Jennifer Sheahan: New year, new paint colours 

Check out the shades we can expect to see on walls this year

'Universal Khaki', Sherwin Williams.

Every year, the major colour companies release their own “Colour of the Year,” which always causes ripples of excitement among design communities. A lot of thought and research goes into these colours — they’re reflections of global mood and cultural shifts. Of course, we’re not actually expected to paint our homes in whatever shade Benjamin Moore or Pantone conjures up. 

Colour trends will typically have bigger impacts in digital and print design than on home interiors — items that are more fleeting than our painted walls. But colours of the year inevitably both predict and influence our preferences, and once you are aware of the current trends, you will see them everywhere; in homewares shops and magazines, on Instagram and Pinterest.