You know that feeling when you finally convince a friend to come out of their shell, and the moment they do, someone tells them to quiet down again?
That’s kind of how I feel about Pantone’s Colour of the Year for 2026.
After what felt like a decade of white walls, greige furniture, and ‘plays-well-with-everything’ palettes, colour finally made its grand return. This fall, we went to High Point Market, North America’s biggest design show, and the trend was loud and clear: COLOUR is back in a big, bold, personality-drenched way.
Rich terracottas. Playful patterns. Moody blues. Deep greens. Warm woods. There was so much saturation you could practically taste it. After years of minimalism, warmth and expression are officially back on the table.
So, naturally, Pantone named 2026’s Colour of the Year... Cloud Dancer.
Also known as white.
The Great Colour Reset?
To be fair, Pantone didn’t choose Cloud Dancer lightly. Their colour experts describe it as “a billowy, balanced white imbued with a feeling of serenity.” In a world of constant digital noise, relentless tech, and AI everything, maybe we do need a soft, fresh reset. A clean slate. A breath of calm.
Pantone frames Cloud Dancer as an invitation to pause. To find clarity. To reflect. And hey, that’s beautiful.
But if you ask us? The timing is a little off.
Design Tells a Bigger Story
Trend shifts don’t happen overnight. It takes years for homeowners to warm up to change, and they’re only just now embracing the bold again. According to Architectural Digest, design right now is about warmth, personality, and narrative. They write:
People want colour, and they want their homes to tell a story.
Other industry trend reports echo this sentiment, highlighting the rise of saturated tones, natural materials, and deep textures. Homeowners are turning away from sterile minimalism and back to lived-in, character-rich design.
So why are we being told to hit reset already?
It’s like we just started dancing and someone turned the music down.
The Emotional Role of Colour
Pantone says its colour of the year isn’t just a trend call, it’s a cultural commentary. As Forbes puts it, their annual choice is about "drawing attention to the relationship between colour and culture." Cloud Dancer, they suggest, reflects a desire for calm and comfort in uncertain times.
We get that. But colour is comfort, too.
We need joy in our spaces. We need energy. We need rooms that feel like us. Colour lets us play, express, and create environments that feel lived-in and loved.
So maybe this year’s Pantone pick isn’t wrong, but it does feel contradictory and definitely doesn’t match what we’re seeing in the industry. You know, maybe this is exactly what Pantone wanted - a dramatic reaction, a conversation piece. Well played, Pantone.
Our Take? Colour’s Not Going Anywhere.
Sure, Cloud Dancer can be your backdrop. A peaceful canvas to build upon. But don’t erase the layers. Don’t quiet the vibrance just as people are getting brave enough to embrace it.
We’re here for both. The clean and the colourful. The serene and the saturated.
At scherba & co., we’re nowhere near being done with colour. Not even close. So go ahead, bring the blues. The rusts. The ochres. The daring, the textured, the unexpected.
Because after years of playing it safe, it finally feels like people are ready to tell a bolder story.
And that story? It’s going to be beautiful.