This Is the No. 1 Color Scheme of Summer, According to Interior Designers

Sun, Jun 22 2025

/

Home

Business News

Computer and Electronics

Finance Insights

Health

Home and Garden

Law and Government

Science and Technology

Online Communities

Beauty and Fitness

Internet and Telecom

Cryptocurrency

This Is the No. 1 Color Scheme of Summer, According to Interior Designers

Interior designers have crowned soft, sunwashed earth tones—like sage green, warm sand, and pale stone—as the top color scheme for summer 2025. Paired with natural textures and minimalistic accents, these hues offer a calm, grounded aesthetic perfect for warm-weather interiors.

Sultan Sikander

June 20, 2025

5Min Reads

This Is the No. 1 Color Scheme of Summer, According to Interior Designers

Home and Garden

The Spirit of Summer Rendered in Color

Summer 2025 is not loud. It does not burst into the room with jarring contrast or call for glittering spectacle. It arrives quietly, on bare feet, like wind through linen curtains—sunwashed, softened by time, and warm like river-worn stone. This is the mood that defines the dominant color scheme of this summer, as identified by interior designers and décor forecasters across the globe.

According to leading designers and studio collectives consulted throughout June, the singular, reigning palette of this season is built on sunwashed earth tones. These include soft sage green, dusty ecru, sandy beige, warm clay, and the pale pumice grey of stones baked under Mediterranean sun. The hues evoke harmony, restraint, and rootedness.

This direction is not born from sudden revolution but rather the evolution of design's post-pandemic identity—where wellness, sanctuary, and sustainability have become not just themes but imperatives. And nowhere is this seen more clearly than in color.

A Return to Earth: Why Now?

The popularity of this grounded, earth-first palette reflects a larger emotional and psychological shift. Designers say that homeowners are no longer seeking interiors that impress at first glance but spaces that soothe at every turn. Color, as the first design choice felt in any room, must now signal comfort.

“Sage is the new neutral,” says famed designer Delilah Anjou of Paris–based Atelier Lumière. “It’s no longer white or grey. Green gives life without needing attention. It feels real.”

Colors that come from nature—washed down by time and sun—serve as a visual language of safety and stillness. Beige has shed its dated reputation and reemerged as a sophisticated foundation tone when layered properly with textures like raw linen, tumbled wood, and aged metal.

Ecru, once dismissed as the color of indecision, now reigns in moodboards due to its ability to balance light without glare, warmth without saturation.

Materials That Support the Palette

The 2025 sunwashed aesthetic extends beyond paint to the tactile:

Natural wood with open grain, like ash and bleached oak
Linen in its raw, wrinkled state, allowing light to refract naturally
Terracotta and unglazed ceramic finishes, which offer depth without gloss
Brushed brass and aged bronze, which reflect light warmly, rather than harshly

Designers are pairing these tones with stone-like finishes, including travertine, limewash walls, and reclaimed flooring that offers patina and irregularity—inviting memory and imperfection into the design language.

The Psychology of Sunwashed Tones

There’s a psychological serenity that comes with these tones. According to environmental psychologists, colors like sage and sand support mental decompression, slow breathing, and a feeling of rootedness.

Unlike bright whites—which can feel clinical—or deep jewel tones—which often over-command the room—these hues invite the dweller to inhabit rather than perform. They create spaces for recovery, meditation, sleep, and creativity.

“There’s a spiritual humility to a sage-green wall or a sandstone cushion,” remarks designer Amal Ibrihim from Marrakech. “It says: you can exhale here.”

Where the Palette Is Appearing

Across the home, these hues are dominating spaces in a versatile yet consistent fashion:

Living rooms: Large neutral sofas in oat-colored bouclé, sage throws, and clay-toned accent chairs
Kitchens: Ecru cabinetry with matte bronze hardware, stone backsplashes, and unpainted wood shelving
Bedrooms: Sand-toned linen bedding, olive green accent walls, raw wood nightstands
Bathrooms: Pumice stone tile, minimalist brushed metal faucets, soft cream towels

In open-plan homes, this palette offers fluidity. Rooms no longer compete for attention—they relate to each other in hushed dialogue. Designers call it “color harmony in motion.”

Urban and Rural: A Universal Appeal

Interestingly, this palette is uniting urban lofts and countryside villas in a way rarely seen before. City apartments in Tokyo, Paris, and Toronto are embracing the calm minimalism of sunwashed tones, using them to soften industrial materials like concrete and steel.

Meanwhile, farmhouses in Provence, the Hudson Valley, and the Punjab are rediscovering the dignity of their earthen roots, using clay and stone tones to reconnect with their natural landscapes.

“Whether you’re looking out at olive groves or traffic,” says British designer Jules Ray, “these tones help you return to yourself.”

Complementary Colors and Contrast

To avoid monochrome fatigue, designers are introducing soft pops and complementary accents:

Berry tones like mulberry and raspberry used sparingly in artwork or throw pillows
Seafoam blue and citrine glassware on neutral table settings
Blackened bronze or charcoal as subtle grounding agents in light-dominated rooms

Patterns are introduced with restraint: muted checks, handwoven stripes, and antique rug motifs that carry history without overpowering the present.

Sunwashed and Sustainable

Another factor driving this trend is the movement toward eco-conscious interiors. These earthy tones pair seamlessly with recycled materials, natural fibers, and vintage furniture.

Because the palette is timeless, homeowners are less likely to redecorate with each trend cycle, reducing waste. It supports slower living, long-term thinking, and values-based design.

Designers also report a growing interest in lime-based paints, natural mineral pigments, and handmade tiles—materials that are both sustainable and beautifully imperfect.

The Future Beyond Summer

While this may be the color scheme of Summer 2025, its longevity is expected to extend well into next year and possibly the entire decade. Its appeal lies not in novelty, but in deep familiarity—the kind found in ancient landscapes, aged pottery, and quiet moments of stillness.

As people across the world continue seeking stability and serenity in their homes, this palette offers more than just visual ease. It offers symbolic return: to the earth, to the past, and to ourselves.

Closing Note

In a time where overstimulation is the default and silence is rare, the sunwashed earth tone palette of 2025 whispers its way into interiors—not demanding, not dazzling, but deeply grounding. In its warm shadows and softened corners, the home becomes again what it was always meant to be: a place of peace.