The move away from greys to warmer colours over the last couple of years is set to continue into 2024. This has been a strong trend which started just before the pandemic. The cool urban chic look is less popular, with people preferring their homes to feel warmer and more cosy.
For the last couple of years people have wanted their homes to feel more in tune with nature, with the use of greens, green toned neutrals and by using natural materials. This year, both Farrow & Ball and Pantone have referenced nurture in their description of the colour trends for 2024. And the Dulux colour for 2024 is described as one that brings a feeling of positivity to our lives. So, it seems that the colours this year are going to be nurturing, rather than nature inspired.
Starting with Pantone Colour of the Year – Peach Fuzz. Described as a colour that “captures our desire to nurture ourselves and others. It’s a velvety gentle peach tone whose all-embracing spirit enriches mind, body, and soul.”
“In seeking a hue that echoes our innate yearning for closeness and connection, we chose a colour radiant with warmth and modern elegance. A shade that resonates with compassion, offers a tactile embrace, and effortlessly bridges the youthful with the timelessness.” Leatrice Eiseman
Photo credit: Pantone
It is worth noting that this Pantone colour is not just for interiors but also includes colour in all its uses, such as fashion and stationery. Peach Fuzz is a very pretty colour which I am sure many people will like. However, I will wait to see if peach is a shade of colour that people want in their home. If it is used in interiors, I can see it being more of an accent colour, maybe cushions or a throw, rather than for a whole room.
Dulux have also chosen a pastel shade for their colour of the year – Sweet Embrace.
“For 20 years our colour experts have been translating global trends into a Colour of the Year that captures the mood of the moment.”
“Sweet Embrace is a kind, delicate tone that brings a feeling of positivity to our lives.”
I prefer this colour to the yellow “Wild Wonder”, which was their colour for 2023. And I think it will have a slightly wider appeal. In particular, I can see this being used in bedrooms. It is pink with a slightly blue undertone, so it is on the cooler side and is a very gentle colour.
Photo credit: Dulux
Farrow & Ball are predicting clay tones will be popular in 2024.
“We’re not ones to follow trends. We believe homes are deeply personal and should reflect who you are, not who everyone else is. However, sometimes the same colours start to resonate with a lot of people at the same time – which is exactly what Joa Studholme, Colour Curator for Farrow & Ball, thinks is happening with clay tones.
““Rich clay tones continue to nurture us in times of uncertainty.” Explains Joa, “so they’re getting steadily more popular as many of us look for comfort.””
Photo credit: Farrow & Ball.
Walls Jitney, skirting Tanners Brown.
This move towards warmer, red-based neutrals started last year. As did the move away from dark charcoal or black woodwork to warmer, brown tones. Two of my favourites for this look of darker woodwork and lighter walls are Farrow & Ball Tanners Brown and Grate Black (an archived colour).
Skirting boards Tanners Brown (left), Grate Black (right)
Now for the difficult bit – what colours do I think people will be painting on their walls this year? Well firstly, my main piece of advice, as always is to go with what you love, regardless of whether it is ‘on trend’ or not.
The feeling that a colour gives can be as important as the colour itself. Before I visit my clients for a colour consultation, I always have a chat over the phone to find out what “feel” they want from their home when it is painted. And these are the some of the words they have used this year “airy, light, uplifting, bright, cosy, welcoming, homely, rich, luxurious. But cosy and homely are probably the two most popular ones.
Red based neutrals will give us this cosy and homely feel, so I feel these will probably be some of the more popular colours this year. I particularly love Farrow & Ball Stirabout, “a warm neutral with an underlying grey, inspired by the nurturing porridge favoured over many centuries in Ireland. A lighter version of Sandy Jitney.”
But my choice for colour of 2024, if I have to pick just one. is Farrow & Ball Tailor Tack. This is actually a very light pink, and it is such a warm, happy colour; it almost jumps off the colour chart.
Photo credit: Farrow & Ball
And I think that will be my theme of 2024. Happy, warm colours.
Your home. Your colours. Your way.