Predicting colour trends can be quite a challenge, but if there’s a team up for the task, it’s undoubtedly the Dulux colour team, marking a quarter-century of their annual Colour Trend Forecast this year. If you’ve sensed a wave of nostalgia sweeping through the design world, your instincts are spot on. Departing from the cool greens, pastel tones, and stark white minimalism featured in last year’s Dulux forecast, this year brings forth an embrace of warmer, positive, and more nostalgic colour palettes.

The Dulux Colour Team has meticulously divided the 2024 palette into three distinct colour schemes: Solstice, Journey, and Muse. This year’s palette is characterized by sophisticated mid-tones that evoke a sense of sentimental warmth. Andrea Lucena-Orr, Dulux’s colour, and communications manager led a team that included colour forecaster and stylist Bree Leech, as well as Dulux’s colour manager Lauren Treloar. There is a significant aspect to this year’s forecast in how it welcomes colour and texture into homes.” Notably, yellow, and rich gold are emerging prominently in this year’s palettes. Additionally, the vibrant green and clay brown shades observed in the 2023 Colour Forecast are transitioning to a warmer space, featuring yellow and subtle red undertones.

The Dulux colour team diligently scours a diverse array of sources each year to formulate their annual predictions. According to Treloar, the team gathers insights from seminars, including Future Laboratory London and Colour Hive, and actively participates in events like Milan Design Week. They meticulously analyse trend reports and editorials, attend fashion catwalks, keep a pulse on product and design launches, collaborate with global and international brands, and scrutinize customized research obtained through Dulux’s extensive networks in the UK, Italy, and France.

Solstice

Characterized by a comforting infusion of warm tones, envelops spaces in rich browns, clay hues, and inviting neutrals, accented by bursts of golden yellow. This palette, influenced by Scandi style and inspired by the Mediterranean and desert aesthetics, creates a toasty ambiance. Warm and welcoming array of nurturing hues designed to evoke a sense of safety and homeliness. Drawing inspiration from the Australian outback to the African savannah, Solstice harmoniously combines warm colours with cooler accents and incorporates tactile details like braiding and primitive sculptural forms, making it a truly immersive and inviting palette.

Dulux Colour Forecast 2024—Solstice palette. Photographed by Lisa Cohen and styled by Bree Leech

Journey

An ode to wanderlust and the diverse tapestry of cultures around the globe, introduces a palette infused with rich mid-tone hues, with yellow green at its core, complemented by opulent reds for striking contrast. Described as a celebration of the art of storytelling, where mythical iconography and beloved folk aesthetics seamlessly find their place, imparting layers of depth and colour to your living space. This palette boasts olive greens, mustard yellow, dusty blues, and sumptuous burgundy, creating a perfect harmony with weathered furnishings and handcrafted furniture constructed from textured materials such as wicker. Bree Leech emphasizes that the Journey palette exudes a more eclectic and maximalist ambiance, weaving together global influences that reflect on the historical richness of our ancestry through timeless objects and heirlooms passed down through generations.

Dulux Colour Forecast 2024—Journey palette. Photographed by Lisa Cohen and styled by Bree Leech

Muse

Transports us back to the vibrant era of the ’70s, making a bold comeback in contemporary design. Rooted in a sense of nostalgia and a fondness for our postmodern past, Muse seamlessly integrates vintage pieces and updated design icons into the current setting. Central to this palette is the idea of finding balance between past and present, aligning with the growing desire for sustainability in design. The Muse palette showcases a lively spectrum of mid-tone hues, featuring warm browns and rich tans, enhanced by deep blues and calming greens. It aspires to create a distinctly modern interior, skilfully infused with nostalgic design references reminiscent of the ’60s to the ’80s, along with the textures and glamour reminiscent of the ’70s.

Dulux Colour Forecast 2024—Muse palette. Photographed by Lisa Cohen and styled by Bree Leech

Colour Trends

Solstice

Journey

Muse