Top Colour Trends for 2024

Est. Reading Time: 8 Mins

In our ever-changing world, there will always be a few constants that everyone will experience. Some things are as common as nature, while others are feelings like love. But one thing will always be around and never leave, and that is colour.

Everywhere you look, colour surrounds you and encapsulates everything we know in our world. As you go about your day, you may not notice it always, but there will always be a green tree, a blue sky, a yellow sun, grey pavement, and much more.

However, since colour is always around, it influences us to choose what kind of colours stand out as our favourites. Small choices like what wall colour we choose for our living room, what sofa colour goes well with that wall, and what kind of living room lighting will affect the colour palette you’ve chosen.

It’s all a domino effect, and what influences us the most is what we see the most. This is why furniture stores in Ottawa, like La-Z-Boy, like to focus on the colour trends we’re seeing in today's design industry. 

So, what colours are currently trending right now, and will you be using these colours in your living room? Well, the answer to this question lies within this article, which requires us to check out what colour trends are currently popping up and what you can expect in 2024.

In This Article…

1. Inspiration Behind Colour Trends for 2024
2. Natural Colour Palette
3. Warm Colour Palette
4. Dark Colour Palette
5. Light Colour Palette
6. Pantone Colour of the Year 2023

The Inspiration Behind Colour Trends for 2024

Before we enter our list of the colour trends that will be appearing in 2024, it is important to recognize the inspiration behind most of these interesting selections. 

As we know, trends come and go throughout the decades, and with the 2020s entering its 4th year, there has been a safe assumption about how people are treating their wall colours this year.

Going back to the 2010s we have seen a lot of shift from vibrant colours to a sense of minimalism. While these trends have proven to be still popular now, there has been a quick shift from minimalism to creating dynamic looks in a household. 

No longer are homeowners going for a simple neutral colour palette anymore. Since 2020, there has been a transitional state in how people have perceived their homes. After all, being stuck in them during a pandemic can give you time to question if this is how you envision your house.

Now, this decade has somewhat abandoned the constraints of the neutral boundaries and branched off to other dynamic concepts. Looking for a bright colour palette, add some vibrant yellows to the mix. Trying to be one with nature, add some greens and blues. Looking for something more moody, bring in a dark colour palette.

We have slowly started to redefine how we see our living areas in many interesting ways, and this is what we continue to see year after year. In this year’s colour trends, we start to see more dynamic colour palettes taking on people's homes. 

Throughout this article, remember to keep in the back of your head that it is okay to embrace chaos and boldness because it will help create some unique combinations that you’ll feel happy to use in your environment.

1. Natural Colour Palette

It’s safe to say that nature will always be a constant in everyone's life. Going outside and seeing all of the vibrant and unique colours our wonderful world has to offer has never been more important. 

A natural colour palette is considered trendy and modern, incorporating natural elements and warm colour tones.

Some of the more popular colours, and coincidentally the most frequent colours in nature are blue and green. Taking inspiration from land, air and sea, green and blue is everywhere. 

People tend to gravitate towards blue paint colours because they help us feel a sense of calmness, which is similar to the green colour palette, but with a deeper connection to the natural world. 

With green, there is also a sense of calmness attached to it, but a sense of comfort as well, making a living area feel fresh and invigorating, depending on the boldness you choose. 

How to Incorporate This Colour Trend

There are many ways to incorporate a natural colour palette within your home. One of the more popular bases is choosing an expressive green to fit a woodland look. The deeper your green goes the more regal and moody your space will become. 

Brown accents also thrive within this design. Choosing oak-toned tables and decor can help emphasize that you love embracing nature indoors and can increase your passion for greenery. 

With deeper greens, gold accents around the area can also help with creating a traditional European look, as was shown in our Latest CHEO Dream Home. You can also go biophilic, within this design, adding plants wherever makes sense.

Although many immediately tend to go for a woodland-themed space with green and brown accents, this is not the only theme that can include nature. 

Depending on the colour blue you choose, you can choose a more beach-themed design, adding light blue walls to your space with some beige flooring. Or for a deep aquatic theme, you can add a deep dark blue with some stunning coral colours. Coral colours can include anything from orange to pastel pink.

2. Warm Colour Palette

As mentioned before, there has been a very noticeable emergence of warm colours coming back into the forefront of people’s inspiration. Taking inspiration from more organic materials like minerals and natural elements, many warm colours like red, orange, yellow and purple have become more popular.

Now, these colours may not be for the faint of heart, since colours like red and purple can feel intimidating to some people. 

A red colour palette can subconsciously raise a person’s heartbeat without you even knowing it, while purple is mostly associated with creativity and royalty, making it naturally a hesitant colour for people to use.

But these colours are also known to symbolize passion, and expression and add depth to a space that could otherwise feel dull. If you’re someone daring and looking to push the boundaries with your living room, a warm colour palette can be right for you. 

What’s also interesting is that even warm colours like pink have become a popular demand this year, which is most likely due to Barbie’s influence. Pink can also help balance out warmer colours in a space like red and orange.

How to Incorporate This Colour Trend

While a warm colour palette is enticing, it might be more tasteful for you to add not too much at first. It is important to slowly incorporate these colours into your design to see if this colour palette is right for you.

Adding a warmer colour like red can be as simple as adding a red coloured sofa into your neutral living room. This can add a nice splash of colour that can feel irresistible to the eye. You can also add something like purple curtains to add some extra personality to your wall colour.

Lastly, if you’re feeling a brighter colour palette that still feels warm, you could sprinkle a couple of yellow accent pillows into your room to help your room feel like you’re soaking up the sun. 

If you’re feeling ambitious and want to centre your entire room on a particular bold colour, you can even use a warm brown to help balance out the bold colours you’re using. Figuratively and metaphorically, brown is a grounding colour that can help keep your colour palette from getting too unbalanced.

3. Dark Colour Palette

Another emerging colour trend that was mentioned in our design trends article was the fact that we’re seeing a lot of dark colour palettes being used in many different households. 

Although design in places like Ottawa is a little behind at times, we slowly catch up to what’s going on in the design world. For a long time, there has been this colour trend, especially in Europe, of using dark and moody colours to emphasize a living space.

Darker colours, although sometimes unusual in large amounts, are being normalized more and more. A dark colour palette can create more of an ambiance or sorts, with the help of strategic living room light placements.

The type of lighting can create a shadowy aesthetic that could be unconventional in theory, but can create some dynamic spaces, which is what the main theme for all these sections is all about!

How to Incorporate This Colour Trend

Although this colour trend may be the most unconventional, some may be inspired to use it to create a moody and sophisticated aesthetic. Although not always used, the colour black can be a great accent colour for this type of style. 

Darker elements like an all-black wall colour or black decor piece can help emphasize this aesthetic. You can also use deep colours like green and blue, as we’ve discussed before to combine your favourite colours and still create a moody look.

However, even if this may be a dark colour palette, it doesn't have to be completely dark. Adding lighter colours like white occasional tables, can contrast and create an even more dynamic look. 

Finally, if you’re trying to go all the way with a moody environment, eliminate all ceiling lights and add statement lighting pieces that are closer to the ground. Wall sconces are a great example of this as well as paper lamps in the corner of a room. 

4. Light Colour Palette

Taking a vast 180 from the previous section a light colour palette has also proven favourable to many as an emerging colour trend. Now, we’ve talked about bold colour palettes and how they can create dynamic spaces. But creating a dynamic space can also be as subtle as adding a simple colour like white into the mix.

Even though this colour trend may feel the closest to the neutral colour we’ve tried to distance ourselves from, this may be the safest option for those wanting to slowly dip their toes in adding a little bit of colour to their spaces.

A light colour palette can also include pastel colours, which can be great if you want to transition your colours from season to season. Simple pastels like blue, yellow, and creams can help create a tasteful look that not only looks delectable, but playful and bouncy.

How to Incorporate This Colour Trend

If you already have neutral colours in your space, these colour trends can be very easy to incorporate within a space. 

To begin, you may already have something like a grey sofa, that can be played around with colour-wise. Adding a simple wall colour like pastel blue can already make a space feel different than it already is.

To learn more on How to Style Your Grey Sofa, check out this article.

Almost any light colour can help create a more dynamic space in your room. Even keeping things all white can even speak volumes for creating a sophisticated living space.

Lastly, lighting plays a huge factor when choosing a light colour palette. If you have large windows, allowing as much natural light in as possible can help in creating a light and airy space. You can even incorporate a yellow colour palette, which can help feel like your living room is brighter than it is.

Pantone's Colour of the Year 2023

Before we let you ponder the various colour palettes discussed within this article, we would also like to shine a little bit of light on Pantone’s colour of the year for 2023. While every paint company comes out with their colour of the year–which is reflective of this year’s trends–nothing seems to come close to the anticipation for Pantone’s unveiling.

This year, Pantone’s mindset was for people to go bold with their colour ideas, which is why they had Viva Magenta as their colour of the year this year.

This tropical and exciting colour envigorates colour palettes and takes inspiration from rare magenta-based colours in nature. While this colour may seem very associative to the warm colour tones we’ve discussed, Viva Magenta can be used in other colour palettes, most notably as an accent colour in a room or a moody and dark colour palette.

To learn more about Pantone’s Colour of the Year, take a look at this article.

What's Next?

There’s no telling what’s in store for the future of colour, but with these ideas in mind, there’s no doubt that we’ll begin to see more dynamic ideas in people’s households. 

So, with that being said, which colour palette speaks more to you? La-Z-Boy Ottawa and Kingston is always aware of the current trends, which is why we want to help you in creating the home of your dreams.

You can get inspiration today by visiting any of our local furniture stores in Ottawa or Kingston. You can also book an online appointment to talk to a design consultant if you have any questions or concerns.

The best way to find out what colour palette suits you more is by checking out our complimentary design services to see how these colours can work in your home. Working with an interior designer can help relieve the stress of doing it yourself and make the process seem effortless. 

Related articles: 

Pantone Colour of the Year 2020

Guide to Choosing the Right Sofa Colour

How to Mix and Match Furniture