Pantone Colour of the Year – Mocha Mousse

For 2025, the Pantone Colour Institute has named Mocha Mousse as their Colour of the Year. Mocha Mousse is a rich brown described as “nurturing us with its suggestion of the delectable qualities of chocolate and coffee and answering our desire for comfort.”

It’s the first time Pantone has selected a brown tone for this honour, and although the decision hasn’t escaped criticism by haters, to me it doesn’t come as a surprise. Mocha Mousse brings a sophisticated, earthy elegance that works beautifully on its own or as a versatile base. Whether you’re drawn to minimalist vibes or love designs with rich detail, this can be your new go-to colour.

Mocha Mousse is no stranger to the catwalks either, prominently featured in numerous collections, as silk, satin, leather, and suede. Hailey Beiber is a fan, recently seen out and about in a powdery brown, long trench coat with caramel collar and black buttons.

The colour’s adaptability is the key to its success, working as a neutral against darker skin tones, or as a contrast when combined with powder blue, turquoise or pink. This also makes it perfect for beauty products, with Bella Hadid showing off a ‘Mocha Mousse manicure’ whilst promoting her new perfume line on Instagram in January. Manicurists favour the shade’s warm undertones, saying it creates a nail polish that’s suitable for many different skin tones and for wearing at any time of the year.

The choice of brown as ‘colour of the year’ reflects a cultural shift towards appreciating simple pleasures, connecting with nature and being comfortable with who we are, whilst its link to chocolate and coffee, evokes an association with items of luxury and elegance.

If you’re keen to be on-trend, then add leather furniture, clay vases or painted brown walls and panelling to your home. In a world where everything had become quite grey, rediscover a love for brown. Mocha Mousse blends well with natural materials so is a perfect partner for exposed brickwork, wood and stone. It also looks incredible when used as a backdrop for copper.

Install copper handles on rich brown cupboards. Using brown tones will bring warmth to your interior without over complicating it.

If you’re unsure, start with small, easy to swap out accessories – blankets, cushions, vases, candles, picture frames or rugs. Ruggable have a great range of well-priced, washable rugs ideal for experimenting with the colour. Type ‘brown’ into the Ruggable search box on their website and you will receive over 400 results. If a rug does not work for you, then paint an accent wall or relocate an individual piece of brown furniture, dabble with some wallpaper or test out removable de-cals.

If you are feeling more confident, then change bedding, curtains or upholstery. We’re just waiting for some out-of-stock fabric to become available from Colefax and Fowler, then we’ll have a chocolate brown sofa featuring as the centrepiece of our new showroom displays.

In a kitchen or bathroom, add the colour as towels, dishcloths or placemats. Small appliances can also be bought in the shade – try a kettle, mixer or toaster. Soap dispensers, bathmats and toothbrush holders can also be used to add in the colour.

The key is to remember to test it first – especially regarding paint – where the light of a space might make the colour look different during the altering times of the day. And less is more – make sure you introduce Mocha Mousse in a balanced way, don’t let it become overpowering. And then finally, and most importantly, be sure to blend it with your own style. Whatever your favoured aesthetic is, stay true to what you love and only add brown if you feel it’s needed and brings you a sense of comfort and joy.