It’s official: earth tone colours are a key decorating trend this year. And it’s not surprising – these muddy hues that are rooted in nature are ideal for bringing the colours of the landscape indoors, creating grounded schemes that feel both soothing and inviting. And while they are perfect for the colder months, when all we want is interiors that envelop us with warmth, earthy tones also translate beautifully into more summery schemes, adding depth to a pale, natural colour palette, for example, or bringing softness and balance to bright colours. Here, we explore some of the most talked-about earthy shades and reveal how we love to use them.
Peat
Near-blacks and midnight blues have been enjoying their moment in the spotlight for a while but it is deep brown hues that are currently feeling just right. With a nod to the 1970s, shades of peat, truffle and dark chocolate tap into our desire for grounded, calming spaces. We love how a shade of black-brown brings depth to our striking organic print, Ruched in Soot, working effortlessly with a textural scheme of neutral colours. For a bit of retro cool, we also like to team rich browns with bright colours such as acid yellow or cobalt blue.
Lucy Taylor of Lucinda Taylor Interior Design also recommends trying it with pastel hues: ‘I love including hints of dark, peaty colours within my interiors to give contrast and ground a scheme which otherwise may feel a little too pretty, especially when using colours like pinks and sky blues,’ she notes, adding, ‘I do this by throwing in the odd cushion or occasional chair in this colour.’ She is also a fan of a brown antique: ‘I find that including one or two antiques can have a similar effect as they, too, have the same deep lustre.’
Ochre
It’s little surprise that during these uncertain times, yellow is experiencing something of a revival, and the earthy iterations of this uplifting hue are at once warming and quietly confident. Shades such as ochre, saffron, mustard and sienna have more red in them than the zingier yellows, ensuring a mellow palette that will work in any number of spaces, from rooms flooded with natural light to darker north-facing spaces.
We love pairing earthy yellows with muted greens and they also partner well with deep charcoal, chocolate or navy hues. For a bolder twist, turn to a jewel-like palette: turquoise, ruby or amethyst are less obvious partners to soft yellows, bringing a sense of luxury to a scheme. And for anyone contemplating using colour in their home for the first time, mellow yellows provide that perfect springboard: witness this pure wool curtain in Foss in Harvest – and while you’re at it, note the gorgeous leather trim – which teams effortlessly with natural elements including lovely weathered timbers. A calming, deeply comforting space that works for every season.
Teal
Anyone who sees blue as a cold colour that is hard to decorate with needs to consider a palette of earthy blue tones. These hues, which span teal to stormy grey-blues, have a richness that feels incredibly inviting, making them hugely popular as a wrap-around paint colour – contrary to popular opinion, they can actually make a room feel bigger, thanks to the feeling of depth they bring.
If you don’t want to envelop a room in blue, try soft furnishings or upholstered pieces in earthy blues; they give an anchoring effect and look fantastic combined with other warm colours. We particularly love introducing rich yellows such as burnt umber and saffron, or shades of rust and cinnamon. Dusky pinks are another favourite: see how a wall in plaster pink offers a gentle foil to a headboard and cushions in our Vara woven fabric in Lapis – a rich yet subtly feminine pairing.
Charcoal
While all earthy shades are tremendously versatile, perhaps the most adaptable of them is charcoal. Incisive yet a little softer than black, it is the perfect choice for creating a monochromatic scheme that doesn’t feel stark – see our Cranbourne design in Charcoal, a timeless damask that has a subtly modern feel thanks to its pared-back colour palette. Charcoal is of course also happy to be teamed with a vast array of hues, from pastels to punchy primary colours. And it’s a go-to paint colour for rooms with poor daylight, where it can create a real sense of intimacy. The trick, here, is to look for charcoal shades imbued with touches of green, blue or brown, to ensure a cossetting feel.
Rust
You only need to look at the turning leaves against an autumnal sky to realise that mother nature, as always, is brilliant at providing exquisite colour combinations. Shades of rust and tobacco, cinnamon and cumin, are heart-warming hues that look fabulous with equally earthy colours. The above scheme – which sees an armchair and ottoman in our pleasing Chitgar linen print teamed with smoky blue walls and rich natural colours in an array of textures – is a classic. We also love to see russet tones combined with muddy greens or an earthy brown colour palette: think timbers in dark tones such as mahogany, teak and smoked oak. Russet tones also bring a little spice to a much more summery palette of knocked-back neutral colours and pale wood…We could go on…
Mocha
Coffee and milk chocolate shades are huge hits with the movers and shakers this year. Pantone’s colour of 2025 is Mocha Mousse – a “lightly roasted brown” – while Little Greene proposes Mochi, a neutral with warm caramel tones. For Lucy Taylor, these colours are particularly well suited to bedrooms: ‘They are enveloping and warm, especially during the UK winter months,’ she approves, adding, ‘Mocha pairs so well with natural finishes such as sisal rugs, timber and marble. It’s a shade I turn to when sourcing linens, sumptuous wools and cashmeres and I have recently used it to great effect in a chalet project in the Alps.’
The beauty of these hues is their versatility: add darker notes for a richer aesthetic – we love introducing berry reds, for example – or keep the look fresh with off-whites and creams. This contemporary armchair in Stresa in Camel, complete with a bobble-trimmed cushion in Stresa in Chocolate, would be just as at home in a crisp, pale living space as it would in a dark-hued snug or home office, for example.
Moss Green
When it comes to connecting an interior with the outdoors, earth tone greens have to be our all-time favourites. Hues such as moss, olive and sage green will tie in with any vegetation glimpsed from the window, be that a generous garden or a modest window box. Our Helter Skelter printed velvet in Moss has a lovely organic quality, thanks to its free-flowing stylised fern print, and looks fabulous teamed with the warm tan and cinnamon tones in this space. If you don’t want to use pattern, consider plains and semi plains in soft greens, amping up the texture to provide interest. Some of our favourites – amongst many – are Foss in Neptune, Tay in Sky and Sienna in Winter Moss.
Dusky Pink
Earthy pinks – pink hues with just the right amount of umber to remove any saccharine overtones – have become so popular in recent years that they are considered by many interior designers to sit within the palette of “neutrals”. Paint shades such as Farrow & Ball’s Setting Plaster or Edward Bulmer’s evocatively named Cuisse de Nymphe Emue have gained iconic status in the paint charts – and for good reason. These are tones that beautifully offset dark antiques and blond woods alike; they offer a wonderful foil to art, and they are immensely flattering to any complexion. Just try them in a bathroom – you can thank us later.
Dusty pink fabrics are equally versatile, teaming with other warm earth tone colours such as teal blues, olive greens and mustard yellows, and lifting moodier shades with aplomb: see how this sofa in Omega III velvet in Dusky Pink beautifully counterbalances the deep grey walls. It’s a colour that is also great for bringing a touch of femininity to a bedroom: try our chunky woven fabric Tanaro in Rosewood on a headboard or an upholstered bench for a touch of subtle sophistication.
While earthy colours are particularly big news for 2025, this is a trend that will never go out of fashion. These calming shades are attuned to the natural world, ensuring interiors that have an inherent timelessness. So, whether you are dipping your toe in the palette by updating a few soft furnishings, or planning an entire overhaul of a scheme, rest assured that warm earth tone colours are here to stay – and will be bringing their quiet beauty to our homes for years to come.