Main image: Global trend forecasting agency WGSN picked its Color of the Year for 2025 back in 2023: the intriguing, moody, mysterious Future Dusk. (WGSN)
As interiors brands reveal their Colors of the Year for 2025, we lift the paint lid to ask: do they really reflect how we feel and shape how we live? And who determines whether next year will have us feeling brighter or moodier? Storied correspondent Nicky Rampley-Clarke reports from London on the shades about to color the whole world.
Influenced by everything from popular culture to global political events, the colors we put on our walls and drape over our shoulders reflect how we think and feel. That’s why heavy-hitters – including Pantone, which famously invented its trademarked system in 1963 to faithfully reproduce color, and Dulux, the now-global company that began manufacturing paint in the UK in 1931 – define an annual Color of the Year. But do these trending shades really echo the mood of the moment, or is it just marketing mumbo-jumbo?
Karen Haller, behavioral color expert and author of The Little Book of Colour, is a believer. She explains: “Designating a Color of the Year is a powerful strategy for brands to convey their interpretation of the collective mood. By selecting a specific color, they can evoke emotions that align with prevailing aspirations and challenges. This creates an emotional connection with their consumers and inspires trends across design, fashion and lifestyle. It’s a great marketing tool that helps brands stay relevant while shaping the visual and emotional landscape.”
Pantone’s outgoing Color of the Year for 2024 is Peach Fuzz, “a soft pink that captures our desire to nurture ourselves and others.” By contrast, Future Dusk – WGSN’s Color of the Year 2025 – carries “a sense of mystery and escapism.” (Shutterstock)
In 2024, calming hues are offering escapism in tumultuous times – including the threat of war, political unrest, environmental events and the cost-of-living crisis. No wonder we’re seeking solace in serene shades.
In the Pinterest Autumn 2024 Report, searches for ‘serene color palette’ have increased by a whopping 110%. “People are wanting to create a tranquil environment,” says Matt Siberry, head of home at Pinterest UK, “so it’s hardly surprising colors like seafoam, blue and sage are on the rise.”
Recent COTYs – the insider’s acronym – reaffirm the sentiment: Peach Fuzz by Pantone, a soft pink that “captures our desire to nurture ourselves and others”; Upward by Sherwin Williams – “a breezy, blissful blue for spaces brimming with positive energy”; and Virdis from Graham & Brown, a muted green that “offers a calming atmosphere.” While clearly far apart on the color chart, they’re unified in their soothing qualities, proposing peace and quiet in an increasingly noisy world.
Heleen van Gent (left), head of Dulux’s Global Aesthetics Center, immersed among the swatches and inspiration material that led her and her team to choose the vibrant yellow True Joy as their Color of the Year for 2025. (Dulux)
Looking ahead, there’s still a sense of tranquility about trending colors, albeit becoming bolder. Time to stop hiding under the covers and face the future with renewed bravery, perhaps? Take Dulux, whose Color of the Year 2024 was Sweet Embrace, a delicate blossom pink that the brand says “brings a feeling of positivity.” The 2025 hue, True Joy, is more of a show-off.
Marianne Shillingford, creative director at the paint company, says: “Trending colors are influenced by many things, from the season to social media, but the most powerful influence is driven by the way we want to feel right now. When times are tough in the world around us – with doom and gloom dominating the headlines – we seek out a palette that gives us comfort and joy.” Similarly, other Colors of the Year for 2025 retain a sense of calm while being more courageous, from Encore by Valspar, an atmospheric blue symbolizing confidence and happiness, to Rumors by Behr, a rich ruby that adds energy and warmth.
Trending colors are influenced by many things, from the season to social media, but the most powerful influence is driven by the way we want to feel right now.
WGSN, the trend forecasting company, is showcasing the same shift. Senior color strategist Clare Smith says: “Our Color of the Year for 2024 is Apricot Crush, a refreshing and energetic orange that appeals to consumer sentiments. Looking beyond 2024, we can’t ignore being in a period of unprecedented global change. Color needs to do even more and we’re seeing shades that bring a sense of reassurance having even stronger appeal. Future Dusk is our new Color of the Year – sitting between blue and purple, it offers escapism with a touch of mystery, while reflecting the need for awe and wonder. This aligns with the wider trend for immersive and transformative colors driven by the metaverse, fantasy and imagination…”
Future Dusk is described by global trend forecasters WGSN as a “dark, moody and intriguing hue, sitting between blue and purple.” (WGSN)
Just how do these brands predict their Colors of the Year – and is it a science or an art? Says WGSN’s Smith: “Our Color of the Year is informed by a framework that analyzes trends in society, technology, politics, creativity and the environment to gain a deep understanding of future drivers, innovators and consumer behaviours that impact trending colors.”
It’s about finding a color that captures the ‘mood of the moment’ and involves a team of global experts that includes renowned thought-leaders.
Dulux employs similar rigor. “The process is so much more than choosing a shade that works with the latest design trends,” Shillingford reveals. “It’s about finding a color that captures the ‘mood of the moment’ and involves a team of global experts that includes renowned thought-leaders. Once a year, we invite this expert group to present a snapshot of what they think will be the biggest influences on the way we are going to be living in the future. From these predictions, we identify themes that resonate globally and create colors that capture what we want from our living spaces for the year ahead.”
For 2025, Benjamin Moore has released 10 “in-between hues” of paint that they say celebrate a more nuanced approach to color. Cinnamon Slate is one of the key shades in its Color Trends 2025 Palette. Described as “quietly colorful” by the brand’s director of color marketing and design, Andrea Magno, and a “continuation of subtler trends,” according to Architectural Digest. (Benjamin Moore)
Color trends are a long game, too. Behavioral color expert Karen Haller adds: “Colors of the Year are typically picked 18 before launching, so 2025 colors were chosen in 2023, and brands are already looking at 2027. It may seem paradoxical to define the ‘mood of the moment’ 18 months in advance, but the process anticipates long-term cultural and emotional shifts, rather than reacting to immediate events.”
Interestingly, Farrow & Ball – the British cult favorite brand known for its memorable paint names, like Elephant’s Breath and Sulking Room Pink – doesn’t offer a Color of the Year, as part of its “commitment to sustainability and belief that color choice should be a personal preference.” Although brand ambassador Patrick O’Donnell does have predictions: “These include a glorious deep-lilac shade, plus coral and apricot tones that have a nostalgic whiff of English country house about them from the 1950s and ’60s, as well as the glamor of ’70s-inspired brown.”
In 2024, Pinterest launched its own color trends forecast – The Pinterest Palette – based on insights gleaned from its own users’ search terms in the zeitgeist context of fashion, interior and graphic design trends. Gummy Pink, a sort of updated version of Millennial pink, emerged as one of five hot hues for the year. But how will it fare in 2025? (Pinterest)
As with everything, the impact of AI and digitisation on future color trends can’t be ignored. Says WGSN’s Smith: “We forecasted Cyber Lime back in 2022, a punchy, near-neon green that aligns with both nature and technology. It’s a gender-inclusive and dopamine-inducing bright that can’t be ignored. Similar to the concept around BRAT green [a shade that went viral in summer 2024, thanks to Charli XCX], it highlights the importance of unapologetic colors, which we see building beyond 2024. It’s safe to say you can’t ignore the impact of social media and the digital sphere when it comes to color.”
Ultimately, you can get inspired by the expertly predicted colors that will come to define the visual landscape – cozy yet brave shades that comfort and energize – or you can go it alone.
“From a psychological perspective, pick colors that resonate with you,” recommends Karen Haller. “Those that reflect your authentic personality and how you want to think and feel in your home. Create a home that you love, and it will love you back.”
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