Dulux has revealed its Colour of the Year for 2024 - and we think you'll love Sweet Embrace!
This spun-sugar pink is soft and soothing, but with enough personality to add charm and character to any space.
The paint brand's trend forecasters have been selecting a Colour of the Year for 21 years, which has seen the announcement become a highly-anticipated annual event for the interiors industry. Last year's choice, Wild Wonder, was a biscuity yellow inspired by the natural world.
The industry experts on the panel selected Sweet Embrace for its gentle but positive vibe, as well as its ability to complement a wide range of other hues to create a calm oasis. Of course, in the year of Barbiecore, it doesn't hurt that Sweet Embrace taps into the craze for pink interiors!
Marianne Shillingford, Creative Director and Colour Expert at Dulux, explains what makes the shade so special: 'Like a whisper of reassurance in a moment of stress, it has a visual softness that calms the senses and creates an atmosphere of serenity.
'We’re all running non-stop these days, so it’s important that our homes provide us a raft in the storm, where we feel safe to take time out from facing our toughest challenges. A shade as subtle and versatile as Sweet Embrace™ encourages us to get quietly creative and fashion spaces that allow us to be our best, most authentic selves – and vitally, feel completely at home.'
'Like a whisper of reassurance in a moment of stress, it has a visual softness that calms the senses and creates an atmosphere of serenity.'
Marianne Shillingford, Dulux Creative Director
Versatile is definitely the right word to describe Sweet Embrace - we love that it's subtle enough to be used as a neutral base, but strong enough to stand alone. Sweet Embrace acts as a neutral tone when paired with punchier shades, but also colour and character when juxtaposed with a more traditional neutral palette.
'While being a beautiful standalone colour, it’s a hue that perfectly combines with so many other shades making it a cheerleader in colour form,' says Marianne. 'Sweet Embrace celebrates and optimises every shade around it so you can build a totally individual space in any room. It’s the perfect modern neutral that you can use with confidence, knowing it will unite each element from furnishings to artwork whilst creating a gently uplifting atmosphere.'
Sweet Embrace is also a metameric colour - this means that different tones within the colour emerge as natural light shifts throughout the day, appearing crisp in dawn light and then becoming a more blush pink in full sunlight and taking on a violet hue in the evening.
Convinced? You can buy Dulux Sweet Embrace from today in stores, or online - check it out here!
To showcase Sweet Embrace's versatility, Dulux has also curated three palettes - take a look at them below to get inspired!
Calm
'Recalling the shades of woodlands and seascapes, these colours are naturally calming and clarifying. They can help create a quiet space where we can feel peaceful.'
Colours featured:
- Sweet Embrace™
- Nordic Hills
- Neptune Seas
- Pea Shoot
- Tranquil Dawn™ – COTY20
- Horizon View
- Sapphire Salute
- Fresh Foliage
- Ocean Stone
- Serene Waters
Warm
'A family of global earth tones to create a space that is familiar and embracing – somewhere we can feel snug and find comfort.'
Colours featured:
- Sweet Embrace™
- Winter Pumpkin
- Copper Glow
- Pink Sandstone
- Cherished Ribbon
- Fireside Embers
- Peanut Butter
- Brave Ground™ – COTY21
- Cashmere Throw
- Treasured Memory
Uplifting
'Dreamy and upbeat, these modern lilacs and ochres can create a friendly, light-hearted space where we feel energised, joyful and open to new possibilities.'
Colours featured:
- Sweet Embrace™
- Rocking Horse
- Sandy Shallows
- Wild Wonder™ – COTY23
- Fragrant Peony
- Ochre Sands
- High Summer
- Warm Straw
- Lilac Skies
- Tailors Chalk
