Behr’s Color of the Year 2024 Proves that Black Is the Perfect Neutral

Moody colors are here to stay, a fact that has been proved yet again by Behr’s 2024 Color of the Year, Cracked Pepper. 2024 Color of the Year predictions are already pouring in, and while it’s too early to point to any dominant trends amongst these carefully chosen colors, there’s one thing for sure: Dark paint colors are having a moment, and Behr’s Cracked Pepper pick—a soft black with brown undertones for an element of warmth—is the latest manifestation of a collective, design-oriented yearning for more contrast and drama in our spaces.

Announced August 15, Behr’s pick for Color of the Year in 2024 comes on the heels of a very different selection: The Behr 2023 Color of the Year was Blank Canvas, a glossy white. On the other end of the color spectrum, Cracked Pepper PPU18-01 offers the same neutral canvas, but with a little more attitude. Plus, it proves, once and for all, that black can be used as a neutral.

“Now people are starting to expand their vision and their boundaries,” Erika Woelfel, vice president of color and creative services at Behr Paint, tells Better Homes & Gardens. “They’re using bright colors as optimistic colors, but deep dark colors also bring about a totally different mood. They feel very composed—dramatic, in some cases, depending on how you’re using them. But this particular color, Cracked Pepper, we’re considering a darker neutral.”

This shift toward darker neutrals is part of an ongoing reaction to the all-white interiors that dominated the early 2000s, and more and more people are getting on board with the idea that color can (and should) be introduced into every room of the home. Plus, more people are realizing that color doesn’t have to be chaotic: It can be soothing, too.

“Our homeowner and our pros are just so much more willing to want these darker colors,” Sarah Fishburne, The Home Depot’s director of trend and design, tells BHG. “They kind of like how it grounds stuff.”

How to Try the Behr Color of the Year 2024, Cracked Pepper, in Your Home

The element of warmth that sets Cracked Pepper apart from many other black paint colors is also what allows it to function as a neutral, particularly in spaces that take on the uber-popular organic modern style. But Cracked Pepper isn’t limited to organic modern palettes: Just as we all focus on personality-driven decorating (think dopamine decor and the rise of enough microtrends and cores to offer something to literally everyone), Cracked Pepper is intended to fit into spaces of all styles.

“It could go into so many different lifestyle trends,” Fishburne says. “There’s certain colors, you’re like, ‘Well, I only see it in this kind of style.’ This one, it really does not have any boundaries.”

While culinarycore is a rising trend (and the name of Behr’s 2024 Color of the Year pick is particularly suited to this food-inspired style), Cracked Pepper is more about a general meshing of lifestyle and design, rather than a color tied to any one particular aesthetic.

“It’s very adaptable,” Woelfel says. “Universal, appealing to many different decor settings and different types of light. That was one of the reasons why we chose it.”

With that in mind, there’s truly no wrong way to use Cracked Pepper in your space. If you want to start small, Woelfel and Fishburne suggest starting with an accent wall, interior trim like wainscoting or beadboard, or even an entire interior door. (You could even try a piece of furniture painted in Cracked Pepper.)

If you want to go bigger, Cracked Pepper lends itself nicely to kitchen cabinets, walls, and even a statement painted ceiling. It also works well as an exterior color (either on trim, doors and shutters, or an entire house). Anyone new to bolder color choices might feel more comfortable starting outside, too, as black exterior accents have been popular for decades (for good reason!).

Cracked Pepper was chosen, in part, for its relationship with light, Woelfel and Fishburne say: It’s the kind of color that looks inky black in some lighting and almost navy-blue in others. It might look like one color in the morning and a completely different one by nighttime. Depending on the light in your space, you’ll have a different experience with this color than someone else might. That shifting element of the color is yet another feature that sets Cracked Pepper apart from other shades of black, and one that makes it supremely easy to use in many different ways.

As a truly dynamic, timeless color, Cracked Pepper is a great paint color pick any time—but if you wanted to incorporate this warm black into your space now, you’d be right on trend for 2024 and beyond.