How to Celebrate Spring with the Pantone Color of the Year
Since 2000, the Pantone Color Institute has announced a color of the year that captures the present culture and gives it a color identity. To determine the right hue for the moment, the selection team carefully combs through numerous industries, cultural events, and socioeconomic conditions. And for 2023, that color is Viva Magenta 18-1750.
This spirited shade is inspired by cochineal dye, a deep red hue used to produce scarlet, crimson, orange, and other tints, and how many people have embraced plants and florals in their homes. “This year’s Color of the Year is powerful and empowering. It is a new animated red that revels in pure joy, encouraging experimentation and self-expression without restraint, an electrifying, and a boundaryless shade that is manifesting as a standout statement. Viva Magenta welcomes anyone and everyone with the same verve for life and rebellious spirit. It is a color that is audacious, full of wit and inclusive of all,” Pantone says.
This makes Viva Magenta a perfect color to usher in the vibrancy of spring. Here are some ways to “magenta-fy” various areas of your home.
Living room
Before you start panicking about living in a magenta room, relax—you don’t have to pick up a paintbrush or transform the space into a Barbie Dreamhouse to embrace Pantone’s vivid shade. Instead, go bold with a midcentury-modern armchair in sumptuous magenta velvet, like this one from Apt2B. Or accessorize with a magenta-framed mirror for your foyer or a magenta lamp on an end table to inject some pop into your space. If those are still too permanent for your sensibilities, try out an embroidered throw pillow with fuchsia hues from Wayfair for the sofa.
Bathroom
If you are game for a bigger project, a small bathroom is the perfect place to try some peel-and-stick wallpaper. You don’t even need to do every wall to get the effect. Spoonflower carries a “Magnificent Fungi” pattern that would win over any mushroom lover. Plus, its linen texture, and the fact that it’s cleanable, make it ideal for a bathroom.
Bedroom
For a noncommittal nod to magenta, experiment with the color as an element of your bedding. Grab a fringed cashmere throw from Williams Sonoma to add softness and texture to your bedroom, or purchase a set of magenta sheets and let the vibrant color peek out the top of your duvet. If you’d rather your bright colors be underneath your feet, test out an abstract rug, such as this one that has shapes in spring shades like lime, peach, and, of course, Viva Magenta. An art print featuring the reddish hue would also be a punchy addition to your bedroom wall.
Kitchen
Maximalists, your moment has arrived! A magenta kitchen is not for the faint of heart, but color psychology actually supports such a dream space, as red hues stimulate your appetite. Paint your cabinets magenta and make a statement that you aren’t afraid to embrace boldness. Now, what about people who aren’t ready to bathe their entire kitchen in the color of 1980s lipstick? Grab this sassy colander by Prep & Savour (and give yourself a reason to make pasta a lot more often), or brighten up your kitchen utensils holder with some hot pink spatulas like these.
Front door
Nothing says curb appeal like a Viva Magenta front door. If you’ve played it safe with your home so far, this is the year to embrace your creative expression. For a subtler way to celebrate the color, swap out your old welcome mat for this geometric maze mat from West Elm to celebrate the color in a subtler way.
Dining Room
A dining room table bursting with the color of magenta is a perfect way to usher in spring. Lucky for you, there are flowers that grow naturally in this crimson tone, including dahlias, roses, orchids, and peonies. Use a handful of clear vases to highlight these carmine-hued blooms as the centerpiece of the table. For the cherry on top, set out these felt coasters in a bordeaux colorway.
There is something uplifting about any shade of red, but this hue feels especially hopeful. Like spring, it represents new life and the will to keep persevering. As Pantone says, “Viva Magenta is a transformative red tone capable of driving design to create a more positive future.” Embrace this color in your home, and see for yourself.
