Revealed: The 2019 Dulux Colour Of The Year

Dulux's Colour of the Year for 2019 has been revealed, and similar to last year's pick it's another cosy, warm, cashmere sort of shade.

Named 'Spiced Honey', the warm caramel hue has woody, sandy and inviting amber tones, a wintery upgrade to this summer's trending neutral.

The annual trend forecast is decidedbyan expert panel of colour designers, design specialists, trend forecasters, architects and editors from around the world who jointogether to discuss what we increasingly need from the spaces around us. Capturing a universal theme, they finally suggest a colour that suitably embodies the mood of the moment for the year ahead.

For this year's theme, Duluxchose the rich, warming colour as a nod to the unsettling nature of 2018 – and to re-energise our homes for the year ahead.

'2018 was an unsettling and unpredictable time,' according to Dulux, which named Heart Wood their Colour of the Year for 2018. 'We were overwhelmed by the deluge of news, choices and demands upon our time, causing us to close up and retreat into spaces where we feel safe and cocooned. We pressed pause and took time to regroup.

'As we move forward into 2019, we find this pause has given people time to re-energise and deal with the sense of unpredictability with positive action, optimism and purpose. If the unpredictability of last year forced people to retreat and regroup, 2019 is the time for their awakening. We are ready to "Let in the Light".

Got a sense of deja vu? Last year Dulux announced 2018's Colour Of The Year as Heart Wood,a warm, earthy neutral with a hint of heather. It had been picked to reflect a global mood ofuncertainty and unpredictability.It was a world, as creative director Marianne Shillingford had said, where we didn’t know what the news would bring us from day to day. A world with access to more information and choices than ever before but a world that was 'more divided than ever before'.

'As life gets faster, the need for our homes to be a place of sanctuary and tranquillity grows, and the need for it to be a space where we can all look forward to spending our time' she explained.

Both cosy and comforting, and stimulating and energising, 2019's Colour of The Year changesdepending on the palettes and light surrounding it.

Its rich caramel tones visually turn up the thermostat a few degrees and so it’s perfect for creating a relaxed cosy atmosphere – yet, when teamedwith whites and off whites in furniture and furnishings it has a more contemporary feel.

Lotte Brouwer

Lotte is the Digital Editor for Livingetc, and has been with the website since its launch. She has a background in online journalism and writing for SEO, with previous editor roles at Good Living, Good Housekeeping, Country & Townhouse, and BBC Good Food among others, as well as her own successful interiors blog. When she's not busy writing or tracking analytics, she's doing up houses, two of which have features in interior design magazines. She's just finished doing up her house in Wimbledon, and is eyeing up Bath for her next project.