PORTLAND, OR — Miller Paint has declared Simple Serenity 0614, a healing cool blue that is grounded in optimism for the coming year, its color of the year for 2021.

“It goes without saying that 2020 was a challenging year, and our homes have been our refuge more than ever. As we look forward to this new year ahead, we are focusing on health and well-being in body, mind, spirit, and home,” said Puji Sherer, Director of Color Marketing for Miller Paint. “Simple Serenity feels expansive, like a clear-sky day with hope on the horizon.”

While blue is an inherently trustworthy color, Simple Serenity highlights a value shift from heavy and dark blues to lighter and happier tones. It is a celestial color with periwinkle undertones that push the hue to a more ethereal, spiritual realm, making it a natural choice for sleeping spaces and personal sanctuaries promoting rest and relaxation. It is gentle enough to use on all four walls or as an accent in a bedroom, yoga room or meditation space.

“Gentle colors like blue and green help reinforce our connection to nature and encourage us to breathe deeper and more slowly,” added Sherer. “Since blue is one of the most versatile and adaptable colors in the spectrum, this color can be paired with both brights and neutrals. We love the combination of uplifting Simple Serenity on walls with grounded earth tones and natural textures in furniture and textiles.”

Bridgid Blackburn, an interior designer and partner with Cargo Emporium in Portland, Oregon, agreed, “A sacred space in your home offers a respite from today’s hectic world, providing an essential way to deal with the stress of daily life. It’s your personal space and it can be as small and simple or as large and elaborate as you want it to be. You may choose a corner of your bedroom, an unused spare room, or a little part of your outdoor space.”

Blackburn urges customers to decorate their space with intentionality, adding or editing as their needs change. Essential elements include objects that enhance the senses of sight, smell, and sound. “For these items, we suggest a statue or image that you enjoy gazing on, incense that evokes faraway places, and a singing bowl to strike, allowing the resonance and vibration to relax you as you listen to the tone slowly disappear,” said Blackburn.

To learn more, visit www.MillerPaint.com.