Dulux reveals this is the perfect colour to create a happy home in 2022 – and we can’t get enough of it

The Dulux Colour of the year 2022 is literally a breath of fresh air waiting to be added to your home. While last year's colour focused on keeping us grounded, this year is all about embracing optimism in your home and looking to the sky.

The paint trend selected by the experts to epitomise our homes in 2022 is Bright Skies, an airy light blue shade designed to capture the hopeful mood of the moment. After the bright and rich shades of the last two years, a return to a light optimistic blue is a welcome change and one the team at Ideal Home can't wait to embrace in their bedroom colour schemes and beyond.

Dulux Colour of the Year 2022 Bright Skies

'As a big fan of the outdoors I’m loving the freshness of Bright Skies. It’s perfect for 2022 with its feeling of optimism,' says Heather Young, Ideal Home Editor. 'I’m on the hunt for a wall colour for my bedroom at the moment. Blue wasn’t on the table but now I’m very tempted to give Bright Skies a try.'

'It's a lighter, brighter and more refreshing colour than that of last year's Brave Ground, yet it still has a deep connection to nature,' adds Tamara Kelly, Ideal Home Digital Editor. 'It pairs so beautifully with a whole range of accent colours, is this the new alternative to light grey?'

Many of us have been turning to shades such as blue in our home office ideas and bedroom ideas thanks to its connotations of offering peace and serenity. However, its connection to the outdoors also makes it the perfect colour choice to give your mood a boost at home.

'Right now, people want to feel revitalised and enjoy the freedoms that are returning to them, to look out and bring in new ideas. What better inspiration can we take than the endless skies around us?' says Marianne Shillingford, Creative Director of Dulux UK.

'It is widely known that nature makes us feel better and taking steps to bring the outside in enhances our sense of wellbeing. So whether we are working or relaxing, creating or exercising, it is essential to have a space that reflects the optimism and desire for a fresh, new start that is top of the agenda for the year ahead.'

'However, Bright Skies™ is not about idle day-dreaming. It is about turning those dreams into reality and forging ahead with the changes that we want to make.'

How to use the Dulux Colour of the Year 2022 in your home

If you are keen to add Bright Skies to your home Marianne Shillingford, Creative Director of Dulux says the best place isn't on your walls but your ceiling.

'If you use this colour on the ceiling you don't have to commit to the walls. It just makes that ceiling melt away, it just fills a room with a breath of fresh air,' she says.

'I absolutely believe when people put it on the ceiling and can see what it can do that's going to be an amazing revolution.'

'I'm going to paint it on the ceiling of my bedroom. In fact, I'm going to immerse my bedroom, watch this space,' she adds.

How is the colour of the year selected?

The Dulux Colour of the Year 2022 Bright Skies was selected by a panel of design, fashion and colour experts. It was heavily influenced by the events of the last few years, homes dealing with the aftermath of three lockdowns and many of us craving freedom and a return to nature.

Even the process by which the colour is usually selected had to be changed due to the pandemic. For the first time in 19 years, rather than attending the Global Aesthetics Centre, where the colour is chosen, the group gathered online for a virtual summit.

'Over the past 19 years, we’ve seen a dramatic shift from a concentration on brighter tones to an emphasis on neutrals,' Heleen van Gent, head of the AkzoNobel Global Aesthetics Centre.

'This year, however, vibrant colours and light tones are re-emerging – a reflection, perhaps of our need for positivity and a fresh approach. After a spell of feeling shut-in, we crave expansion – the great outdoors. The 37 curated colours in this year’s collection help to make it easy to choose on-trend shades.'

What colours go with Bright Skies?

Four colour palettes have been built around the versatile Bright Skies - Greenhouse, Studio, Workshop and Salon. Each palette is starkly different from each other demonstrating the genius of this year's colour of the year at adapting to different spaces.

The Greenhous palette showcases fresh greens, paired with the lovely blues. If you're a houseplant fan then Bright Skies is the surprising, but perfect backdrop shade to make your green babies pop.

While Salon and workshop feature more muted shades for a grown-up spin on blue, the Studio colour palette really caught our eye. Partnering the pale blue of Bright Skies with reds, oranges and pinks, it is an unexpected and modern colour combination for blue bedroom ideas we can't get enough of.

Will you be trying Bright Skies in your home?