As Pantone announces its colour of 2026, a vanilla off-white, here's more on the reasoning behind the choice – and what other trending colours can help you achieve greater domestic bliss.

Pantone has spoken – and the colour of the year 2026 is… white. Or more specifically, Cloud Dancer, a vanilla-whipped, fluffy off-white that appears less like a colour trend and more like the inside of a marshmallow. But can an achromatic shade capture the global mood? Stephen Westland, professor of colour science, at the University of Leeds, isn't convinced. "The colour of the year is a gimmick to promote commercial interest," he says. "Although Pantone are the most well-known predictors, there are at least a dozen others who choose a colour of the year, and they all typically disagree."

Indeed, trend forecasters WGSN proclaimed teal their 2026 colour some time ago, while other design experts maintain earthy tones will be popular as the next year unfolds – none of which helps us decide what shade to paint our sitting room.

Cloud Dancer joins a long tradition of paint names that veer between quirky and absurd, a marketing strategy that has itself become an art form. Farrow & Ball have given us Dead Salmon, Elephant's Breath, Arsenic, and tasty classic Broccoli Brown. They're not alone: Benjamin Moore has Nacho Cheese, Dunn-Edwards Dangerous Robot, and the list gets stranger from there. Brands construct these abstract names because they're memorable and evocative, less about describing a colour and more about selling an atmosphere.

Pantone, however, stands by its whipped-white decision. "Cloud Dancer expresses our aspiration for a future free from toxicity and excess," Lee Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, the global colour forecaster, tells the BBC. And in a world saturated with noise and hyper-connectivity, Pantone insists that blankness is the point, a clearing of the decks; a soft landing for overstimulated minds.

Colour shapes us more than we realise: lifting the blinds to an azure sky instead of slate-grey clouds can shift our outlook, while reaching for a pink jumper instead of black reveals more about our feelings than we intend.

And atmosphere and mood sit at the heart of any interior's palette. But does following the latest trend really guarantee domestic bliss? "Colour is a language. A way we express ourselves," Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, tells the BBC. She says that selecting the colour of the year isn't about dictating trends but capturing "the subliminal global mood".

Pantone uses an army of "colour anthropologists" who analyse culture, fashion, art, film, travel and exhibitions, drawing insights and inspiration from the streets of cities including São Paulo, Tokyo, London and New York. And as 2025 draws to a close, their findings point to a world overwhelmed by constant noise and hyper-connectivity, and a collective shift towards serenity.

"We're living in a 24/7 hustle culture," she continues. "With stimuli coming at us from every direction, we're seeking relief and disconnection. Colours grow gentler, mirroring our desire for simplicity and authenticity."

So which hues offer the best route to interiors........

© BBC