Color Report · 2026
The 2026 Colors of the Year
Every major authority names its own Color of the Year — and for 2026 they split into two camps that tell one story: serene, weightless light and grounded, tactile earth. Here is the complete set, side by side, with the meta-trend that ties them together.
Trends change every year; most palettes on this site come from one 1933 book. Get Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary on Amazon → Affiliate link; your price is unchanged. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Every 2026 Color of the Year
Swatches are approximate sRGB renderings — physical paint and Pantone colours don't map to a single exact hex, so each brand's official colour code (linked) is the source of truth. Cloud Dancer and Silhouette show confirmed values.
- #57504C Benjamin Moore Silhouette · AF-655 A burnt umber with delicate notes of charcoal — a warm, grounding alternative to black. What goes with it → Official Benjamin Moore code →
- #CBBBA1 ~ Sherwin-Williams Universal Khaki · SW 6150 The essential neutral — a warm, earthy, creamy tan anchoring a tailored, timeless mood. What goes with it → Official Sherwin-Williams code →
- #5E7A72 ~ Behr Hidden Gem · N430-6A A smokey, desaturated jade — mysterious elegance that holds a full wall. What goes with it → Official Behr code →
- #98A189 ~ Valspar Warm Eucalyptus A muted, earthy gray-green meant to be restful to the eye and restorative to the soul. What goes with it → Official Valspar code →
- #7B473C ~ Glidden Warm Mahogany · PPG1060-7 A rich, grounded red-brown evoking rest, connection and creativity. What goes with it → Official Glidden code →
- #C6BB68 ~ PPG Secret Safari · PPG1110-4 A versatile yellow-green that balances soothing comfort with a touch of energy, part of PPG's 2026 global theme, Parallels. What goes with it → Official PPG code →
- #39463C ~ Dunn-Edwards Midnight Garden A deep, muted green of quiet elegance with earthy undertones and timeless appeal. What goes with it → Official Dunn-Edwards code →
- #EEE6D2 ~ Dutch Boy Melodious Ivory A warm cream with a nostalgic, elevated vibe — a base for layering bolder accents. What goes with it → Official Dutch Boy code →
- #4C2E48 ~ Graham & Brown Divine Damson A deep, saturated damson purple — luxury and sophistication with timeless versatility. What goes with it → Official Graham & Brown code →
- #D6B96C ~ C2 Paint Epernay A soft, earthy ochre-yellow inspired by craft, artistry and European interiors. What goes with it → Official C2 Paint code →
- #6B4A30 ~ Minwax Special Walnut A medium walnut wood-stain tone, riding the rustic wood-drenching trend. What goes with it → Official Minwax code →
- #4A3B30 ~ Krylon Coffee Bean A dark, natural brown spray tone inspired by elements of the earth. What goes with it → Official Krylon code →
- #2E7C84 ~ Rust-Oleum Satin Lagoon A tranquil-yet-vibrant teal that pairs with both neutrals and bold hues. What goes with it → Official Rust-Oleum code →
Studio
Getting the 2026 colours right off-screen
Every swatch above is an approximate sRGB rendering — the brand's own code is the real colour. Which of these you need depends on where the colour is going.
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-
...onto paper
Start here if the palette gets printed. Screen colour and ink colour are not the same colour, and this is the deck that translates between them.
Pantone
Color Bridge Guide — coated
Listed on Amazon as Pantone Color Bridge Guide Coated | Pantone to CMYK, RGB & HTML Color Matching Fan Deck for Graphic Design, Branding & Print | GG6103B
See price on AmazonView on Amazon -
...onto a screen you can trust
Start here if it stays digital. An uncalibrated monitor is the single most common reason a palette that looked right on your desk looks wrong everywhere else.
Calibrite
Display Plus HL colorimeter kit
Listed on Amazon as Calibrite Video Photo Kit with Display Plus HL Colorimeter and ColorChecker Passport Video 2, 10,000 Nit Monitor Calibration, Camera Color Matching
See price on AmazonView on Amazon -
...by hand
Start here if you are mixing it. Wada's plates were flat printed colour; gansai pans are the closest everyday medium to them.
Kuretake
Gansai Tambi 48
Listed on Amazon as Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolor Paint Set, 48 Colors, Made in Japan | 48 vivid opaque colors, non-granulating pigment, large pans, palette & color chart, Professional Use, Artist Grade
See price on AmazonView on Amazon
Amazon Associates affiliate links — your price is unchanged and a small commission keeps the archive free. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Pantone Cloud Dancer in numbers
- Pantone
- 11-4201 Cloud Dancer
- Hex
#F0EEE9- RGB
240, 238, 233- HSL
43°, 19%, 93%- Relative luminance
0.856(pure white is 1.000)
Cloud Dancer is a warm off-white: a little more red than blue, so it reads cream beside a cool screen white. The question that decides whether it works in a design is what you can put on top of it. These are the WCAG 2 contrast ratios, computed from the hex codes:
| On Cloud Dancer | Contrast | What it is good for |
|---|---|---|
| Blackbody text | 18.11:1 | Passes AAA, any text size |
| Benjamin Moore Silhouette2026 pick, AF-655 | 6.82:1 | Passes AA for body text |
| Pantone Mocha Mousse2025 pick, 17-1230 | 3.32:1 | Large text and icons only (AA large) |
| Pure white#FFFFFF page next to it | 1.16:1 | Fails, decoration only |
WCAG asks for 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text and icons. Silhouette is the 2026 pick that works as a text colour on Cloud Dancer; last year's Mocha Mousse does not, except at headline size. For print, specify PANTONE 11-4201 and let the printer match it: a hex is a screen value only. Palettes that pair with Cloud Dancer →
The 2026 meta-trend: calm earth
Read together, 2026's picks aren't fifteen different directions — they're two sides of one mood. On one side is serene, near-weightless light: Pantone's Cloud Dancer is the first true white it has ever crowned, echoed by Dutch Boy's Melodious Ivory and Sherwin-Williams' Universal Khaki. On the other is grounded, tactile earth — warm browns (Benjamin Moore Silhouette, Glidden Warm Mahogany, Minwax Special Walnut), deep and soft greens (Dunn-Edwards Midnight Garden, Valspar Warm Eucalyptus, PPG's yellow-green Secret Safari) and smokey blue-greens (WGSN/Coloro's Transformative Teal, Behr's Hidden Gem, Rust-Oleum's Satin Lagoon).
Both camps point the same way: away from the saturated, screen-bright palettes of recent years and toward calm, nature and the hand-made — widely read as an antidote to digital fatigue. The teals carry an explicit Earth-first, regenerative message; the whites and creams make space; the browns and walnuts bring warmth you can almost touch.
Want to build a palette around a 2026 colour? Find what goes with any colour, browse the historical archive, or explore curated palettes for warm neutrals, deep greens and teals.
The 2027 season has started. Valspar, Dutch Boy and Behr
have announced; Pantone follows in December.
See every 2027 Color of the Year announced so far →
Every Pantone Color of the Year since 2000 →
How 2026 compares with 2025
2025 was brown and plum — Pantone Mocha Mousse, Benjamin Moore Cinnamon Slate, Behr Rumors. 2026 swings to calm light and grounded earth: Pantone Cloud Dancer is its first-ever white, and the paint brands move from reds and plums to khaki, jade, walnut and teal.
| Authority | 2025 | 2026 | The shift |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pantone | Mocha Mousse (17-1230) | Cloud Dancer (11-4201) | warm brown → serene white |
| Benjamin Moore | Cinnamon Slate (2113-40) | Silhouette (AF-655) | heathered plum-brown → burnt-umber charcoal |
| Sherwin-Williams | Grounded | Universal Khaki (SW 6150) | earthy brown → warm tan |
| Behr | Rumors (MQ1-15) | Hidden Gem (N430-6A) | ruby red → smokey jade |
| Valspar | Encore | Warm Eucalyptus | deep blue → gray-green |
| Glidden | Purple Basil (PPG1046-7) | Warm Mahogany (PPG1060-7) | red-plum → red-brown |
| Dunn-Edwards | Caramelized | Midnight Garden | terracotta brown → deep green |
| Dutch Boy | Mapped Blue | Melodious Ivory | medium blue → warm cream |
| Graham & Brown | Elderton | Divine Damson | brown → deep purple |
| C2 Paint | Raku | Epernay | burnt red-brown → soft ochre |
| Minwax | Violet | Special Walnut | violet stain → walnut wood |
| Krylon | Hammered Black | Coffee Bean | black → dark brown |
| Rust-Oleum | Satin Warm Caramel | Satin Lagoon | caramel → teal |
WGSN + Coloro's Transformative Teal has no like-for-like row because our 2025 sources don't record their 2025 pick. Sherwin-Williams' 2025 choice is its own Color Capsule pick, Grounded; its HGTV Home line named Quietude. Outside North America, Dulux named three 2026 colours instead of one — the indigo family The Rhythm of Blues (Free Groove, Mellow Flow, Slow Swing) — its first palette rather than a single shade, and a second vote for the calm end of the spectrum.
Library
Read more on colour
The thinking behind these picks — colour theory, forecasting and the language of palettes. Books we recommend on Amazon.
Book links are Amazon Associates affiliate links. Your price is unchanged; a small commission supports the archive. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Torn between the two Wada dictionaries? Vol 1 vs Vol 2, compared plate by plate →
Book links are Amazon Associates affiliate links. Your price is unchanged; a small commission supports the archive. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Frequently asked
What is the hex code for Pantone Cloud Dancer?
Cloud Dancer (PANTONE 11-4201) is #F0EEE9 on screen: RGB 240, 238, 233, HSL 43°, 19%, 93%. It is a warm off-white, not pure white. Black text on it has a contrast ratio of 18.11:1, well past the WCAG AAA threshold; against a pure white page it measures only 1.16:1, so a Cloud Dancer panel on white needs a border or shadow to be seen. For print, use the PANTONE code, not the hex.
What is the Pantone Color of the Year 2026?
Pantone's 2026 Color of the Year is Cloud Dancer (PANTONE 11-4201), a soft, serene white — the first true white ever chosen since the program began in 1999.
What is the 2026 Color of the Year?
There is no single one — each authority names its own. Pantone chose Cloud Dancer (a serene white); WGSN and Coloro chose Transformative Teal; and the paint brands lean toward warm earthy neutrals and browns, including Benjamin Moore Silhouette, Sherwin-Williams Universal Khaki and Glidden Warm Mahogany.
What is the overall 2026 color trend?
Two linked moods: serene, near-weightless light (Pantone Cloud Dancer, Dutch Boy Melodious Ivory) and grounded, tactile earth tones (warm browns, deep greens and smokey teals). Together they read as an antidote to digital fatigue — a pull toward calm, nature and the hand-made.
What are the 2026 paint colors of the year?
Benjamin Moore Silhouette (AF-655), Sherwin-Williams Universal Khaki (SW 6150), Behr Hidden Gem (N430-6A), Valspar Warm Eucalyptus, Glidden Warm Mahogany (PPG1060-7), Dunn-Edwards Midnight Garden and Dutch Boy Melodious Ivory.
What are the colours for 2026?
Two linked moods: serene, near-weightless light (Pantone Cloud Dancer, Dutch Boy Melodious Ivory, Sherwin-Williams Universal Khaki) and grounded, tactile earth (Benjamin Moore Silhouette, Behr Hidden Gem, WGSN + Coloro's Transformative Teal, and more warm browns and deep greens). Full list and swatches below.
How is 2026 different from 2025 (Mocha Mousse)?
2025 was brown and plum: Pantone Mocha Mousse, Benjamin Moore Cinnamon Slate, Behr Rumors. 2026 swings to calm light and earth: Pantone Cloud Dancer is its first-ever white, and the paint brands move from reds and plums to khaki, jade, walnut and teal.
Sources & methodology
Each colour's name, code and description is the authority's own. Selected references:
- Pantone Color of the Year 2026, Cloud Dancer — announced Dec 2025 (NPR).
- WGSN + Coloro Colour of the Year 2026, Transformative Teal (WGSN).
- 2026 paint Colors of the Year overview (HGTV, Young House Love, NAHB).
- Benjamin Moore Silhouette AF-655 hex reference (Encycolorpedia).
- 2025 Colors of the Year, for the year-over-year table (NAHB, Young House Love).
- PPG Color of the Year 2026, Secret Safari PPG1110-4 — announced 2 Oct 2025 (PPG release, Business Wire; swatch from ppgpaints.com).
- Dulux Colours of the Year 2026, The Rhythm of Blues (Dulux).
- 2026 selections design context (ArchDaily).
Swatch hexes are approximate sRGB renderings except Pantone Cloud Dancer (#F0EEE9) and Benjamin Moore Silhouette (#57504C), which are confirmed. For exact colour matching, use each brand's official code at the linked source.