Colour creativity in 2021

With the average Brit spending more than £1,000 on home improvement since the first lockdown began in the spring, it’s important that as we begin the new year window and door products evolve in line with changing moods, style and trends. Bethaney Larkman, marketing manager for Distinction Doors, looks ahead to colour trends in 2021.

Grey and cool neutral tones have dominated home styling recently but all that is set to change in the new year; it would appear that our experiences and emotions in 2020 have influenced designers and trend setters.

For many, our homes are a personal haven, a safe space to retreat to and a happy place. And that has never been as important as now, as we spend more time at home. Our houses have become places to relax, work and learn, and it’s important that this environment promotes a sense of calm.

As a place of sanctuary, we wish to feel warm and safe, nestled away from the harsh reality of the pandemic. This desire for comfort has led trend setters to turn away from cool tones and instead, inject warmth into our base colours.

“I see 2021 as being a year of creating cocooning, cosy spaces, there will be a shift away from the cooler greys, and warm neutrals … will become the go-to tones,” Ruth Mottershead, creative director at Little Greene, said.

Think milky and almond tones as opposed to the colder end of the spectrum. These hues are perfect for creating an easy-going living space. They also work well as a complementary shade to stronger, deeper tones, as designers embrace rich, earthier shades over bright and energetic colours.

The Dulux Colour of the Year 2021 is Brave Ground, “a warm, natural neutral that’s an enabling and stabilizing colour”. For some, the mocha overtones may hark back to the 2000s but perhaps that’s the idea. Dulux describes it as “a bolstering shade … A warm, earthy tone, it creates a feeling of stability, growth and potential; and provides a firm foundation for change.”

By reimaging colours of the past, designers and paint experts are reflecting the mood of the moment: a desire for normality and a return to more certain times.

As we seek refuge and solace in our homes, cold tones such as navy blue and charcoal grey are stepping aside for warmer, richer hues of red and plum. These tones are warm and chic by day and luxurious and welcoming by night. Bold and gracious colours can transform a room, creating intimate interiors and spaces.

With many of us spending more time indoors, there’s a desire for colours more commonly found in nature. Biophilia is based on a theory of the biologist EO Wilson and is “an innate and genetically determined affinity of human beings with the natural world”.

Biophilic design is set to inspire the emergence of rich, vibrant shades of green, bringing the outdoors in.

Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Colour Institute said: “A range of floral hues reflective of gardens in springtime awakens our spirit, reinvigorating our interest in colour that inspires feelings of much-needed optimism.”

Alongside swathes of green, brighter, uplifting tones like yellow will add pops of interest, akin to spring flowers amid winter evergreens. By evoking the natural world, homes will become “the perfect setting to relax, escape and restore the senses”, as noted by Valspar’s Sue Kim, senior colour designer.

All of the paint experts agree that our homes will be embracing more green tones in the new year. Will green be the new grey in 2021?