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Every year, designers, trendsetters, creatives, and perhaps even you, pause for the big reveal – the Pantone 2026 Colour of the Year. It’s a tradition that sparks conversation and sets the tone for countless colour palettes, mood boards, and product launches for the year ahead. For 2026, that colour is Cloud Dancer (PANTONE 11-4201) – a soft, nuanced shade of white.
Yes, white. One of the primary colours for 2026 interior design trends is barely a colour at all.
It’s a choice that’s raised more than a few eyebrows – and rightly so. It’s not bold or unexpected. It’s not saturated or vibrant. It’s a colour we use constantly in design – on walls, cabinetry, ceilings, trims. So what does it mean for you when the colour of the year is essentially… neutral?
We think it’s the perfect moment to stop and ask yourself: what can this trend show me about how to approach interior design choices in my own home?
What Pantone Says About Cloud Dancer
Pantone describes Cloud Dancer as a tone that “offers a clean slate,” encouraging reflection, clarity, and simplicity in an overstimulated world. It’s designed to be a calming, open space – a blank canvas for creativity and thoughtful design choices. This neutral tone holds both warm and cool undertones, giving it balance and adaptability.
In many ways, it’s not about the colour itself – it’s about what the colour symbolises. A quiet moment. A pause. A return to self. It’s about what the colour can offer you.
But while there’s a depth of intention in this selection, the conversation it has sparked points to something larger: how to work with ever-changing interior design trends.
When Trends Become the Destination, Not the Inspiration
In the world of interiors, Pantone’s Colour of the Year is often treated as gospel. It filters into Instagram posts, Pinterest boards, and showroom displays. Designers and homeowners alike start to wonder how they can “bring this year’s colour into their space.” You may feel inspired, bored, or unsure how to integrate it into your own spaces.
There’s nothing wrong with finding inspiration in trend-led choices – they can be fun, invigorating and spark new directions. But it’s important to remember that colour, like design itself, should never be dictated solely by what’s current.
White – in all its variations – has always been a cornerstone of interior design. It reflects light, offers contrast, and brings calm. So when white is suddenly elevated as the “it” colour, it reminds us how easily design conversations can become trend-led, rather than client-led.
Dictated to you, rather than discovered with you.
Pantone 2026 Colour of the Year
What to Take Away From Cloud Dancer
Instead of trying to reframe white as exciting or unexpected, we think this moment offers a more profound message, one that aligns beautifully with how we approach design at Amberth. Here are three reflections we offer you from Pantone’s 2026 colour choice:
1. Every Colour Has Its Place
There is no hierarchy when it comes to colour in design. Whether bold or muted, classic or emerging – colour only has meaning when it’s connected to context. Your context. White is no more significant this year than it was last year. What matters is how it speaks to you, in your space.
2. Trends Will Always Be Just That
They come and go. They inspire, and then fade. What remains is quality. A well-designed space will outlast any trend – because it’s built around how you live, not what’s popular.
3. Your Inner Voice Should Guide Your Design
The most powerful design decisions come from within. Not from trend forecasts, not from social feeds, not from Pantone. Let your own personality shape your space. That’s where the real magic happens.
Looking Ahead
As we move into 2026, we welcome Cloud Dancer as a quiet reminder to design with intention. To pause before following a trend. To ask what feels right to you, not what looks right on a blog post or showroom floor.
There’s no single playbook for beautiful design – and that’s what makes interior design choices so rewarding. The best spaces are always personal. Built around the people who live in them. Built to last. And if you’re looking for a team to take care of your kitchen or bathroom renovation from start to finish, we’d love to make this your reality.
Let 2026 be the year you design from the inside out.
