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Not Panettone. Sadly.

 Pantone. Not, as I thought and hoped, an enriched and sweet soft bread/cake delight from Italy (apparently that’s panettone) but a company-consultancy which deems itself to be the leading advisor in all matters colour. Who knew such an authority existed? Who cares?

Did you also know that the Colour of the Year is an IMPORTANT benchmark in the worlds of design, fashion and home decor? Did you? None of this, ‘Ooh, I fancy a bit of green in the hallway with perhaps a navy dado rail and a couple of entertaining pictures of bright orange goldfish to cheer up the day.’ None of this, ‘Let’s wear jeans and a plain jumper,’ and just grabbing the first one that comes to hand because it’s the middle of Winter, still dark at 7 a.m and you don’t want to disturb your husband/cat from their sleep by bashing on the light. Oh no, one must be guided by the wisdom of Pantone. One must consult. Heaven forfend you know your own mind and choose to live with colours you like, you wild and crazy loose cannon. 

Brace yourselves, then, because Colour of the Year 2023 is…

It might not be EXACTLY this shade because iPad does odd things to the actual colours in any photo or picture, but you get the gist. Also, I apologise if I’m bringing this news to you a tad too late and you spent the Easter holibobs turning your kitchen pale blue with cream highlights. If you have, my friend, you are waaaaaaay off-trend. 

‘Viva Magenta’ is the way to go. Sounds like the name of a drag queen to me, but we shan’t dwell because you REALLY don’t want to hear my opinions on THAT subject. (No, really, you don’t.) ‘Viva Magenta’, then, is ‘a cheerful and optimistic crimson red tone that presents a balance between warm and cool tones.’ Is it now? Who knew? What I do know is that my Mum would hate it. But, like me, she has never been much of a one for following fashion trends and good on her! She is an individual who knows her own mind about what she likes and what she doesn’t, and she isn’t afraid to tell you! She doesn’t like red. 

On a personal level, I am happy with Colour of the Year 2023. I wear this colour, I have home decor this colour. And it’s nice to know I’m hip ‘n’ trendy for at least one year in my life. That said, it wouldn’t bother me a single tootin’ hoot if Colour of the Year was Battleship Grey (as a random example…ha!) because nothing would persuade me to wear grey or repaint my internal walls grey. I would happily buck the fashion trend because that’s what I’ve always done. A dedicated follower of fashion I am not. 

Last year’s colour was ‘Very Peri’ - a sort of light purple/mauve. Again, not bad. Except when I think of ‘peri’ I think ‘peri-peri’ chicken, which isn’t purple/mauve and if it was I would seriously advise against eating it. 

Mother Nature, meanwhile, appears to be going for green this year, with splashes of all sorts of other colours. She’s the ultimate colour authority, I think. A designer who really knows what she’s talking about.    And who doesn’t charge an exorbitant consultancy fee. 





Comments

Anonymous said…
If I were to go all House and Garden then Viva Magenta might be considered a highlight colour. Or ‘pop’ if you will. It would always be paired with something a tad easier to live with. Take grey, for example. Now that would look lovely..
Mrs Duck.
(But then you knew that.)
11 April 2023 at 20:02
Denise said…
Normally, Mrs Duck, I would defer to your greater wisdom in these matters, what with you being a considered interior designer and me being a slapper and dasher of paint. However, this is a particularly ‘grey’ area for my ‘grey’ matter to assimilate and…oh, I give up! Viva La Magenta!!!
12 April 2023 at 08:08
Anonymous said…
I did laugh this morning when I opened my daily email from House and Garden.. and there it was. First image: Viva Magenta as a highlight colour. It was set against a rather pinkier grey than might have been my first choice but hey, as we all know there are many different shades of grey. Even one bordering on magenta. If you squint a bit.
12 April 2023 at 11:40
Denise said…
No amount of squinting will appease me of grey, Mrs Duck!
12 April 2023 at 13:48
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