Two For Joy

Most of us celebrated this New Year quietly and restricted - less party and more sofa. A sombre affair after the year that 2020 shaped into. But it was also a poignant moment, one of optimism and new perspectives for 2021 - the year that everyone hopes will be better than 2020 (can’t be that hard can it?!) - full of more gratitude for what we have and more drive for new potential. And so, it’s a fitting time to look at Pantone for its Color of the Year 2021, and this year we are being treated to not one but two soul warming colours: Ultimate Gray and Illuminating.

The idea behind these two colours is to encourage optimism, strength and hope, and despite some criticism of these colour choices, we at N + B are fully behind the decision! Neither are too bright or bold, they don’t dominate or clash. What they are both very capable of doing individually is to create a sense of warmth, cosiness, lightness and calm. On top of this they are both incredibly multi-tonal and can be translated into different shades of the same colour. It’s this beautiful ability to adapt to its own environment that is reflected in the strong nature of human beings we have seen this past year.

Tile

As huge fans of these colours, it’s fun for us to dive into them and give them the attention they deserve!

Grey Gray is so effortless and elegant with an expanding breadth of tones and shades. You can do wonderful things with tone-on-tone and it can be the softest neutral to mix with colour rather than black or white.

And this sweet Mellow Yellow will never go out of fashion - for some it’s a safe way to incorporate yellow into their interiors, for others it’s that permanent smile they have in their room. One that won’t take over but works harmoniously with a spectrum of colours.

Fired Earth

We wish you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year - remember to hold onto joy, and don’t miss out on a good buy! Shopping edit here -

Ultimate Gray
Illuminating
Nadine Barkho