International Builders’ Show – Booth #C5836 Contact: [email protected] Brittany Greff (646) 412 3393

SHERWIN-WILLIAMS COLOR OF THE YEAR 2014

LAS VEGAS – February 4, 2014 – Exclusive Plum (SW 6263), a sophisticated violet, is Sherwin-Williams Color of the Year 2014. The hue, a balance of cool blue and feisty red with a splash of gray, pairs well with a variety of styles to create color schemes suitable for any room.

“This dusky, filtered violet is refined without being stuffy, elegant yet easy, and layered with romantic potential. It has an amazing quality and can be adapted for nearly any space, whether used as an accent or for an entire room,” said Jackie Jordan, Sherwin-Williams director of color marketing.

Exclusive Plum is a versatile color that can be used in a variety of spaces. For a cozy, masculine den, Jordan recommends pairing Exclusive Plum with accents of copper and well-worn leather. Exclusive Plum can also be layered with gold, gray and white for an elegant, dreamy bedroom, or highlighted against white subway tile and chrome fixtures for a statement master bathroom. Pops of magenta and chartreuse can liven up Exclusive Plum for a more energetic space and when paired with creamy whites or other neutrals, the mellow yet purposeful purple can turn any space into a refreshing retreat.

Each year, Jordan, along with Sherwin-Williams color experts, researches color influences from around the world to determine the annual forecast and the Color of the Year. colormix 2014 is comprised of 38 colors that are grouped into four palettes: Reasoned, Diaphanous, Intrinsic and Curiosity, which is the collection Exclusive Plum sits in.

Curiosity It has been said that what one may see as strange and unique, another may see as beautiful – this is the wonder of the Curiosity palette, which is largely driven by science and geology. Nature at the most molecular level is becoming a resource for patterns, textures and colors, such as Show Stopper and Quixotic Plum. Mined minerals, metals and raw gems also fuel the color story, which includes Library Pewter and Relic Bronze.

– more – “In today’s world, oddities are now objects of fascination and the bizarre has never been more beautiful, especially in the design world where designers are using the ordinary to create the extraordinary,” said Jordan. Sherwin-Williams colormix 2014 Page “The Curiosity palette can be described as mad science meets fantasy; it’s avant-garde, experiential, dark and exotic.”

Reasoned Founded in black, white and gray, this palette celebrates the quantifiable world’s impact on design, illustrated by the use of geometry and 3D printing to create patterns and shapes in all categories of design. The hues of Reasoned, which include Tricorn Black, Agreeable Gray and Crushed Ice, represent shadows, negative space and tone-on-tone layering.

“Mathematics play a significant role in our world today and helped to define this palette, “ said Jordan. “We are in a global race to acquire knowledge, especially in the field of math, and we are consistently aware of the impact of percentages and numbers in our current economy. Gray is the new black, and math is the new sexy.”

Diaphanous The delicate nature of this palette embodies the very essence of balance, simplicity and elegance. The colors of Diaphanous are light, delicate and translucent. Society’s need for overconsumption has given way to minimalism and a quiet reality. This palette evokes tranquility, sensuality, serenity and escape.

“Silk, chiffon, feathers, natural wool, rose gold, barely-there patterns and soft florals are key to this palette,” said Jordan. “It is about a balance of simplicity, delicate colors and strength tempered by softness. We are experiencing this blurred duality all around us, from menswear influences on feminine clothes to the soft-touch material on electronics.”

Intrinsic A little bohemian and plenty of color make up the Intrinsic palette. Its focus is around embracing and preserving tradition, culture and design, while bringing in new influences. World events in 2014, such as the Winter Olympic Games in Russia, are driving a new appreciation of folkloric costumes, patterns and styles of the country.

“We see people embracing family and their heritage now more than ever. This palette is a celebration of both cultural and individual traditions — old and new,” said Jordan. “It is also about a new appreciation for handmade crafts, such as lace, embroidery, batik and other ethnic dyeing methods.”

– more – Color Resources Sherwin-Williams Color of the Year 2014 Page 3 of 4

There are several ways for professionals to interact and find inspiration with color selection tools from Sherwin- Williams. At swcolor.com, design professionals can view all Sherwin-Williams colors and collections, link to downloadable palettes for use in color rendering software and access the online color visualizer where applying color and trying different colors is easier than ever with no edge-masking required. Designers can also register on myS-W.com and order large-sized color swatches and fan decks.

Sherwin-Williams STIR® magazine annual print edition, eExtra e-newsletters, plus exclusive content on the STIR tablet app also provide inspiration, news and resources for design professionals. Visit swstir.com, as well as search for “Sherwin-Williams Design Pros” on your favorite social channels including Facebook® and Twitter®.

Design professionals will also find a world of color at their fingertips with the new Sherwin-Williams ColorSnap Studio™ iPad® app. ColorSnap Studio blends the best of Sherwin-Williams color inspiration tools — the ColorSnap® smartphone app, the powerful online Color Visualizer, plus the Explore Color functionality — into one iPad app offering all the ease-of-use of a tablet including high definition, as well as pinch, zoom and swipe features.

ColorSnap Studio users can access the same functionalities as the ColorSnap smartphone app, which makes it easy to find the closest-matching paint colors to those captured within an image and to fine tune colors using the lightness, saturation and hue features. And now, they can also use the Color Visualizer tool, which was previously only available for desktop use, to experiment with thousands of color combinations. Touch the color and simply use a finger to “finger-paint” it onto the image. It is a quick and easy way to show clients different options using the iPad app.

With the click of a button, any online image can turn into a palette of paint colors, with Chip It!®, an interactive tool from Sherwin-Williams. This Web-based tool allows designers to select any online image and instantly identify the Sherwin-Williams paint colors that correspond to the colors contained within the picture. Designers, as well as their clients, can now use the colors that inspire them while surfing the Internet and turn them into paint palettes for any project.

Recently, Sherwin-Williams announced the new ColorSnap Glass™, which allows Google Glass users to instantaneously act on color inspiration by adding a digital layer right before their eyes. When a person takes a picture, the software will match the picture to Sherwin-Williams paint colors.

– more – Sherwin-Williams colormix 2014 Page In addition to interactive tools and inspiration, Sherwin-Williams offers offline help with COLOR To Go® paint samples and the Sher-Color™ Advanced Color Technology system for fast, accurate color matching.

The colormix 2014 Colors Reasoned Diaphanous Curiosity Intrinsic

Extra White (SW 7006) Alpaca (SW 7022) Exclusive Plum (SW 6263) Dynamo (SW 6841) Tricorn Black (SW 6258) Fleur De Sel (SW 7666) Enigma (SW 6018) Ablaze (SW 6870)

Agreeable Gray (SW 7029) Balanced Beige (SW 7037) Show Stopper (SW 7588) Ceremonial Gold (SW 6382) Crushed Ice (SW 7647) Sandbank (SW 6052) Quixotic Plum (SW 6265) Ramie (SW 6156) Earl Gray (SW 7660) Nonchalant White (SW 6161) Anew Gray (SW 7030) Raucous Orange (SW 6883) Classic French Gray (SW 0077) Malted Milk (SW 6057) Library Pewter (SW 0038) Georgian Bay (SW 6509) Peppercorn (SW 7674) Steamed Milk (SW 7554) Sealskin (SW 7675) Capri (SW 6788) Gauntlet Gray (SW 7019) Beige (SW 2859) Relic Bronze (SW 6132) Houseplant (SW 6727) Westhighland White (SW 7566) Blue Peacock (SW 0064) Polished Mahogany (SW 2838) Spun Sugar (SW 6337) Antiquarian Brown (SW 0045) Sawdust (SW 6158)

Ask Sherwin-Williams™ Through its more than 3,900 stores and 2,200 sales representatives, Sherwin-Williams provides fast, flexible, responsive service and personalized, expert advice to meet the coating and color needs of builders, designers, specifiers, property managers and contractors. As North America’s largest single-source supplier of high- quality paints, stains, masonry coatings and brand-name wall and floor coverings, Sherwin-Williams is proud to have earned the EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award for its innovative acrylic alkyd technology. Visit sherwin-williams.com or join Sherwin-Williams on Facebook and Twitter.

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