What to know about Benjamin Moore’s 2025 Paint Color of Year

It’s fun to follow paint color trends to see what’s in store for the coming year. If you like to follow the paint color of the year, Benjamin Moore’s Cinnamon Slate (2113-40), will ring in 2025 with a whole new attitude to warm colors. 

As design trends carry us away from the cool grays, it moves us into the warmer tones with a dramatic paint color to pair with tans and browns.

Cinnamon Slate offers a velvety plum color with brown undertones. It provides subtle reminders of the vintage Hollywood glam recognized in homes with significant architectural details like an ornate front door moulding to wainscoting on a feature wall. Now, that sounds fancy.

Why you’d love this color 

If you’re planning to be adventurous with your interiors, you may find Cinnamon Slate as the paint color to experiment with and express that part of your personality that’s been waiting to shine. Also, its purple hue has the ability to raise the sophistication level for any room…if you have or plan to investment in decorative wall accents or architectural details (think wainscoting or chair rail) to elevate a wall that’s feeling a little more plain than you’d like. 

For the conservative decorator seeking to expand her paint color courage, the safest space to try first may be a smaller area like a powder room. It’s usually a smaller, less used space that’s not so scary to take a chance on and be a little daring with a strong color choice like Cinnamon Slate.

Also, you may want to choose this heathered plum hue for a cozier feel to larger rooms with ample sunlight and a decent amount of indoor lighting during the evenings. This warm purple will be ideal if you’re looking to reduce the expansiveness of a large room with high ceilings and generous-sized window. And you’re pretty sure you’re going to love this color…at least for a few years.

When to rethink this color

Believe it or not, there are no wrong colors. There are only rooms and spaces and lighting that fail to work with the colors. Or, it’s a color that doesn’t feel comfortable to the eye of the beholder. And that’s okay. We all have our favorite color preferences for our home’s interior design.

Now, that warmer tones are trending away from the cooler grays, as well as, the white and black color pairings, Cinnamon Slate provides the daring purple color with brown undertones to coordinate with the beige and tan trend growing in interior design today.

If you’re still living with the grays or black and white color trends, the warmth of Cinnamon Slate may struggle in those spaces unless you plan to move towards the tans and/or beiges.

Also, if you have a small house that fails to receive a good amount of sunlight throughout the day, Cinnamon Slate would create a dark and moody feel to rooms. Unless you crave the reduced light appeal in your home, it may be challenging to maintain the excitement level for Cinnamon Slate.

Cinnamon Slate is a gorgeous, velvety plum color that looks regal and warm in photos and on paint color swatches. Unfortunately, each home has different fixed elements and lighting conditions that change how the color appears on the wall. This means that it’s less likely your home’s wall color (once painted) will look similar to the interiors in most of the photo examples.

Additionally, if you plan to sell your house in the near future, it’s highly recommended to avoid painting with a “taste-specific” paint color like Cinnamon Slate. It’s a color that a home dweller(s) would have to love. However, when it’s time to market the house to sell, you’ll want to capture the homebuyers ideal lifestyle for the house they plan to live in. If the paint color turns off the homebuyer, it increases the chances you may lose the ideal offer for your home.

A few ways to embrace this color

No interest in painting, and still like the idea of having traces of Cinnamon Slate in your home? If you’re not ready for the commitment of wall paint, you can enhance your space with a touch of color with decorative accents in shades of color similar to Cinnamon Slate. 

Here’s a list of decor accessories you can keep an eye out for to bring the warm plum brown color into your space:

Throw pillows

Wall art

Throw blankets

Bedding

Vases and other decor accents

Also, if you decide to paint the walls with Cinnamon Slate, make sure to consider the appropriate paint color to work well for the trim. Choosing a warm white would pair well with the color or you could enhance the space with the all-popular technique of color drenching (Look out for more info on that later.)

If you’re thinking about this color (or another paint color for your home), let me help you get paint color confident. Book your brief discovery call for one-on-one paint color coaching. 

Disclaimer: Paint colors are a personal choice and the information provided is not a recommendation for any specific home or living space. Also, it is recommended to always test paint colors prior to painting.