Coming back to Earth: current colour trends in Australian homes

When building and decorating a house, one of the major key factors in creating a home tailored to the individual’s desires is Colour. Colour plays so many roles in our day-to-day lives and can be the thing that makes or breaks a space. The question of  “what are the latest trends?” is one of the first things clients ask at their Dream Studio appointments.

The construction industry  is constantly changing, adapting, and evolving, so it’s important to keep an eye out for the colours and trends that are moving with it. 2023 is the start of a new era in the design world, as we move out of the haze of Covid and start to refocus on things that give the world life. Colour is one of the biggest contributors to that, so let’s dive in and explore the latest trends.

1. Earthy neutrals

Covid has played a significant role in people wanting to reintroduce earthy neutrals back into their homes. After so long of being cooped up inside, families are bursting at the seams to spend their weekends outside in nature. Working from home more has also played a key role in this, as during the week, more people are working from their home offices and aren’t out and about as regularly as before. Bringing these colours into our homes creates a connection with nature that many of us have been longing for.

Colorbond is a great example of this. Their latest release of colours is specifically themed around nature and taken straight from our Australian landscapes with colours such as Blue Gum and Wollemi becoming popular in fencing and roofing. Warm earthy tones, timbers and soft creams are coming back in to replace stark whites and blacks as people move away from the clinical styles and shift to warm and welcoming schemes.  As Australians, we tend to live outdoors as much as possible, so bringing the outside in has become a common theme in home builds too, so timbers and stone colours that are transitional from outdoor to indoor lends to this perfectly.

2. Bold, rich jewel tones

Lush pops of colour such as emerald, deep blues, rust, plums, and deep yellows have also become quite popular with those who are wanting to inject colour into their homes. You might see upholstery or wallpaper with these accents, creating a fun and warm environment that’s full of personality.  To take your home to the next level, we suggest combining these with metallic accents like copper and gold, which offers a sense of luxury and opulence. Without changing much, colour can completely reinvent a space, a feature chair, or cushions in these tones can do the trick. These colours have been popular in Europe for quite some time now and are slowly filtering through to the Australian market.

3. Coastal blues

There is certainly a running theme with colours on trend at the moment. This one speaks for itself with people bringing serene blues into their homes. Australia is surrounded by jewel-like coastlines and stunning blue skies, so it is fitting and understandable that people are wanting to bring these colours into their personal spaces. Pale blues to deep navy’s are being seen in anything from cabinetry to feature tiles. Blue is the most calming of colours, so it is only fair to assume that this has become popular again for many reasons in spaces from home offices to bedrooms.

4. Rustic Mediterranean

Warm, earthy terracottas have been seen making an interesting comeback as of late. We, as Australians, are blessed with incredibly beautiful and ever-changing landscapes and our deserts are famous for their red sand and red dirt roads.  It’s also a nod back to a time when these colours were prominent in things such as floor tiles, bricks, and dark timbers. These sorts of colours paired with blues, greens and creams make for a beautiful Mediterranean colour scheme.  The fact that these colours have made a comeback in the building industry proves that in a way these colours are timeless and all trends, even if brief, will come back around.

View image here: https://pin.it/52JJKq7

As a homeowner, whether you are building for the first time, second time, renovating or just wanting to redecorate, colour will always be the most obvious starting point.  Colour is so personal and whether you are a more subtle neutral person, or maybe you are wanting bold and bright, there is always a trend for everyone.

However, something to keep in mind, trends are like a pendulum; they will sway from dark to light, black to white, but eventually, they always come back around.  Nothing is ever really out of date if you are patient enough to wait. However, some trends are more timeless than others and can be lived in far longer than others. We all have our opinions of what those might be!