We get excited when a new Dulux launches a new colour, and this year, for the 19th Colour of The Year, the world’s most recognisable paint company has gone for something optimistic.
While there are plenty of other paint brands available to which we sometimes turn when helping our customers create their perfect kitchens, bedrooms, and bathrooms, Dulux usually offers a winning shade. And this year is no different.
What is the Dulux Colour of the Year?
Each year, a bunch of paint colour specialists in the Dulux Global Aesthetic Centre get together with a team of top international experts to talk about the trends that will affect us all during the forthcoming new year. The shade was chosen by a panel of colour designers, trend forecasters, designers, architects, and editors from around the world in a virtual summit. Their discussions each year invariably result in fascinating and useful colour trends.
Each year, they focus on just one colour they believe will be capable of positively impacting homes and people all over the world and create four beautiful shades from it.
The result? A mood and style to suit everyone, based on one single colour. And, in 2022, that colour is known as Bright Skies.
What colour is Bright Skies?
Bright Skies is a serene shade of blue that’s designed to emulate the vast open sky and bring a feeling of calmness and optimism into your space. Bright skies is an airy light blue that feels positive and exactly what we need after the last two years. It’s also a colour that works with a host of other shades – from soft neutrals to joyful brights.
Marianne Shillingford, Creative Director at Dulux UK, explains; “After being shut in for months, what we crave is open air… What better inspiration can we take than the endless skies around us?”
We all appreciate that being around nature and natural colours improves our mood, so anything that brings the outdoors inside will enhance our sense of wellbeing. With so many people wanting fresh, new start, Bright Skies will give homes a much-needed breath of fresh air.
Where can you use Bright Skies?
This attractive but subtle shade can be used in a variety of settings, depending on your aims and the area you wish to improve. For example, you can use it to make your room look bigger because blue is a receding colour which means that it looks further away from us when it’s painted onto a wall.
Bright Skies is perfect for living rooms to brighten up alcoves and creating the illusion of more light. In a bedroom the shade can be used on all the walls, woodwork, and doors, which is known as colour drenching. This can remind you of summer even on the gloomiest of days.
If you have a narrow hallway, it can be used to make those smaller spaces appear to be bigger than they are, and if you, like many others, are still working from home, it could brighten up your home office and add a sense of optimism.
If you’re feeling quirky, why not try using Bright Skies on the ceiling (aka the fifth wall)? According to Marianne Shillingford from Dulux, this has the magical effect of making it disappear and filling the room with an airy freshness. She thinks this technique is a complete game changer’ for small spaces and low ceilings.
Another creative suggestion from Marianne is to use the light blue shade in blocks, stripes, or sections, to create separate spaces or zones in your home and help you to feel less hemmed in by your four walls. You could also use it in hidden areas like the edge of a door or the window recess, to add interest without overpowering the space.
What else can I buy in this shade?
Dulux is working in partnership with several other retailers to bring Bright Skies into more homes. DFS is offering a range of soft furnishings in Bright Skies, including sofas, a swivel chair, an armchair, footstools, and even a bed. Kitchen applicances manufacturer, Stoves, has created a collection of range cookers in Bright Skies which will act as a centrepiece to a modern kitchen.
Not content with just using Bright Skies as a paint colour? Topps Tiles’ Tile of The Year for 2022 is called Flute, and is available in Bright Skies, too. For more inspiration on how these tiles can be used do check out their website for design ideas.
Not sure what shades to use with Bright Skies? Have a look at the Dulux colour palettes. You can even download the free Dulux Visualiser app to see how colours can transform your rooms.
If you’d like to discuss this colour option for your bathroom, bedroom, or kitchen, or indeed any aspect of home renovation, please do get in touch with our friendly team.