Pantone's Color of the Year 2025 Shows Natural Materials are Trending
The “it” color of 2025 will be warm, natural brown, says Pantone. Its iconic Color of the Year is Mocha Mousse. The brand says the color was chosen for its richness, warmth, and speaks to the desire for comfort the world exudes.
Pantone’s Color of the Year selections aim to place a hue to the worldly climate, tying together color and culture. The company uses words like “aspirational” and “luxe” to explain its color choice for 2025 while stating Mocha Mousse is both a fashion color and a neutral, providing “harmony in an ever-changing world.”
Relaxing, timeless, and earthy are three ideas that Mocha Mousse pushes forward, says Pantone, and those align well with current and emerging trends in home design.
“The everlasting search for harmony filters through into every aspect of our lives including our relationships, the work we do, our social connections, and the natural environment that surrounds us,” said Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute. “With that in mind, for Pantone Color of the Year 2025, we look to a color that reaches into our desire for comfort and wellness, and the indulgence of simple pleasures that we can gift and share with others.”
Pantone says Mocha Mousse fits into the home through flooring, painted walls, and natural materials such as wood, stone, rattan, wicker, leather, and linen.
According to the National Kitchen and Bath Association’s Bath Design Trends 2025 report, 44% of surveyed designers said brown would be a dominant color trend in 2025. Many designers (44%) report emerging trends of mid-century modern design, which heavily uses brown woods. Another 42% of surveyed designers see 1950s and 1970s influences returning, such as mid-century modern and 70s earthy tones with pops of color.
The choice of natural wood tones helps achieve a bathroom feeling of calmness and warmth by providing touches of nature.
In the kitchen, homeowners increasingly want natural wood tones for cabinetry. In Houzz’s 2024 Kitchen Trends Study, 25% of surveyed homeowners selected wood cabinetry, up 2 percentage points from 2022, but white cabinetry continues to lead overall.
Other 2025 Colors of the Year: Valspar, Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams
Pantone’s color selection greatly differs from other well known colors of the year, such as Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams, and Valspar. Though all three companies sought out a hue that evoked comfort and familiarity.
Benjamin Moore selected Cinnamon Slate, a muted purple mixed with brown. It meant to speak to consumers’ shift toward color saturation.
Valspar’s selection of Encore, a deep royal blue, combined classic and contemporary design. The company refers to the color as “news-stalgic,” as it's both fresh but familiar.
Sherwin-Williams opted out of a 2025 color of the year and instead announced a color capsule of the year consisting of nine colors. The decision celebrates the paint company’s 15 years of color of the year. It selected shades that reflect on the past, present, and future of color trends, but all deemed classics. One of Sherwin-Williams' choices, Grounded, is a straightforward deep brown.