Pink Declared New Neutral by IKEA
IKEA's 2026 Style Guide is declaring pink the new neutral, with designers recommending pink as a staple for walls, furniture, and accessories. This trend is expected to replace traditional beiges and grays with a softer, warmer palette throughout homes.
- The use of pink in interiors dates back centuries, initially associated with luxury and sophistication in European palaces during the 18th-century Rococo era before becoming linked with femininity in the Victorian period. The current trend reframes pink as a gender-neutral color. - IKEA's choice of pink stands in stark contrast to the 2026 Color of the Year selections from major paint companies, which have largely focused on earthy, grounding tones. - For 2026, Sherwin-Williams selected "Universal Khaki," a warm, earthy neutral, while Benjamin Moore chose "Silhouette," a burnt umber shade. Valspar and Behr both opted for shades of green: "Warm Eucalyptus" and "Hidden Gem," respectively. - In a surprising move, the Pantone Color Institute selected an off-white shade called "Cloud Dancer" as its 2026 Color of the Year, marking the first time it has chosen a white. - The declaration of a bold color follows a similar move by the company in the previous year, when IKEA named 'Electric Blue' its Color of the Year for 2025. - The idea of pink as a staple color gained significant traction with the rise of "Millennial Pink," a muted rosy shade that Pantone named "Rose Quartz" in 2016, which helped shift its perception towards a more versatile neutral. - This trend is part of a broader redefinition of "neutral" in interior design, which has seen colors like sage green and other muted natural tones gain popularity as alternatives to beige and gray.
