Speaking at last week’s The Inspired Home show in Chicago, (2-4 March), colour expert Lee Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute and director of the Eiseman Center for Color Information and Training, announced ‘Welcome Home’ as the theme of the Pantone View Home + Interiors 2026 forecast, with seven palettes on display in the Pantone ColorWatch display.
Explained Lee: “’Welcome Home’ are two words, when used together, that express the most deep-seated and intrinsic human needs. It’s a theme that’s highly relatable and well understood, as a welcoming home provides the roof over our heads. The home needs to provide a functional and organised workspace for us to live within, but also for us to make a living in. The 2026 colour trends are deeply rooted in the past, with a mixing of different eras.”
She added that the 2026 palettes were also heavily influenced by the 2025 Pantone Colour of the Year, Mocha Mousse, describing it as an “evocative, soft brown that transports our senses into thoughts of pleasure and deliciousness.”
The seven 2026 colour palettes are:
Out of the Ordinary: ‘Scandinese style’, blending Scandinavian and Japanese design principles. The palette includes familiar neutral colours with a few warmer ones that are “out of the ordinary” to represent the imperfect beauty of nature. A balance of warmth and coolness helps to regulate the temperature of the person living within that environment.
Ancestral: This palette is designed to remind people of their human heritage, e.g. caves and early native dwellings with raw, earthy warmth. The palette has mostly warm colours, with some cooler colours, such as neutral grey, and is a warmer alternative to black and white.
Modern West: This palette is where Western classic meets modern style and cowboy/cowgirl couture. Browns are balanced by green, a neutral colour in nature. Global influences from countries like Argentina, Australia and the Czech Republic add brightness with turquoise. This palette is also influenced by indigenous patterns and authentic Western embellishments.
Augmented: In this palette, surreal and abstract design is inspired by AI, as well as immersive and digital experiences. It’s a vibrant combination of reds, pinks, oranges and yellows, with blue and grey to balance the brightness.
Rustic Revival: This palette is centred on sustainability and industrial design with a softer, outdoor cabin feel. It’s a muted, subtle palette with sienna and grey tones that represent transforming waste into functional home elements.
Exotic Retreat: This palette touts nature’s maximalism with vibrant colours – a balance of cools and warms, including fuchsia, purples and browns. With tropical glamour meeting boho paradise, it helps to bring vacation colour and design back home.
Futura: Inspired by the cosmos with celestial motifs and galactic influences, Futura is minimalist and high tech, with nuances of colour that add a bit of warmth.
Pointed out Lee: “If you can get a colour to evoke an emotion that involves the senses, and you involve more than one sense, it really captures the human eye.”
Top: Lee Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute and director of the Eiseman Center for Color Information and Training, was a keynote speaker at The Inspired Home Show in Chicago last week.
