Pantone
The design world eagerly anticipates Pantone’s Color of the Year pick each December. The brand, widely regarded as the global authority on color, influences design trends for the coming year with its selection. In fact, Pantone claims that a whopping 10 million designers and producers around the world rely on its products and services to help “define, communicate, and control color from inspiration to realization.”
Their 2026 selection, however, has raised eyebrows. While other major brands opted for rich, jewel-like tones, Pantone’s choice came as a surprise: PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer—a shade the company describes as “a billowy white imbued with a feeling of serenity” and “a symbol of calming influence in a frenetic society rediscovering the value of measured consideration and quiet reflection.”
Following, a handful of local designers share their thoughts on Cloud Dancer, along with tips for how to incorporate the hue into inspired interior design.
A Creative Opportunity
Some designers described this shade of white as a “non color,” which can redirect attention to other design elements and aspects of an interior.
“What I find most beautiful about this color is, ironically, the absence of color itself. Its thoughtful balance of warm and cool undertones creates a true blank canvas—inviting homeowners and designers to collaborate in making a space as unique, or as neutrally monochromatic, as they wish,” muses Alissa Ochs, founder and design principal of Gemhaus Design. “While it may not be the most inherently exciting hue on its own, I see this color of the year as a doorway to creativity. There are hundreds of ways to bring a ‘Cloud Dancer’ room to life—and I suspect that possibility is exactly the point.”
Katie Brandt, founder and CEO of Katie Brandt Interiors, had a similar reaction, saying that white doesn’t need to be the main attraction of a space. In fact, its purpose, she says, is to take a back seat and allow other design elements to shine.
“White walls create such a beautiful backdrop for all colors … doesn’t matter what color palette you are working in,” says Brandt. “I like to say to my clients ‘there is a reason why every museum in the world has white walls! Your eye has no competition!’” She even says that she has used similar shades in rooms that have stunning views, like those of Lake Minnetonka or Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis. “In these projects, I didn’t want anything to come in the way of your sightline to see the view.”
A Natural Offset
Britte Wille, senior interior designer for Redstone Interiors sees another unique use for light colors like Cloud Dancer.
“Our design instinct usually pulls us towards a deeper shade to bring more richness to the space through paint and textiles,” she says. “If you paint a room slightly deeper, lighter-colored accessories can offset it beautifully.”
Wille also appreciates the softness and freshness of Cloud Dancer. “It is refreshing not to see a bright white. [Cloud Dancer] feels more inviting and livable.”
More Color of the Year News
Cloud Dancer is quite a departure from Pantone’s 2025 pick “Mocha Mousse,” which it described as “a mellow brown hue whose inherent richness and sensorial and comforting warmth extends further into our desire for comfort, and the indulgence of simple pleasures that we can gift and share with others.” Always working to reflect the global mood, Pantone has chosen the following in recent years:
- 2024: Peach Fuzz
- 2023: Viva Magenta
- 2022: Very Peri
- 2021: Illuminating
Other major players in the color space have announced their own colors of the year. Behr Paint picked “Hidden Gem,” a smokey jade shade; Benjamin Moore chose “Silhouette,” a rich mix of espresso hues with subtle notes of charcoal; Sherwin-Williams selected “Universal Khaki,” a mid-tone neutral with yellow undertones; among others.
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