Pantone Colour of the Year 2026

But what If You Love Colour?

A designers guide to using Cloud Dancer without losing the richness of your palette

Pantone has named Cloud Dancer 11-4201 as the Colour of the Year 2026. The choice has sparked debate not because white is difficult to specify, but because many designers feel the Colour of the Year concept no longer reflects how interiors are created today. Even so, fashion and interior design will still react to it and Cloud Dancer will appear everywhere from clothing to furniture. Designers who prefer richer palettes now face a practical question. How do you work with this warm white, or work around it, without compromising the strength and expression of your colours.

White works when it supports the colours around it.

Designers shape the style of a room and white becomes one of the tools available to them. Cloud Dancer can add clarity to a colourful scheme, soften transitions between surfaces or offer a point of calm within a more expressive palette. It tends to work best when used with restraint. A single white element can steady combinations of pattern, texture and strong colour more effectively than covering large surfaces with it. When designers use white as a deliberate part of the interior design palette it becomes a purposeful choice rather than an assumed neutral.

How to use Cloud Dancer without losing the strength of your colours.

Cloud Dancer is a warm white, so it works naturally alongside warm colours. Designers working with terracotta, soft greens, olive, ochre, plum or muted blues will find this white helps those tones settle and feel grounded. Cooler palettes, sharp greys and blue-leaning blacks can sit uncomfortably beside Cloud Dancer unless stable textures or natural materials are introduced to balance them.

Texture remains one of the most reliable tools for integrating white into colourful interior schemes. Pleated fabrics, parchment, open weaves and matte finishes prevent white from feeling flat and help it sit comfortably within a richer palette. Lighting choice is equally important. A 2700K lamp brings warmth to Cloud Dancer, a 3000K lamp keeps it neutral and a 4000K lamp can make it appear cooler. Strong colour depends as much on lighting as on fabric or paint.

Do you need a white lampshade at all?

Not every room will benefit from a white lampshade. Designers often specify them when the brief calls for clean light, a sense of openness or a single calm element within a busy space. A white lampshade can simplify how the light behaves and it helps reveal the true temperature of the lamp.

In rooms where atmosphere or depth matters more than brightness a coloured lampshade may produce a better outcome. Warm neutrals, tinted fabrics and textured shades can enhance mood, soften the light and contribute to the overall design story. Designers working in hospitality interiors or intimate residential settings often find these alternatives more appropriate because they shape the ambience rather than prioritising clarity.

Would a white wall serve better than a white shade?

Designers can often achieve more by using white like Cloud Dancer on a wall than on a lampshade. A white wall becomes the main reflector in the room, increasing both natural and artificial light. When used on walls white as a neutral colour can brighten the space without reducing the impact of coloured lights or furnishings. This allows designers to keep expressive lampshades while still achieving an open and balanced scheme.

If the aim is to lift the entire room rather than the light fitting itself it makes sense to use white on the surfaces that receive the most light and contribute most to overall brightness.

How to keep colour alive when white enters the scheme.

Designers who enjoy working with colour can use Cloud Dancer without losing the identity of the palette. One approach is to anchor the scheme with a confident colour and allow the white to act as a supportive tone. Another method is specifying coloured lampshades with white linings which maintain brightness while preserving depth and atmosphere. Scale, texture and finish all influence how the colour behaves in a room. When used intentionally white adds clarity rather than being a dominant feature.

In the end, colour is still the foundation.

Cloud Dancer may be central to the 2026 trend conversation, but colour remains essential to the most distinctive interiors. Designers decide how white and colour work together. White can steady and soften a palette but it cannot replace the energy and expression that colour brings. When designers choose where white is most useful Cloud Dancer becomes one more practical tool rather than a trend that dictates direction.

Colour continues to lead. White gives it room to breathe.