26.09.2017 11:00

Tikkurila honored the 100th anniversary of Finland's independence by inviting the public to help build the biggest color chart in the country's history. More than 4,000 Finns added the color of their house to the chart between April and August. The analysis of the database revealed that one in three Finns live in a gray house.


Tikkurila is one of the main sponsors of the Finland 100 celebrations. Thanks to its long history and advanced technology, Tikkurila has a vast pool of information about the colors favored by Finns over the decades. However, as the perception of color is always subjective, Tikkurila decided to build a unique reference database using tangible examples. In addition to address information, people were asked to give the wall material and color of their house either by entering the information manually or by picking their house out from Google Street View.

The most popular external colors turned out to be gray (35%), red (16%) and brown (14%). The most common wall material was wood (56%).

'According to our color statistics, gray has been the most popular color for the last five years in a row, with medium gray (612X), dark gray (613X) and light gray (618X) being the most popular shades. Gray is considered a natural choice, as we often base the coloring of our house on our surroundings: gray skies and soft natural tones. Housing fairs are a good source of inspiration for home builders. The color scheme of the early 21st century featured bold blue shades, after which preferences have shifted towards an increasingly narrow selection of gray, white and black. As the palette has become more limited, trendsetters, such as architects, have begun to favor bright colors as accents. Bold colors are now used to highlight specific parts of a building, such as the entrance. We are responding to the demand for gray and bright colors by revising our range of external paints for 2018,' explains Design Manager Marika Raike, Tikkurila Oyj.

As choosing an external paint color can feel like a challenging task, people can now use the new color chart to study the color choices of their neighbors, for example. Tikkurila's ColorUP software also gives people an opportunity to see colors in context and visualize what their house would look like painted in different shades.

'It can be difficult to visualize the final look of a facade from small color samples. That is why I recommend that people test paints on a separate piece of wood first. Our Pika-Teho re-coating paint and translucent Valtti Color wood stain are available in handy 0.225-liter tester pots. The best way to ensure a good end result is to look at the sample in a real environment and in the right lighting,' explains Rami Kuparinen, Technical Support Manager of Tikkurila Maalilinja helpline.

Finland's biggest color chart is now available online at suomi100.tikkurila.fi/suomen_varikartta (in Finnish). Tikkurila Maalilinja experts answer questions over the telephone on +358 20 191 2002 and via chat at tikkurila.fi between 8 am and 7 pm from Monday to Friday.

More information:

Tikkurila Oyj

Questions concerning colors:
Marika Raike, Design Manager
Tel. +358 20 191 2149, mobile +358 40 584 3353
Email marika.raike@tikkurila.com

Questions concerning the results of Finland's biggest color chart:
Nina Kaijasilta, Content Strategist, Communications
Tel. +358 20 191 2173, mobile +358 40 757 3259
Email nina.kaijasilta@tikkurila.com

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Tikkurila Oyj published this content on 27 September 2017 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 27 September 2017 08:59:05 UTC.

Original documenthttps://www.tikkurilagroup.com/media/articles/one_in_three_finns_live_in_gray_house.11834.news

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