I've been painting North Shore homes for fifteen years, and I've never seen a color trend shift this fast. Walk through Glencoe or Winnetka right now and you'll notice it: the cool grays that dominated the 2010s are disappearing. In their place? Warmth. Everywhere.
Benjamin Moore just named Cinnamon Slate their 2025 Color of the Year, and honestly, it's like they polled North Shore living rooms before making the call. This warm, earthy brown with terracotta undertones is showing up in dining rooms from Lake Forest to Hinsdale.
Why the Warm Shift?
After years of Instagram-perfect gray interiors, homeowners got tired. Not literally tired—though staring at Agreeable Gray for a decade might do that—but emotionally tired.
Grays photograph well but live cold. Especially in Chicago, where winter light already skews blue-gray. A Revere Pewter living room in July is sophisticated. That same room in February? Clinical.
The pendulum swung hard toward warmth. Creamy whites replacing stark whites. Sage greens instead of blue-grays. And browns—actual browns—making a comeback nobody predicted five years ago.
What's Actually Selling in 2025
The Browns Are Back
Not 1970s wood-paneling brown. Think sophisticated, earthy tones with complex undertones:
Benjamin Moore Cinnamon Slate — Their 2025 pick. Works surprisingly well as an accent wall or cabinet color. We painted a Kenilworth study in this last month, and the homeowner keeps finding excuses to work from home.
Sherwin-Williams Urbane Bronze — A step darker, almost charcoal-brown. Perfect for exterior front doors that need to pop against lighter siding.
Farrow & Ball London Clay — The premium choice. Complex pink-brown undertones that shift throughout the day. Worth the price if you're after something that photographs beautifully and lives even better.
Warm Whites Taking Over
Nobody's painting ceilings Decorator's White anymore. The new standard:
Benjamin Moore White Dove — Cream undertones without going yellow. Currently our most-requested trim and ceiling color by a wide margin.
Sherwin-Williams Alabaster — Slightly warmer, works particularly well in south-facing rooms that get strong afternoon light.
Benjamin Moore Simply White — The exception that proves the rule. Still cool, but softer than clinical whites. Good for homeowners who want brightness without cold.
Sage and Terracotta
These two colors are having a moment together—often in the same house:
Sage in living rooms and bedrooms creates a calming backdrop that reads natural without being overwhelming. Benjamin Moore's Quiet Moments or Sherwin-Williams Evergreen Fog are the current favorites.
Terracotta in powder rooms, mudrooms, and accent walls adds punch. Sherwin-Williams Cavern Clay or Benjamin Moore Rosy Peach for something softer.
The combination works because both tie to organic materials—pottery, plants, natural stone. They feel connected in a way that gray-and-navy never quite did.
What North Shore Clients Are Actually Choosing
Color trends are one thing. What real homeowners with real budgets actually choose is another.
Our color consultation data from the past six months shows:
Living rooms: Warm whites and creamy neutrals dominate. Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee and Sherwin-Williams Accessible Beige lead the pack. People want bright but not cold.
Primary bedrooms: Soft greens and warm grays. Sherwin-Williams Silverpointe (a warm gray) and Benjamin Moore Pale Oak (a greige that leans warm) are constant requests.
Kitchens: Still mostly white cabinets, but the white is warmer. Pure White is out; Chantilly Lace and Simply White are in. Accent islands in navy or forest green remain popular.
Exteriors: Charcoal and deep green are replacing medium grays. Black trim continues to trend. The all-white farmhouse look is fading in favor of more contrast.
The Highland Park Palette
Highland Park specifically trends a bit bolder than surrounding areas. Larger lots mean more room for architectural statement.
We're seeing deeper accent colors—Benjamin Moore's Newburyport Blue for front doors, Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore for shutters and trim. Rich, saturated choices that would overwhelm smaller homes.
If you're in Highland Park with significant curb space, you can push color further than you might think. The greenery absorbs and balances bold choices that would feel out of place on a tight Wilmette lot.
Hinsdale and Burr Ridge: The Southwest Approach
Interestingly, the southwest suburbs are leaning harder into classic choices. Maybe it's the newer construction—easier to commit to timeless when your house was built this century.
More white exteriors with black trim. More interior grays (though warmer versions). Less experimentation, more proven combinations.
That's not criticism. A well-executed classic palette ages beautifully and never dates your home. The Hinsdale resale market responds well to sophisticated restraint.
Colors That Are Dying
Time to retire these if they're still in your house:
Cool medium grays — Repose Gray, Agreeable Gray in its original form, anything that reads purple in north light. They had a good run.
Stark white ceilings — Flat Decorator's White makes rooms feel like doctor's offices. Warm it up or accept your friends will subconsciously check for magazines when they walk in.
Navy accent walls — Not dead everywhere, but definitely overexposed. If your navy wall feels dated rather than dramatic, trust that instinct.
Farmhouse everything — Shiplap, white everything, barn doors. Still around but no longer the default. We're past peak farmhouse.
How to Transition Your Existing Palette
You don't need to repaint your entire house to get current. Start with:
Warm up your whites. Replace cold white trim with Benjamin Moore White Dove. Single biggest impact for the effort.
Add one warm accent. A powder room refresh in sage or terracotta updates your whole main floor without committing to repainting major rooms.
Consider your floors. Warm wall colors fight with cool-gray LVP. If you installed gray floors in 2018, work with your flooring rather than against it. Mushroom and warm-gray wall colors bridge the gap.
The Resale Reality
Real estate agents in our area report that warm, neutral interiors are photographing better and selling faster than their cooler counterparts. Buyers want move-in ready, and warm reads as welcoming.
If you're planning to sell in the next two years, avoid anything too trendy (deep terracotta throughout) in favor of warm-leaning classics (creamy whites, soft greiges). You want buyers imagining their furniture, not your bold choices.
For homes you're staying in? Go bolder. Paint trends come and go, and the cost to repaint a room every five years is trivial compared to living in a space that doesn't feel like you.
Getting the Color Right
Color is the hardest part of any painting project. It's also where money gets wasted when homeowners pick from tiny swatches and end up hating the result.
Before committing to any 2025 trend:
Sample at least three options. Paint large test patches—at least 2x2 feet—and live with them for a week. Or better yet, try our free AI Paint Visualizer—upload a photo of your actual room and see how different colors look before you buy a single sample pot.
Check undertones in your actual light. North Shore homes get different light than most paint samples are designed for. Chicago gray winter light reveals undertones that look fine in Texas.
Consider your fixed elements. That 2015 gray couch isn't going anywhere. Make sure your trendy new wall color works with what you're keeping.
Work with someone who knows Chicago light. National color consultants give national advice. Local knowledge matters when your living room faces the lake.
Color is personal, but these trends are trending for reasons. Warm works better in our climate, our light, and our current cultural moment. The question isn't whether to warm up your palette—it's how far to push it.