Dulux Colour Trends 2023: Balance, Reclaim Your Calm

In the third of a three-part series, we meet Dulux’s serene new Balance palette of oceanic blues and gentle greens, and explore how to use it in your home.

If you are drawn to a simple and sophisticated aesthetic that’s grounded in nature, you’re sure to love the Dulux Balance palette, one of three palettes set to be huge in the year ahead, according to the Dulux Colour Forecast 2023. A serene mix of marine blues, gentle greens and soft pinks, with deep, grounding notes of petrol blue and charcoal, it’s the perfect palette to bring calm and serenity into your home.

“Balance is very much inspired by a ‘less is more’ philosophy, with minimal detailing and a restrained approach to decorating. Instead, the focus is on immersive colour and the beauty of complex, structured patterns found in nature, such as a simple seashell or fern frond,” says Andrea Lucena-Orr, Dulux Colour and Communication Manager.

Keen to bring a little Balance into your home? Read on for some great tips from our expert interior designers.

Keep it pared-back

The Balance palette works beautifully in spaces where you wish to create a sense of calm, such as a relaxed living area, your master bedroom, or a study where you work from home. 

Keep detailing to a minimum and focus on immersive colour – think tonal shades of oceanic blue, such as Dulux Kimberley Sea and Dulux Pure Blue Half, running across the walls of your living area, paired with a blue sofa or armchairs that are topped with scatter cushions in a harmonising hue. 

In your bedroom, consider a bedhead upholstered in a sumptuous velvet that blends in with the blue of the wall behind. Or, in the study, consider a backdrop of blue-painted walls, with a bold, abstract artwork featuring the colours of the Balance palette – rich blues, soft greens, dusty pinks and stone.

Matt black in furniture legs, picture frames and light fixtures will add a contemporary edge to the look. 

Connect with garden colours

The gentle, soothing greens in the Dulux Balance palette are ideal for connecting your interior with the garden. When it comes to the tones of your walls and soft furnishings, take your cues from the colours outside your window; you might, for example, use a soft, leafy grey-green such as Dulux Green Alabaster Half on the walls or, for a bolder look, choose a rich forest green like Dulux Nephrite. Add in a sofa, rug and décor pieces in tonal shades of green. 

Emphasise your home’s natural connection with timber floorboards underfoot, in a plank or chevron pattern.

Luxurious textures

Appeal to your sense of touch with a medley of lavish, tactile fabrics, such as a velvet-covered sofa or armchair and a silk rug in your living area, and quilted scatter cushions on the bed.

Add sumptuous seating

Choose sofas, armchairs and ottomans with exaggerated curves to reinforce the natural, organic nature of this look. Plump and curvaceous seating also creates a comfortable spot to sit and relax – yet another way to soothe the senses. 

Introduce accents of marble

Moments of softly patterned grey marble add a sense of luxury to this look. Consider cladding the fireplace wall in your living area in natural marble or marble-look Caesarstone, adding a marble-topped coffee or side table, or selecting bedside lamps with a marble base. 

Interesting artworks

Complete the look with décor pieces inspired by the forms found in nature – think handcrafted ceramics in organic shapes, with intricate pleating or complex, natural patterns, such as those found in seashell or fern frond.

The result? A home that feels luxurious, restorative and right on-trend!