Behr’s 2026 Color of the Year Is a Big Upgrade on Your Everyday Green

If you thought the era of green was over in interior design, you’d be wrong—but while it might be sticking around in 2026, green will be getting a major upgrade.

Case in point: Behr’s 2026 Color of the Year, Hidden Gem. This sophisticated shade hits just the right balance between blue and green, and proves that green won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

“For the past several years, we’ve seen sage green; we’re talking about olive green—some of these very organic, earthy colors that have been very, very easy to use,” Erika Woelfel, VP of Color & Creative Services at Behr Paint, tells The Spruce.

“This color is really that nice intersection between the blues and the greens as a smoky jade that still has a little bit of a nod to nature.”

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Green Is Making a Comeback, With a Twist

While green has been popular for several years. and had a particular surge in areas like the kitchen and bathroom, those hues had tended toward olives, sages, and other lighter-toned greens.

Hidden Gem feels like a fresh take on a classic—just as versatile and appealing, but with a newly-invigorated, modern edge.

Anna Miller, The Home Depot’s Director of Trend & Design, believes the connection with nature gives green such an everlasting appeal.

“We are all constantly inspired by nature—you just can’t go wrong,” Miller says. “Harkening back to the palette of greens makes you feel confident that you’re going to love it every time.”

A Color That Gives You Confidence

The unveiling of such a striking hue as the Color of the Year also speaks to the growing preference for colors that inspire confidence, according to research by Behr.

According to a press release for the announcement, four out of five Americans believe that “the paint colors in one’s home have the power to impact one’s confidence.”

Miller says that the turn toward more interesting colors is a reaction to some recent trends that we’re perhaps trying to move on from.

“We saw farmhouse, so strong over the years, but a reaction to that, or the gray that we’ve all heard about, is: more color, we want more warmth, we want more depth,” Miller tells The Spruce.

How to Use Hidden Gem in Your Space

At an exclusive unveiling for media on July 29, Behr showcased Hidden Gem in a wide range of styled vignettes that showed the versatility of the shade—at times used just as an accent color, and completely drenching the room in others.

To use the color in the kitchen, consider incorporating it into the space as more of an accent color. Behr’s example showed the color in a two-toned kitchen, with Hidden Gem on the lower cabinets with white, gold, and light wood accents throughout the space for balance.

Meanwhile, in the living room, the look was a bit more bold: a bright pink bubble sofa, brass tulip-shaped wall sconces, and paneled walls coated in Hidden Gem.

A New Neutral?

Despite the fact that Hidden Gem feels like a statement, Woelfel believes a color like this can also behave like a neutral in many cases.

When speaking about the vignettes, she says it was hard to narrow it down to just a handful, but the ones they chose show the adaptable nature of Hidden Gem, making it widely appealing to almost anyone, no matter what look you’re going for.

“We looked at bringing it in in small ways, and then bringing it in in larger ways,” she says. “It really was easy to create the spaces that like the living room space, the dining room space, and the bathroom that were full color drenches, because it wasn’t a color that was really overpowering.”

Hidden Gem is part of Behr’s 2026 Trend Palette, which includes a range of colors from saturated and earthy tones to lighter neutrals, making it easy to pick the perfect color combination if you don’t know where to start.

Behr paint is available exclusively at Home Depot.