It’s all right with blue and white

Putting the hype of the holiday season to one side, the end of the year always brings interior excitement. It’s in mid-winter that the design powerhouses announce their colours of the year. 

The two titans – Dulux and Pantone – couldn’t be further apart when it comes to their colour choices for 2026. At one end of the spectrum we have boldest blue, while at the other is a wispy white. Where does your preference fall?

The answer to this may depend on where you are in the home moving process. Let’s start with the Pantone Colour of the Year 2026. The team has eschewed its preference for deeply saturated and highly pigmented colours for….no colour at all!

Pantone’s choice is Cloud Dancer – described as a lofty white. In physics, white is achromatic (lacking hue) because it has no purity of colour, instead being all colour wavelengths combined. In artistic and interior design circles, however, white is a powerful colour.

Cloud Dancer is the type of white that you can liberally paint everywhere without causing offence. As such, it is the perfect neutral if you want to refresh your walls and ceilings ahead of a sale, or if you’re renting out a property. The shade is linked to feelings of calmness and serenity, with a soft chalky quality that adds an edge of sophistication and stops an over clinical atmosphere.

If you like the sound of Pantone’s Cloud Dancer, the major paint brands sell very similar colours. Try Little Greene’s Slaked Lime, Farrow & Ball’s Salt, Coat’s Paper Plane or Crown’s Fresh Coconut. Alternatively, you could take a swatch of Cloud Dancer to a decorating centre for a colour match.

Dulux has opted for not one but three Colours of the Year and 2026 is all about feeling blue. There’s nothing sad about the choices, however. The Rhythm of Blues set comprises Free Groove, Slow Swing and Mellow Flow - upbeat and vibrant shades for your home.

Slow Swing is an inky blue almost on the verge of black, while Free Groove is a primary shade that’s fresh and vibrant. Mellow Flow is the gentlest of all three – a steely mid blue that teeters on the edge of grey, depending on the light.

Dulux’s Colours of the Year could be quite divisive and distracting so unless applied with a judicious eye, they are probably best saved for when you have bought a property and are looking to personalise the interior. 

That said, there is nothing stopping you from using Free Groove, Slow Swing and Mellow Flow as accent colours, perhaps as scatter cushions, throws and lampshades. In fact, Dulux’s Colours of the Year and Pantone’s Cloud Dancer work in complete harmony – with Cloud Dancer painted on every wall and pops of blue by way of colourful accessories.

If 2026’s Colours of the Year have got you excited to move home, contact us. We can give you an up-to-date valuation of where you currently live and match you with available properties within your budget.