Ruddy brown Marsala crowned as new hue for 2015

How about some wine with that accent pillow?

Specifically, Marsala, the ruddy brown recently crowned Color of the Year for 2015 by the Pantone Color Institute.

After a series of flamboyant, fashion-forward picks, such as Tangerine Tango, Emerald and last year's Radiant Orchid, the hue gurus settled on a subdued, sensible shade — one that's already well-represented on a lot of Twin Cities basement sofas. The choice has left some observers scratching their heads.

"My first response was to wonder 'Why?' " said designer Jeralyn Mohr of Full Nest Design in St. Paul. "It's so earthy. Maroon, sage … those colors are so common here that it doesn't feel like a fresh idea."

Lisa Peck of LiLu Design also was puzzled by the pick. "It's a huge switch" from the "cleaner, happier colors" that Pantone has anointed in the recent past, she said. "It's kind of straight-laced … conservative. I don't love it." She'd have picked a deep peacock blue — "or even a more gregarious red." She doesn't expect her clients to get excited about Marsala. "It's probably a color that here, in the Midwest, people are tired of — they've lived with it since it was in the last time."

Some online reaction was even chillier than lukewarm, with commenters likening the color to "dried blood," "baby diaper" or just plain "weird."

But Minneapolis designer Cy Winship sees Marsala as a solid and unexpected pick. "I love that this isn't such an obvious color," he said. "It's very cool, very sexy," when paired with the right accent hues. He'd use it with other "odd smoky colors," such as bronze, warm charcoal, smoky blues and "purply grays," adding oxblood leather and fur pillows to create a romantic twilight effect. "This color is about shadow rather than bright light," he said. He also recommended against pairing it with other browns or with whites or creams, which can muddy the Marsala.

Fashion-forward

Some wondered if Pantone's earthy color pick represented a strategic shift away from the fashion-forward hues of the recent past. Not at all, according to Leatrice Eiseman, Pantone's executive director. "It's a color more accepted on a mass level," she acknowledged. But Pantone scouts trends all over the globe before making its annual choice, and Marsala has been showing up on high-fashion runways, from the likes of Gucci, Zac Posen, Burberry and Tommy Hilfiger.

Marsala also represents a nod to foodies and their influence. "It plays to the huge interest in food preparation and wine," Eiseman said. Marsala, the wine, is a varietal, and so is Marsala the color, "a reddish wine with strong brown undertones. It's what we like to think of as a grounding color, with an earthy connotation," she said, "but you could also use it in a more glamorous vein," such as a dramatic choice for lipstick or nail polish.

On the home front, it's a color that mixes well with pieces you may already own, Eiseman said, adding warmth to the grays that have been ubiquitous in interiors for the past several years. "Marsala is fantastic with grays. It's a way of enriching the gray family." She recommends using Marsala on an accent wall as a focal point.

But be careful. "That color is quite deep" for an accent wall, cautions Peck. She'd rather see it used for hard finishes, such as tile, or as a smaller accent, such as trim on an existing pillow or piping on a lampshade.

Marsala also evokes the 1970s, which can be a plus or a minus, depending on how you feel about the decade and its oft-derided design. "It's a '70s color, and people are not really ready to revisit that yet," said Mohr. "On its own, it's [Marsala] so stuck in the '70s. You have to throw in other elements." She's used it with rich plums or pale blues, for an updated look.

But a '70s resurgence is on the horizon, according to some. Eiseman even suggests pairing Marsala with — horrors! — that other '70s shade: avocado. "Some of those colorations are now being done in much more high-tech ways," she said, which adds fresh interest.

That, at least, rings true to Peck. "Throwback '70s — that is hot," she said. "People are getting into this whole '70s redo, enjoying the graphics, the velvet sofas. It [Marsala] is on trend with that."

Kim Palmer • 612-673-4784