Every year we excitedly lookout for the Pantone Colour of the Year – and although it’s not normally a surprise, it still helps us focus on what colour or colours are trending worldwide in terms of design and home interiors popularity.

Previously we’ve had Living Coral giving us a pink outlook for the year, but as we usher in 2021 – regardless of lockdown and covid-19 pandemic restrictions, we look ahead to the twelve months in front of us and find out that the future is bright, it’s actually quite Yellow. It’s also a little grey, but we’ll overlook that for now!

PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray + PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating, two independent colours that highlight how different elements come together to support one another, best express the mood for Pantone Color of the Year 2021. Practical and rock-solid but at the same time warming and optimistic, the union of PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray + PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating is one of strength and positivity. It is a story of colour that encapsulates deeper feelings of thoughtfulness with the promise of something sunny and friendly.

Pantone Press Release

In homes and businesses all across the country, grey has been the pervasive colour of choice for a long while now – so much so that there are even facebook groups dedicated to the ‘hunbelieveable’ practice of painting everything within your reach in grey. Also adding sparkles.

But the addition and main focus of Illuminating Yellow as the Pantone Colour of the Year 2021 gives us a greater opportunity to use the yellow as our accent colour and to give light and contrast against the grey backdrops.

Many designers and home stylists are already using greys and yellows together and so may now look to move on to the next future trend as the colour of the year moves into mass market home design but for now we will work with it – Absorbing the illuminating sunlight yellow and looking for the silver lining in a sea of ultimate grey.