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Teal we meet again? If you are looking for a single color for the walls of your favorite room, turquoise is 2010’s go to hue. Pantone, the color company, recently called out PANTONE 15-5519 Turquoise as their color of the year. Turquoise moves us toward clarity and joy. It’s a buoyant blue with the freshness of green. As I write this on a cold and snowy winter night, I’m thinking of turquoise as a tropical escape in a color swatch!

Actually, any shade of blue looks great in 2010. Blue is the background of nature, the color of the sky and sea. Painting your walls a heavenly blue can open up a space and make it feel larger, as the walls seem to disappear. I love the vivid blues we’re seeing this year and Benjamin Moore’s Utah Sky is a favorite (2065-40). The deep water blues are also immensely appealing. Sherwin-Williams Oceanside (SW6496) looks amazing in a contemporary setting.

Every year has a neutral palette and this one is no exception. If you seek the best neutral for 2010, consider going gray instead of beige. Grays are versatile and relaxing. Both gray-blues and gray-greens are fashionable wall colors for this year. Subtle grays are enhanced by white and cream in translucent, layered fabrics with a frosty or pearlized look.

Gray is structural and modern; it’s the color of technology and it looks great with laser cuts and in geometric forms. But the carbon grays also look dreamy with feminine tones too. Benjamin Moore is showing gray with sheer, cosmetic colors, peach and pink. Fashions of the 1950s and 1960 are influencing this trend. Think of the women’s clothes on Mad Men.

Dark, sophisticated taupes, which are grays mixed with browns, are also on the docket for 2010, found on upholstered furniture and even tiles. Taupe can add luxury and warmth to a bathroom, creating the perfect contrast with white fixtures.

Taupes also appear as earthtones in this year’s tribal color palettes. Influenced by ancient cultures such as African, Native American and Aboriginal, these rich colors are coming to home décor and fashion. Besides the dusty taupes of the landscape, look for amber and ochre pigments, berry reds, dark teal and charred black. Include animal prints and handmade crafts in rooms with these deep colors, along with bronze and copper metals.

Earthy shades also appear in Benjamin Moore and Pantone color palettes inspired by the farm. Rich, warm dirt browns accented by milky whites and the bright tones of peas, corn and carrots reflect an interest in healthy living and making do with what we have, in response to current economic trends. These delicious vegetable colors are making their way into the home, especially into the kitchen.

Since 2010’s colors are so much about the environment, you may be wondering what’s going on with green. It hasn’t gone away, though the brilliant apple greens of the past few years are taking a break. Greens are truer and bluer in 2010. Imagine the color of windowsills in an old building and you’ve pictured one of my favorite of this year’s shades: Sherwin-Williams Gallery Green (SW0015).

This year’s brightest, happiest colors are influenced by the freewheeling ‘60s and the jewel-toned ‘80s. Tropical, citrus-inspired and totally playful, this palette encompasses the warm and the cool. Lemonade, floral coral, yellow orange and red violet are balanced by bright, true green and vivid blue. Sherwin-Williams calls this palette Refreshed and it feels fresh and vivacious. Used in small doses, one or more of these whimsical colors will team wonderfully with black and white as an economical way to bring vibrant joy into a neutral space.

This year's colors help us embrace everything we love about our planet. Pick an underappreciated space and bring in some of 2010’s colors to freshen and personalize it. Right now, I’m thinking of a tropical turquoise for my laundry room…