What 2025’s Colours of the Year Mean

Brat was just a flash in the pan, seemingly irrelevant to the choosers of 2025’s Colours of the Year, and regardless of the success of the equally verdant musical Wicked. Instead the next 12 months are set to tell us a very different story spread over four main themes of shade selection – Bold Primary, Moody Jewel, Soft Classic, and Delicious Brown.

Bold Primary

The smallest sub category of 2025, Bold Primary offers optimism – something slowly drowning under the heavy weight of world news, divisive politics, and a declining quality of life. Yet Valspar, Dulux, and Veranda each chose a shade to spark positivity.

Valspar’s timeless deep blue Encore encourages a second round with a comforting promise of respite. Dulux’s vibrant True Joy provides confidence with a strong dose of happiness. And Veranda’s kicks things up a notch with an intergalactic Cosmic Cobalt – a shade that sends you through the galaxy and away from all your worries.

Moody Jewel

Four companies – Glidden, Minwax, Behr, and Benjamin Moore – selected shades I’ve dubbed Moody Jewel. All strikingly similar, each of these Colours of the Year utilise sophisticated purples, all deeply pigmented, intense, and wonderful.

Blending seriousness and a sense of maturity with subtle whimsy, these dramatic colours show a midway point between despair and optimism, making the best of what you’ve got without getting too carried away. And their names – Purple Basil, Violet, Rumors, and Cinnamon Slate – aren’t giving much away either.

Soft Classic

Keeping things simple and sticking to what we know, numerous companies – namely Dutch Boy, Krylon, Sherwin-Williams, and Stainmaster – selected unobtrusive neutrals to define 2025. Whether the aim is to find comfort in the familiar or to avoid detection entirely, these undramatic shades will keep things low key.

From the darker pits of Hammered Black and Truffle to the lighter Mapped Blue and Quietude, these timeless classics are made for everyone everywhere. Creating reflective spaces to unwind in, these colours can do no wrong.

Delicious Brown

Finally, the major trend! Little Greene‘s Mochi hinted at this trend the moment I started gathering this years’ colours – the potential for an obsession on decorating with dessert. This obsession was cemented with the final addition to 2025’s Colours of the Year – Pantone‘s Mocha Mousse.

But what does this fixation on brunette food-stuffs tell us about the year to come? Hopefully it means the price of chocolate is going to go down, but more likely it’s a clear demonstration of a shift away from the cool-toned greys that have dominated the interior scene for a long, long time. Since the resurgence of 1970s style that started in 2020, browns are hip. They represent the natural world, they inspire comfort, and they can be worked into almost any style.

As we move further into the post-pandemic years, the optimism we held onto is fading fast. Instead we’re looking back. Way, way back to perceived ‘simpler’ times, hoping this nostalgia will bleed into reality, and finding a boost from past joy.