Dulux has recently announced that their colour of the year for 2018 is one called Heart Wood.

That’s all very well, I hear you say, but what colour is that?

Heart Wood can best be described as a delightful heather-grey.  Apparently it is intended to evoke the concept of a home as a sanctuary away from the pressures and stresses of life.

Dulux thinking goes beyond the paint itself and considers how the shade will sit with the objects, materials and textures of a room.  Heart Wood is thought to go particularly well with leather, velvet and warm toned woods such as cherry and walnut.  It is described as a warm neutral colour with plenty of versatility.

Dulux has been carrying out what it calls trend forecasting for some 25 years, although it has only published its findings for the last five years.  A meeting is held at the offices of their parent company Akzo Nobel in Amsterdam, Holland, where colour experts from 80 countries meet together with a group of professionals from many walks of life including architects, and social and economic forecasters.

Each year they decide on one overarching theme and this year they settled on making a safe and welcoming home with Heart Wood as their touchstone colour.