Behr's 2024 Color of the Year Is Here to Awaken Your Senses

When it comes to neutral colors in home decor, black might not seem like the easiest color to decorate with—but Behr Paint is about to change that. Behr's 2024 Color of the Year, Cracked Pepper, is a versatile shade they coined as a "soft black," and its versatility has convinced us that it will spice up interior design in 2024.

Behr and The Home Depot made the COTY announcement to media and journalists at Stanly Ranch in Napa, California, a space that reflects how beautifully black can blend in with nature and other neutrals without feeling out of place.

“Cracked Pepper is a color that empowers and elevates your senses—it really elevates the way we feel in a space," Erika Woelfel, the vice president of color and creative services at Behr Paint, says. “It’s a timeless color, modern color that brings sophistication into any room in your home."

And Cracked Pepper is not Behr's first neutral color of the year. 2023's color, Blank Canvas, was a crisp yet calming white—and just happens to pair perfectly with this year's selection.

"While it wasn’t completely intended that we coordinate the two, they naturally go together," Woelfel tells The Spruce. "A white (like last year’s color) definitely complements a color like Cracked Pepper. It balances, coordinates, and is a very grounding moment."

The color choice comes, in part, as homeowners are opting for darker colors, even as neutrals continue to be a popular choice. In a survey conducted by Behr, over half of respondents said that painting a wall a darker color makes the room feel like it was done by an interior designer.

“We recognize the growing desire for using darker colors throughout spaces,” Jodi Allen said in the press release. “Adding a soft black like Cracked Pepper evokes a sense of confidence and individuality that we want all of our customers to feel after completing a project.”

The color doesn't just work well in interior spaces (Woelfel particularly likes it on four walls in a room, or on kitchen cabinetry), but exterior spaces as well.

"It truly fits into so many architectural stylings," Sarah Fishburne, The Home Depot’s director of trend and design, tells The Spruce. "It can be a classic, Cape Cod color that you use as accents. It can be on a Craftsman, it can be on a bungalow, or it can be on a modern-aesthetic home."

Evoking the Senses

Woelfel says that this pewter shade is very much connected to the five senses. “You can see a color like this and almost taste it—you can taste cracked pepper, and you can smell the earthiness of the nature that’s around us," she says.

The name of the color takes the guesswork out of it: “If you say cracked pepper, everyone can resonate the color in their head," Woelfel says. "There are other colors where you may think, 'I don’t know exactly what’s happening, or I thought that was a blue,'" she says. "People understand exactly what this color is."

Intimidated? Start Small

Woelfel and Fishburne realize that a soft black, as versatile and neutral as it is, may not be for everyone. If you're feeling intimidated by the idea of a dark color in your home, they have one crucial tip: start small.

"A piece of painted furniture, small decor elements, an accent wall behind a headboard could be good uses," Woelfel says. "Try it in a dining room, a front door, or shutters, and just bring it in gradually and test it."

She says testing it in different areas of your home at different times of day can help you see how it looks in different lights. This can guide a decision about where Cracked Pepper works in your home.

Behr Paint is available exclusively at The Home Depot.