2009's Must-Have Color: Purple

Purple is 2009's must-have color, according to the Color Marketing Group, an international non-profit association of color design professionals that has been predicting color trends for more than 45 years.

Other colors dubbed hot: blue, brown, gray, yellow and the return of mauve.

“We're finding comfort in colors that are familiar, and at the same time we're embracing colors that make us happy,” says CMG Executive Director Jamie Stephens. “Also, the demand for colors and products that reflect an environmentally 'greener' world goes way beyond trend. It's now a given,” she says.

When home builders are planning interiors for their model homes, these colors from the CMG hot color trend list can serve to keep things in proper vogue.

• Purple is not just a fad, it's an entrenched trend, strongly influenced by the election. Look for a grayed-out violet that works equally well as an accent or a neutral.
• Blue is the new green. This year, the green environmental message is delivered by the color blue.
• Cooled-down browns and grays provide complex neutrals that satisfy our urge toward classic colors in an economically challenged time.
• Look for lots of vivid yellow to provide energy as the economy is rebuilt. It's the stand-out accent color for 2009.
• Mauve has returned. It's an old color that looks new again. In dusty violet shades, mauve works as an accent but also now serves as a neutral.