Neutral tones dominate as colors of the year. Here’s how to use them.

When Mocha Mousse was named Pantone’s color of the year, interior designer Audrey Frances Doty was excited. “I feel like for 2025, it’s all about warmth. It’s all about having that really cozy space, especially in your home,” says Doty, founder of Audrey Frances Design, a residential and commercial interior design firm based in Atlanta.

Paint companies such as Behr and Benjamin Moore similarly named warm earth tones as their colors of the year — Rumors, a deep ruby red, and plum-brown Cinnamon Slate respectively — bringing home the sense of comfort we all seek. Sherwin-Willams presents a color capsule comprising an array of shades such as deep brown Grounded, golden Bosc Pear and stormy gray-blue Rain Cloud.

Wellness is at the top of everyone’s minds, and nothing brings a spa feeling to the home quite like soothing earth tones. Here’s how to use them:

Bring on the paint

When it comes to painting walls in dreamy tones such as Mocha Mousse, don’t hold back. “I want this room to feel rich while also evoking a feeling of relaxation,” says Doty, who envisions painting her clients’ living rooms in the subtle brown. She’s also painting a client’s primary bedroom in Cinnamon Slate to create a warm, cozy retreat.

Bolder colors, such as Rumors, may intimidate, but they make sense for a smaller space like a powder room. “I love to do bold colors like this in powder rooms because this is a space where you’re not spending a whole lot of time in it,” says Joyce Huston of Decorilla, an online interior design company. “Even your guests, they only see it for a few minutes.”

Try tile

Tile is another great way to incorporate these colors. “The nice thing about Mocha Mousse is it’s a good base color,” says Tobi Wright, founder of the New York-based design firm Inside Wright. “It’s a really neutral, warm, inviting base color. And then you just build on top of that,” she says. The same could be said about colors like Cinnamon Slate and hues within the capsule collection, such as Malabar and Sunbleached. Consider using terracotta flooring, like the hexagonal Terra Pompeii Marron Brown from TileBar, or create a textural backsplash using Ceramica Bardelli’s “stick” tile in cotto. Cotto (which is derived from the Italian word “terracotta” or “baked earth”) tiles are handcrafted from clay, and loved for their earthy textures and natural muted tones. In Atlanta, Doty is lining a client’s shower in a light terracotta.

Embrace your artsy side

For those hesitant to deck out their walls, Wright likes incorporating artwork. “I think art is probably the easiest way and the least committed way to bring color into a home, because it’s so easy to change,” Wright says. She suggests looking to anything from paintings and sculptural art to ceramic pieces.

Sprinkle in decorative accents

You don’t have to go all in to enjoy the colors of the year. A fun and easy way to use them is through decorative pieces, like accent chairs, pillows and drapes. The colors chartreuse and maroon, similar to Rumors, make excellent pops in otherwise neutral rooms. “It draws your eye, and it just makes the room look so much more sophisticated, and it adds to the room,” Huston says.

Don’t be afraid to be bold, though. “I just feel like, if you were to go all in with Rumors where it’s this really deep purple red, and you go with all sorts of neutral cream, white furniture, it would be glorious,” Wright says.