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For anyone who has spent a long time living in rental properties, confronted by the same landlord-approved beige walls and yearning for adding some actual personality to their home, Pantone's 2026 Colour of the Year might be perceived as a personal attack.

This year, the influential color company has designated white as its premier hue.

To be precise, the shade is called Cloud Dancer – a white described as "lofty" and "airy" which "serves as a emblem of tranquility in a society re-learning the importance of introspection".

It marks the first time a pure white has been chosen as the Colour of the Year, and it has generated significant controversy.

Per Pantone, Cloud Dancer "is not just a colour, it's a state of being" and embodies a collective urge to decelerate, recalibrate and achieve serenity after years of aesthetic chaos.

But some critics have dubbed the decision as "insensitive", suggesting that championing minimalist and pristine white spaces can seem distant from the more compact, messier homes the majority call home.

Additional critics argue that positioning white as an ideal carries racial undertones, causing discomfort during current societal conversations about race and representation.

Sterile or Serene?

Interior expert One design critic says the counter-reaction transcends surface appeal, arguing that white carries cultural undertones and is rarely a neutral choice.

"White is a signal," he says, influenced by a decade of minimalist celebrity interiors – most notably Kim Kardashian's austere home – that came to epitomize "wealth, control and removal from chaos".

He explains that white is "not intended to inspire but being careful not to cause upset", with Cloud Dancer embodying "austerity, moral minimalism and the idea that neutrality equals virtue".

Beaumont points to the global health crisis as a turning point in how people perceive their homes.

"Almost instantly they transformed into our workspaces, sanctuaries and sources of stability," he says, stating that against this backdrop, pushing the Colour of the Year towards "more visual emptiness seems rather disconnected".

Instead of providing calm, he argues white now threatens to intensifying "a feeling of bleakness", particularly when paired with cool, clinical lighting.

'A Clinical Atmosphere

Lara Clark, a UK-based interior designer, concurs and says Cloud Dancer "doesn't really read as a colour" and is "firmly in the bin for me".

While it may suit extremely sparse or structural spaces, she says bright whites rarely foster calm in everyday living spaces.

"What looks serene in a styled shoot can readily feel sterile at home," she explains.

"White can feel stark and unforgiving and you wouldn't wish your home to emit clinical feelings."

She continues that "homes should elicit happiness and feel inviting and lived-in, and this shade seems quite distant from that."

Beaumont hopes that homeowners will reject the Pantone Colour of the Year in favour of "unabashed joyful interior design", using colour to showcase individuality.

The vice president of the Pantone Colour Institute stated that people "bring different feelings" to the meaning of the colour, but it was selected as it "works seamlessly with everything around it, providing a sophisticated impartiality that feels deliberate and versatile".

Since its launch in 2000, Pantone's Colour of the Year has become a significant industry signal.

Past choices have featured the hopefulness of Living Coral, the calm confidence of Classic Blue, the vibrancy of a bold pink-red, and more recently more gentle, feeling-based tones like a soft peach.

These colours don't just live on trend forecasts - they show up in fashion collections, beauty launches, interiors, product wrapping and even technology, influencing how products are sold and how consumers imagine the year ahead.

Victoria Robinson, says Cloud Dancer is a "elegant choice" and while it may seem basic, "this particular shade feels gentle and elegant rather than severe".

In contrast to those who say the colour is boring, Robinson sees it as "adaptable" and says it's best used in "bedrooms and communal spaces where you want a serene, restful atmosphere".

"Should you don't want to repaint, you can introduce the colour into a room with pillows, throws and drapes."

Design expert James Mellan-Matulewicz says although he was taken aback that Pantone's selection this year was "fundamentally the lack of pigment", it is a bit like vanilla ice cream, in that "it is universally accepted but it's nobody's favourite".

He can see its benefits, explaining that white can work especially effectively as a backdrop for design features like wall molding and curved entries which is a "growing trend in modern homes".

In fashion, white has long been a staple rather than a bold declaration and as a Colour of the Year it poses a different challenge to designers more accustomed to bold shades.

Luxury stylist A styling expert says elevating white feels "less about novelty and more concerned with purpose", reflecting a shift towards refinement after years of fad saturation.

"White forces designers and wearers alike to concentrate on shape, proportion and quality, there's really no room for error," she clarifies.

But she continues that it also carries presumptions around self-image, lifestyle and privilege, saying: "If white is treated as something only a narrow group of people can wear well, it becomes divisive."

She says the fashion world is already aware of the problematic connotations associated with lauding white as an aspirational standard, particularly amid continuing conversations about representation and approachability, and the true challenge will be whether "brands engage with that nuance authentically, or simply aestheticise the colour".

A Societal Shift, Not a Fad

Style consultant Katie Malik admits the choice at first shocked her, considering Pantone's history of bold colours, but says it reflects a genuine shift and fits within a broader sentiment of "quiet luxury