, and ceiling, and most of the interior doors. This dark gray hue sets the mood for this mountain modern home. It creates a sense of warmth as soon as you enter the Mountain Lane Show House, very appropriate for a home in the mountains. Can you tell us about the inspiration for the creation of this color and other dramatic applications you have seen using this hue?

SW: We chose Urbane Bronze SW 7048 as our 2021 Color of the Year because we saw strong themes of earth tones and sanctuary spaces from our research, and this color conveys a sense of calm, stability and comfort – something we have needed the past couple of years. I’m so glad to hear that this color creates a warm and inviting entryway for your home! We’ve seen people use the color from top to bottom in other spaces, like living rooms and bedrooms, to create that cozy, cocoon-like feeling. We’ve also seen homeowners use this color on their exterior siding. The rich, earthy tones in this color bode well with surrounding nature and also make a more modern statement.

In LAura’s kitchen, she selected Pediment SW 7634.

LUDC: To create contrast, Laura selected Pediment SW 7634 for the kitchen and great room. This taupe hue still has soft, warm undertones. What trends do you see for lighter color selections in the mountain-region vs. the coastal areas?

SW: Climate plays a role in every part of our home, including the colors we paint our homes. Homeowners can often derive exterior color choices from their surroundings—including natural elements, architecture style and neighboring homes. For instance, taupe, charcoal gray, navy and hunter green are more popular in areas of the country with pine trees, mountains or access to the sea, while terracotta, burlap and rust inspire homes located in the desert regions of the county.

Overall, we’re seeing paint colors warming up across the country. People are gravitating toward bone whites and mushroom taupes and beiges. Homeowners in the mountain region may choose to pair a lighter neutral with saturated greens and browns, reflective of the nature surrounding them, whereas homeowners in coastal areas may choose to pair lighter neutrals with saturated blues and soothing green shades.

Laura selected Evergreen Fog SW 9130 for her guest suite.

LUDC: In the guest room, we were thrilled to showcase the 2022 Sherwin-Williams 2022 Color of the Year, Evergreen Fog SW 9130. This versatile and calming hue creates the perfect guest sanctuary! Why was Evergreen Fog selected for Color of the Year?

SW: We announced Urbane Bronze SW 7048 as the Color of the Year for 2021 because of its ability to create a sense of sanctuary and security at a time when we needed it. We wanted our 2022 Color of the Year to continue that storyline by signaling growth, emergence and new beginnings. From a color psychology standpoint, green is the color of nature, revitalization and growth. It is naturally emblematic of newness. Evergreen Fog SW 9130 was the perfect fit – it’s a lovely medium tone green with a grey undertone. It is not overly verdant, it’s a little softer and delicate. If you think of a seedling emerging, it doesn’t come out intense, it’s subtle. Evergreen Fog truly helps us to begin again.”

LUDC: How often do you release new colors and what is the inspiration for new collections?

SW: We don’t release colors often – maybe every 15-20 years for a new color system, 4-5 years for small, curated programs. Our newest color collection, Emerald Designer Edition, was developed specifically for interior designers. We wanted to create new, sophisticated hues that designers have been asking for and we’ve gotten so much great feedback from interior designers since we released the 200 colors that they absolutely love the different tones and shades. The collection is divided into five designer collections based on hue. Warm + Welcoming is a palette of warm neutrals, Minimal + Modern is cool neutrals, Form + Function is natural neutrals, Rustic + Refined is blues and greens, and Classic + Collected is beautiful chromatics. Each new color was designed to be trend-forward and round out the existing collection of Sherwin-Williams colors.

Laura selected Urbane Bronze SW 7048 for the walls, traim, and and interior doors for the foyer.

LUDC: Let's talk finishes! Laura selected mostly a flat finish for her walls and satin for the trim. Give us a high-level run down of what finishes should be used for certain areas of a home.

SW: Sherwin-Williams offers paint products that come in a variety of finishes, including flat, matte, satin, eg-shel, semi-gloss and gloss. The lower the sheen, the less reflective it is when the finish is dry. The higher the sheen, the more reflective. Typically, designers and homeowners prefer to use flat and matte finishes on walls and ceilings because they diminish minor flaws and help hide imperfections since they reflect less light. We recommend using higher sheen finishes, like a semi-gloss or gloss, on places like trim and molding. Using a higher sheen can actually accentuate unique architectural features in a space.”

LUDC: Since the pandemic, have you seen a change in color selections now that people are spending more time in their homes?

SW: The pandemic has caused us to seek comfort in our surroundings and be mindful of how we’re living. As a result, the focus in design and color has shifted to building relaxing sanctuaries within our existing spaces and interior paint colors can help accomplish this feeling. Warm earth tones create a sense of calm while making us feel safe and secure.

LUDC: This is something we've always been curious about...How do you select your paint color names?

SW: Our Color Marketing team looks for inspiration everywhere we go—traveling, going to museums or just being out and about in the world. We have our various methods to capture our inspiration. For example, I have a little travel notebook that I use to write down what I’m seeing and reading to help inspire future color names. One thing we have to consider is that there can’t be duplicates between retailers, so we get to be really creative in searching for unique names. We also want to ensure our color names are timeless. The right color name can bring a hue to life, but it can’t be so topical or trendy that people won’t understand its meaning years down the road.

In the past, all a name needed to do was describe a color—for example, Bright Pink. However, today we want consumers to connect with colors. So instead that color might be called “Vivacious.” Sometimes the name of a paint color can be a tie-breaker. We have heard in research that when it comes down to consumers’ last couple of colors, sometimes it’s a name preference that ultimately decides it.

LUDC: What is the best way for someone to learn more about Sherwin-Williams and selecting the best color for their space?

SW: Visit our website sherwin-williams.com! There, you can access all sorts of color tools, including our free Virtual Color Consultation service. Customers can text, video chat, email or speak over the phone with one of our trained color specialists who can help choose paint colors specific to their style and painting project. Once you’ve narrowed down your color selections, I always recommend testing the color out in your space before fully committing to it. Sherwin-Williams offers peel & stick samples in select colors that can be ordered online at swsamples.com, and we also offer free delivery for color chips.