The Dulux 2024 Colour Forecast and our guide to using it in your home!
Colour is one of the most powerful ways to create a specific mood or feeling! So, with the release of the much-anticipated Dulux 2024 colour forecast, we’re excited to see the direction that the colour experts are predicting for the future of colour in our homes.
The Dulux colour forecast is influenced by what’s been happening in the world around us and the macro social movements. The research seeks to understand how people are feeling and what we’re needing…. currently society at large wants comfort and nurture from our homes, plus a desire to be energized and reinvigorated by our interiors!
We find the annual Dulux colour forecast a great way to feel inspired and explore exciting new colour combinations. I know from my time in Milan at the Salone del Mobile Design Week, that colour is coming back in a really big way, adding fresh energy to interior design!
We hope you feel just as inspired as we are by the new Dulux colour palettes! And if you’re wondering ‘How can I use these colours in my home?’ we’ve included our guide below!
Overall, the Dulux 2024 colours are driven by our current desire for positivity and the need to have spaces that nurture us! This year’s palettes are more sophisticated by stepping into deeper, mid-tone shades that evoke feelings of warmth, security, and resilience.
The colours are richer and there are less pastel and bright shades than we saw last year (click here to check out our blog covering the Dulux 2023 Colour Forecast). Australians are also becoming more confident with colour, which is very exciting as we continue to move away from cooler neutral tones and leaning into these increasingly popular mid-tones.
This year’s Dulux Colour Forecast comprises three palettes - Solstice, Journey and Muse!
Solstice Palette
A nurturing and cosy colour palette full of warm neutrals, clay, rich browns and sun-loving yellows as an accent. The Dulux Solstice palette is designed to evoke comforting, familiar and inviting feels, by pairing warm colours with cooler accents.
Our Pro Tip – this palette is fabulous if you’re looking to create cocooning, nurturing and calming vibes. It’s a very grounding palette that can be layered with the gorgeous tones within the palette – blues, yellows, and wheat. If you’d prefer to tread lightly, you could try this palette in a room where you want to create that cocooning vibe, like a bedroom or a living space. To soften the look, use sheers for your window treatments and crisp neutrals in your furnishings and décor.
Journey Palette
Inspired by travels and culture, the Dulux Journey palette has an eclectic and maximalist feel, with a luxe global flavour to it. Featuring rich mid-tone hues including shades of yellow-green, dusty blues and lush, decadent reds for a dramatic contrast. The Journey colour palette will certainly create layers and depth in your space.
Our Pro Tip – this fabulous colour palette is actually quite earthy – it reminds me of the colours in the natural landscape. But it can be used to create a wow factor in your home!
For a bold approach, wrapping the whole room in one colour (on all 4 walls and potentially the ceiling), then layering with furniture and textural accents from the rest of the palette would be stunning. This is perfect if you want to add drama and intimacy to a space – a dining room or an entertaining space like a bar or TV/ theatre room. For a more refined look, the subtle tones within this palette are also elegant and enveloping. And the softer pinks and blues would look beautiful in a bedroom.
Muse Palette
Think the postmodern era with a particular emphasis on the 70’s, the Dulux Muse palette balances nostalgia and modernity by combining vibrant blues and soothing greens that are anchored in warm browns and rich tans. Reminiscent of the 60’s to the 80’s, with a sense of glamour from the 70’s, this is a sophisticated palette that’s fresh and bold.
It’s a very expressive colour palette with depth and so much personality! And it’s certainly emerging as a very popular and contemporary palette that pays homage to design icons from the past.
Our Pro Tip – we know this may appear to be a very bold and unattainable colour palette to many of us! But think about it….. the average Australian home has warm tans and browns in flooring and timber or leather furniture. When you think about it that way, tans and browns are a beautiful way to anchor any space. But this colour palette takes that to a whole new level!!
We believe this palette would be fabulous when you’re wanting to create fun, drama and impact! Ideal for spaces that can be more playful and punchy – a powder room, bar, mudroom or even a statement kitchen or dining banquette.
A paired back approach to this palette is to ground your space using the tans and browns in your flooring and some furniture pieces and then layering with blues, greens and rust in furnishings and statement furniture pieces. Adding some off-white accents in a coffee tabletop or décor, will add freshness to the scheme too.
Our final 3 pro-tips are…
1. Decide the look and feel that you are trying to create in your home. Pair that with the colour palette that best creates that vibe.
Solstice Palette – perfect for nurturing, cocooning and calming vibes.
Journey Palette – to create a warm and intimate vibe with a touch of drama.
Muse Palette – for a grounded, eclectic vibe with wow factor.
2. You don’t have to make big statements when using these new on-trend colour palettes. You can integrate them into your home in small ways, simply with furnishings and décor like beautiful artwork, a statement rug, seasonal bed linen, fresh cushions…. It’s about having fun and creating spaces you love!
3. For colour accuracy we always suggest using a sample pot to view the colour with your homes natural light. Apply the colour in the spaces you’re looking to paint and view at different times of day when the light varies.
So, which of these Dulux 2024 Colour Palettes do you love the most? Colour can be so inspiring! By injecting fresh colours and tones in your spaces, you can feel so uplifted and rejuvenated.
If you’re still feeling unsure about how to add fresh energy to your home and would like some expert help, we’d love to hear from you. You can simply click here to book a complimentary 20min Discovery Call.
Anna x
Credit: Dulux Colour Forecaster and Stylist, Bree Leech. Photographer Lisa Cohen.