Q: Can you please describe the Whirlpool Design Team’s role in the KitchenAid Color of the Year program?
A: The Color of the Year program is specifically led by the Whirlpool Color, Finish, and Material team, and it’s one of the few projects not broadly shared. We spend years analyzing interior design, social, cultural and aesthetic trends to help determine the new Color of the Year.

Q: KitchenAid recently released Evergreen as its 2024 Design Series Stand Mixer. How does the Design Series program differ from the Color of the Year program?
A: Our Design Series program changes various elements on the Stand Mixer, including bowl material, hub covers, trim bands, and knobs. Color of the Year focuses on a specific colorway to express the emotions people want to feel that year.
 
Q: Can you tell us about the selection process for KitchenAid Color of the Year, particularly Butter?
A: The Color of the Year selection process starts with a workshop analyzing worldwide socio-cultural trends, filtering those results through a KitchenAid lens, and identifying feelings people want to attach themselves to that year. As a result of our trend tracking, our team saw yellow continually pop up, and knowing we wanted to tap into comfort and nostalgia, this soft, energizing butter yellow felt like the strongest option for conveying all those elements.

Q: How long was the Butter selection process from start to finish?
A: In total, the selection process takes about three years; however, our team first began tracking yellow when we saw Mustard emerge as a popular color in 2019. 

Q: What was your inspiration behind Butter, and why was it chosen as the 2025 Color of the Year?
A: For this year’s color, we were driven by tapping into comfort and nostalgia, and the color yellow has the ability to transport you back in time, evoking some of the warmest memories. The color might remind people of kitchens from the 1950s or 1960s that were decorated with a similar soft yellow color. Butter does not feel like a particularly niche color, but instead a classic neutral that will last over the years.

Q: Were there any new and unique methods the team used to identify/create Butter?
A: When creating Butter, we bought a lot of different yellow samples to create a range of options and then worked closely with our paint partner to describe the exact color we wanted. From there, we were able to test different combinations and narrow down our selection. 

Q: What kind of feelings do you want people to experience when they see Butter?
A: Once it was determined that our color was going to be a shade of blue, we began experimenting by combining different shades. For Blue Salt, we used a technique we hadn’t with past Color of the Year selections — nail polish. We knew that we wanted the 2024 Color of the Year to have an iridescent finish, so we began layering different shades of blue with chromatic nail polishes until we finally achieved the periwinkle blue and subtle iridescent, reddish-pearl finish of Blue Salt.  

Q: Were there any unexpected challenges in creating Butter? 
A: Our Color, Finish, and Material studio was being renovated during the creation of Butter, so our team was temporarily located in a different building. This presented an interesting challenge for us as we did not have the typical lighting setup our studio offers, which allows us to switch between home, store, and outdoor lighting. As a result, we had to get creative to see how the color changed depending on the lighting. 

Q: How does Butter differ from the other yellow Stand Mixers in the KitchenAid portfolio such as Majestic Yellow?
A: Majestic Yellow was developed in 1995, so it was reflective of interior trends such as red cherry woods and glossy countertop finishes, whereas Butter represents today’s trends in which woods are more natural and countertops are matte and satin.

Q: Do you have any design tips on how consumers can incorporate Butter into their homes? What accent colors work well with Butter?
A: Butter works well in any home, from eclectic and traditional styles to clean and contemporary spaces. The Stand Mixer also pairs well with various shades of blue, including a periwinkle, or if you are looking to mix and match with other appliances, it looks great with the KitchenAid Blue Velvet colorway or muted tones like a sage green.

Q: Are there any KitchenAid products, particularly Stand Mixer Attachments, that would pair well with Butter?
A: I would highly recommend pairing this with the KitchenAid Bread Bowl attachment ーthey go together like bread and butter (pun intended)!