Global Color Forecast: What Tones the Elite Are Bringing into Their Homes This Year

By Katie Renné, Founder/Lead Designer of Wanderlust Home Interiors

If you thought luxury living was about playing it safe with whites, greiges, and taupes — darling, think again. This year, the world’s most discerning tastemakers are rewriting the rules of color, and trust me, the new palette is anything but predictable.

After months jetting between Paris penthouses, Marrakech riads, and Malibu compounds, one thing is clear: color is having a comeback — but it's curated, intentional, and deeply personal. The global elite are no longer interested in showroom-perfect spaces. They're craving soul, heritage, and emotion — and the colors flooding their homes reflect exactly that.

Let’s dive into the shades setting the standard for true luxury in 2025:

1. Smoked Saffron

Forget flat neutrals. This year’s "new neutral" is a burnished, sun-baked saffron — think ancient markets in Jaipur, but toned down with a dusky, smoky undertone. It’s bold without screaming, sophisticated without trying too hard. Perfect for moody lounges, library nooks, or statement ceilings.

2. Cerulean Dream

The Hamptons navy is officially tired. The world’s jet set is embracing a fresher blue: cerulean kissed by a hint of gray mist. It whispers of yacht decks off Capri, afternoon swims in the Aegean, and impossibly perfect skies over Ibiza. We’re seeing it lacquered high-gloss in dining rooms and velvet-wrapped around sleek, modern sofas.

3. Verdant Obsidian

Green isn’t going anywhere — but it's evolving. This year’s green is deep, mysterious, and mineral — like the wet moss clinging to Scottish castle stones. Verdant Obsidian plays beautifully against charcoals, rich leathers, and blackened woods. The daring are using it for enveloping entryways and dramatic powder rooms that leave guests speechless.

4. Oxblood Revival

Not your grandmother’s burgundy — this is Oxblood with an edge: raw, unapologetic, sexy. The elite are pairing this sultry tone with brushed brass fixtures, artisan marbles, and cutting-edge art collections. I’m specifying it for oversized headboards, moody dining rooms, and even custom kitchen cabinetry for clients who want their homes to feel like a curated private club.

5. Pale Pistachio

Light, but not lightweight. Soft greens have matured from "spa bathroom" into sophisticated, whisper-thin statements. Pale Pistachio is fresh without being naïve — perfect for layered monochromatic looks in layered textiles, artisanal tilework, and buttery leather upholstery.

Beyond Color: The Why Behind the Palette

These colors aren’t random. They reflect a larger shift: a hunger for authenticity, for experiences that feel earned, storied, and deeply personal. My most sophisticated clients don’t want spaces that feel "decorated" — they want sanctuaries that feel lived-in, loved, layered.

Luxury now is about storytelling. About having the confidence to let color pulse through a space like a heartbeat — subtle when it needs to be, breathtaking when it counts.

This year, if you're serious about creating interiors that don’t just impress, but haunt, seduce, and linger in the mind long after guests leave — these are the colors you’ll be living (and dreaming) in.

And trust me: fortune favors the bold.