How to use this year's light, bright colours in our homes
It's easy to get sucked into new looks that seem to be rolled out on an endless conveyor belt.In January, they come thick and fast when the Christmas decorations are taken down, and we’re vulnerable to temptation after noticing paintwork that needs redoing. Furniture too shows signs of wear and tear, and the post-Christmas sales fill our newsfeeds with marshmallow soft sofas and toe-snuggling rugs to mitigate the sting of cold to our feet first thing in the morning.Colour in particular is having an everything-goes moment, but what’s probably taken interior types by surprise last month was Pantone’s announcement that a milky white is Colour of the Year for 2026.Cloud Dancer, it airily informed us, is a “billowy, balanced white”, and a “key structural colour” that lets other colours stand out. Plain cream window treatments give continuity to neutral décor, with plant life and textiles to add winter cosiness. Picture: Hillarys BlindsIt’s created quite the controversy online, with cries on social media that it’s Pantone-deaf, but this isn’t new, as we've been served up some suspect colours in the past, most notably when Pantone presented us with two colours — Serenity Blue and Rose Quartz. It was hard to think what to do with them in interiors outside of a nursery decorating project.This year, the online chatter had been predicting teal, but true to form, Pantone went off on one of its infamous tangents, even if its choice is restrained this time round. So, it’s out with the comfortable but chic Mocha Mousse of 2025 and in with this relaxed warm neutral, something that’s always easy to add to the home and endlessly versatile. Bed linen offers a quick and simple refresh with white after weeks of colourful Christmas decorations. Jysk's Cilje sateen duvet cover offers a touch of luxury.More than hinting at a return to minimalism, its value for us interiors folk is its lighter base against which to unleash a spot of maximalism. Colour lovers might find its inclusion gives better definition to strong colours in a space where there’s a run of busily patterned wallpaper or a jewel-toned sofa.Warmer whites in general are also perfect partners for wood accents and texture, so if you’re opting for Cloud Dancer-inspired whites, go big on both. Bouclé, especially, remains a firm favourite, and there are plenty of options out there.The Samuel ivory bouclé armchair from EZ Living Interiors, €499, has a comfortable seat and back support with wooden legs and arms, giving it a compact feel for smaller living areas or a bedroom corner. If paintwork is past its best, and you’re more likely to have noticed once the Christmas decorations came down, get out the paint brushes and slather on something like Colourtrend’s Milk Teeth or Roux White; €35 per litre. These are part of a new generation of whites that are more inviting than the searing whites with a bluish tinge we associate with minimalist interiors of the recent past.For those of us who love white in all its forms, especially in the kitchen for its clean feel, versions with warm undertones are pinned for 2026 making Cloud Dancer’s depth take the chilliness out of the finished look while still giving the lighter look we crave at this time of year.The warmth is especially welcome if it’s applied to a combined kitchen and dining space where post-dinner chats around the table are the norm, homework is tackled, and family life revolves. The cool calm of a warm neutral upholstered bed is perfect for a relaxing atmosphere in the bedroom. The Capena power ottoman king-size is from Dfs.Keeping an eye out for texture to give life to white, try a freestanding banquette seat, designed for kitchens to bring sofa-style comfort without the permanence of a built-in banquette we typically see in bars and restaurants. Check out Next’s chenille Ebony model in a warm beige, made to a simple sofa design with all the comfort sofas typically offer, plus a slightly elevated seat to accommodate sitting at a kitchen or dining table; €1,855. If you’ve already invested in last year’s Pantone Colour of the Year, Mocha Mousse, embracing the full warmth of its rich coffee tone, Cloud Dancer makes a good companion if you’d like to lighten it up for spring. The same goes for terracotta, a revival from the 90s when it was everywhere and often accessorised with shades of blue and even yellow.Now we’re in the mid-20s, it’s a standalone colour to make a striking statement. The Arlington marmalade sofa from Caseys; €2,185 is a richly-hued version ready for off-white Cloud Dancer-style walls and rugs. Kukoon’s Everyday light beige shaggy rug is a reinvention of a 70s classic look; €155, adding texture and deep-pile warmth.
