The past year has been a rough one for the American psyche, with a contentious election and uncertainty for the future.

As we look forward to a fresh start, the color management company Pantone Color Institute has stepped in to offer an insightful pick for Color of the Year for 2017: Greenery.

Every year since 2000, the company has chosen a color that reflects the current cultural climate and influenced trends in all facets of design – architecture, interior décor, fashion, food and travel.

Pantone chose Greenery to provide reassurance amid a tumultuous social and political environment. It is a fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring when nature’s greens revive, restore and renew. Bringing green into your environment may not be as invigorating as a walk in the forest but the palette can lend a vibrant outdoorsy quality to interior spaces.

How can you give your home a fresh start for the New Year with this nature-inspired hue?

Move on from all white walls and think about painting an area with an accent color. A splash of Greenery can keep monotone rooms from looking sterile or cold.

Try adding this vegetal color to a kitchen or dining room. In the living room, leafy green, when paired with natural wood, gives a nice organic vibe with an indoor-outdoor connection. Add Greenery in decorative elements like pillows, curtains, throws and other accessories.

Because this green is so prominent in nature, it tends to work as a semineutral and can be pleasingly paired with many other colors, right at home with shades of red, orange, yellow or blue. And it gives some pop to a grey palette.

Are you ready to reinvigorate your surroundings? Paint colors similar to Pantone’s Greenery include Mardi Gras Green from Valspar, Green Thumb from Benjamin Moore, Overt Green from Sherwin-Williams and Herbal Garden from Behr.

Adriana Donofrio Podley Properties Glendora (626) 926-9700 adrianad@podley.com