Dulux Just Revealed Its Colour Forecast for 2027 and It’s Speaking Directly to How We’re All Feeling
Every year I look forward to the Dulux Colour Forecast the way some people look forward to fashion week, and this year’s release for 2027 might be the most telling one yet. It’s less about chasing a trend and more about understanding why we’re drawn to certain colours in the first place, especially at a time when life feels a little heavier and a lot more digital.
The team behind it, led by Dulux Colour and Design Manager Lauren Treloar and Colour Marketing Lead Lilybet Holt, spend the year travelling to design shows, tracking global trend reports and watching how Australians are actually living in their homes. What they’ve landed on for 2027 is three distinct palettes: Play, Treasure and Sensory. Each one feels like a genuine response to where we’re at as a culture right now, caught between rising costs, the rapid rise of AI, and a real hunger for something that feels human again.
Dulux Play
This palette is all about injecting a bit of joy and imperfection back into our homes. Think muted lilacs like Dulux Stately Frills, calming blues such as Dulux Powder Blue Half, spearmint greens like Dulux Catnap, and the occasional zesty orange or berry accent, such as Dulux Temptress or Dulux Baca Berry, used sparingly for impact. It leans into modular furniture, tactile asymmetry and a looseness that feels like it’s giving us permission to stop being so precious about our spaces. If your home has felt a bit too curated and controlled lately, this is the antidote.
Dulux Treasure
If Play is loose and spontaneous, Treasure is its opposite: rich, layered and unapologetically indulgent. We’re talking deep blues like Dulux Precision and Dulux Madonna, lush crimsons such as Dulux Raspberry Fool, and berry tones like Dulux Rich Red Violet, paired with high-gloss finishes, mixed metals and dramatic fabrics. This is restrained maximalism at its best, favouring depth and story over stark minimalism. It’s the palette for anyone who wants their home to feel like it has a history, even if you moved in last year.
Dulux Sensory
This one’s for the ritual-lovers among us. Sensory draws on soft warm neutrals like Dulux Buttercookie and Dulux Humble Fawn, layered greens such as Dulux Field Maple and Dulux Moorland, and near-black browns like Dulux Dark Cocoa and Dulux Sweet Chocolate, with Japanese-inspired restraint running through it. It’s designed around the small daily moments, lighting a candle, sitting with a cup of tea, that ground us when everything else feels overstimulating. If 2026 has taught us anything, it’s that we’re craving stillness, and this palette delivers it in colour form.
What’s Actually Driving All This
What I find most interesting isn’t the colours themselves, it’s why we’re drawn to them. Dulux points to a handful of forces shaping how we want our homes to feel heading into 2027: continued cost of living pressure, the speed at which AI is changing our daily lives, growing geopolitical instability, and a real craving for authenticity in a world that increasingly feels curated and digital. It makes sense that we’d want our homes to feel like a refuge from all of that.
A few shifts worth noting: orange is stepping into the role red used to play, showing up in small, bold accent moments rather than dominating a room. Blues are having a real resurgence too, from deep navy through to much softer, playful tones. And there’s a broader move towards layering colour, texture and personal story into our spaces, rather than sticking to safe, neutral minimalism.
How to Actually Use This at Home
You don’t need to repaint your entire house to bring any of this in. A few ways to start:
For a playful lift, try a tranquil blue like Dulux Blue Glass on your walls and bring in a burnt orange accent, such as Dulux Temptress, through cushions or a favourite chair for contrast and warmth.
High gloss is having a real moment. If you want a genuine statement, a glossy finish on a feature wall or even a ceiling in one of the richer jewel tones, think Dulux Rich Red Violet or Dulux Raspberry Fool, instantly adds depth.
For something calmer, a warm neutral like Dulux Buttercookie as your primary wall colour paired with botanical greens such as Dulux Field Maple and muted blues like Dulux Blue Balm through furnishings creates that sense of stillness so many of us are chasing right now.
And if you’re not sure where to start, painting all four walls one softer, more colourful neutral, such as Dulux Stately Frills or Dulux Spring Fever, is one of the simplest ways to transform a room without it feeling like a big commitment.
Dulux offers A4 samples and sample pots through dulux.com.au so you can see how a colour actually behaves in your own home’s light before committing, and their colour advice team can help if you’d rather leave the decision-making to a professional.
Which palette speaks to you? I have a feeling I know exactly which room in my house is getting a Treasure-inspired refresh.
