Brave Ground: Dulux's 2021 Colour of the Year divides opinion on social media

The Dulux Colour of the Year for 2021 has dropped and it might not be what you were expecting.

In a step away from last year’s soft, pastel green hue, Tranquil Dawn, experts from the paint company have chosen Brave Ground, a neutral brown shade, as the must-have colour for 2021.

“A warm, natural neutral, Brave Ground, brings a bolstering, balancing feel to any room,” Dulux said of the colour.

“Every year, our colour specialists, plus a team of top international design experts discuss the latest global trends that will affect every area of our lives.

“We then translate these insights into one key colour that reflects the mood of the moment – a tone that’s set to have an impact on homes all over the world.”

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Marianne Shillingford, creative director at Dulux UK described the shade as “the mother earth of colours, it's organic, familiar and versatile.

“It’s also trustworthy and supportive of all the other colours in the spectrum.”

Shillingford explains that coronavirus lockdown has meant our homes have become even more important to us.

“The colours on our walls are the backdrop to how we live our life,” she explains. “For many of us, lockdown has served to emphasise how important our home environment has become, it has been the place where we work, learn, relax. It can lift us up, nurture us, comfort us.

“We continue to live through uncertain times. In 2021, the warm and grounding tones of Brave Ground will allow us to find certainty in the strength from the very ground beneath our feet, emboldening us to go forward and begin to live again and giving us the flex to adapt to the ever changing circumstances we face.”

But despite the colour experts identifying the shade as the colour that will “enable people to draw upon the strength of nature to help them find the courage to embrace the future,” some social media users weren’t sure the brown/grey shade was the best choice to offer hope for a brighter 2021.

Over on Instagram, interiors blogger @pinkhouseliving wrote an open letter to Dulux expressing her disappointment at the colour choice.

It read: “Dear Dulux, sorry to say but I don't think choosing the next 'colour of the year' to match the s**t show that is 2020 is the way forward.

“If you'd involved me in your selection process I'd have steered WELL clear of anything brown/beige/depressing.

“You've gone for Brave Ground (!) because apparently this particular shade of dull brown will 'embolden us to go forward and begin to live again'. Really Dulux? REALLY?”

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Despite some trepidation about the colour pick, others were much more positive, with many expressing love for the shade, describing it as “warm”, “calming” and “lovely”.

“Yes!!! Have been looking for this exact colour for our home,” one fan wrote on Instagram.

“Warm and delicious,” another person agreed.

“It’s the most perfect neutral and I love the rationale behind it,” another fan commented.