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Dulux Colour of the Year 2015: Copper Blush

This shade is one of my favourite colours in the spectrum. There’s masses of it in my wardrobe and it’s only a matter of time before it reaches my walls. I am particularly in love with this image below pairing it with a strong charcoal which just tones it down a little and adds a little edge.

hege in france

At a dinner hosted by Dulux earlier this year all the guests were given a pot of paint taken from colours used on our blogs and combined with analysis done by the Dulux gurus. Mine was basically this colour. Which does, if I’m honest, take its cue largely from the newspaper where I work, but the resulting paint was a lot more subtle and beautiful than that.

dulux paint

It also came with a photograph of moi on the lid which helped enormously in its personal appeal, I will admit. I have created this collage, not (just!) so you can look at me, but to show you how this colour works with different backgrounds: chalky white, reclaimed wood, charcoal and stainless steel. My paint is actually Thai Magic 4 (for anyone who wants some). But it’s not a million miles away from the idea of Copper Blush.

image by matthew williams
Stylist Hilary Robertson’s home photographed by Matthew Williams

Also, when Pantone announced this time last year that its colour for 2014 was that godawful Radiant Orchid, I immediately made a Pinterest Board called My Suggestions for Colour of the Year 2014, which, as you can see, includes a large number of blush paint images.

I also included some black/charcoal which is a brilliant foil for this soft pink colour as well as some rather gorgeous pale green – well Dulux chose teal for their 2014 colour so I like to think I’m pretty much on the curve if not completely ahead of it, she said modestly.

ColourOfTheYear2015CopperBlush_Pic8

These pictures are from Dulux, who say their choice of colour reflects emerging social, economic and design trends around the world.

Louise Tod, the senior global colour designer at Dulux says: “The theme for the 12th edition of Colour Futures is about finding new, subtle ways to add colour to our lives, whether that is through exploring under-utilised spaces, in our relationships with each other or in the environment around us.

image from myinteriorstylist.com

“Replacing the cool blues and greens of recent years, the colour palette for 2015 brings a warmer spectrum of pinks, reds and oranges, reflecting a more positive global outlook. Copper Blush – a versatile, warm copper colour with an orange tone – has been named as Colour of the Year for 2015.”

ColourOfTheYear2015CopperBlush_Pic4

Rebecca Williamson, Senior Colour Design & Content Manager at Dulux, comments: “All research points to this orangey, coppery tone, as witnessed at global events from Stockholm and Milan to Shanghai, metallic colour tones are playing an increasingly important role in modern design.

muuto design
chairs by muuto

“Great on its own, the colour also combines perfectly with pinks, neutrals, whites and other orange hues, as well as metallic colours such as gold. It also beautifully complements wood tones and can be brought to life by flesh pinks and earthy tones of clay”.

ColourOfTheYear2015CopperBlush_Pic5

Or, to put it more simply: It really comes alive combined with flesh pink, clay toned neutrals, a tiny touch of bright yellow, crisp whites, wood tones and, of course, copper and brass.

What will you paint?

 

 

 

 

Kate Watson-Smyth

The author Kate Watson-Smyth

I’m a journalist who writes about interiors mainly for The Financial Times but I have also written regularly for The Independent and The Daily Mail. My house has been in Living Etc, HeartHome and featured in The Wall Street Journal & Corriere della Sera. I also run an interior styling consultancy Mad About Your House. Welcome to my Mad House.

15 Comments

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  2. Cant buy dulux paint where i live. Love the color copper blush. Do you have the name of another brand that might make a similar color and what the name of that color would be.

    1. Hi Mikki, you don’t say where you do live so it’s hard to know what range you can get. Assuming none of the UK brands so how about Benjamin Moore? If you can get that then try something from their colour gallery perhaps Dusk Pink or Sanibel Peach. If that’s no good then let me know where you are. Kate

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  4. Hi… do you have the Dulux codes for any of these…? I am particualrly interested in the paint abve the white marble fireplace….. thank you so much

  5. I used this colour on the walls in my lounge based on yellow curtains I did not want to change.
    I got the idea from ‘Romantic English Homes’ Robert O’Byrne, ‘Bramfield Folly’. I love it . Don’t just confine it to nurserys and bedrooms let it out. It’s wonderful.

  6. I love it! I’m pregnant at the moment and have impulsively decided that if we have a girl the nursery will be that glorious combo of copper blush (or Thai 4!) and charcoal!

    Btw I forgot to respond to your post about the crackle glaze tiles and the dark grout. We bought cream crackle glaze metro tiles and dark grey grout so our tiler used a sealant before applying the grout which seems to have worked really well. On a few tiles there is a shadow of light grey in places where it’s absorbed through the crackles but it’s rather lovely…it gives a bit of a vintage aged effect I think…..
    X

    1. ooh good tip! I will definitely bear that in mind. And the nursery sounds gorgeous. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy and do come back and tell us if you have a pink one or a blue one ….x

  7. I love the colour of the year and the way it’s been showcased through ombre effects. I’d definitely put it with neutrals for a chic look in my guest bedroom – so pretty!

    I’m a big fan of artistic representations and Dulux showed exactly that in their new colour trends press event the other week 🙂

    Best wishes x

  8. That’s so funny, I was about to tweet that the FT has never been so on trend as with copper blush colour of the year and here you’ve said it (kind of)! I absolutely love this selection of images and the colour palettes. The bright yellow looks fab with it.

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