Training ground

Dulux’s top colour for 2021, ‘Brave Ground’ evokes the calm of the natural world... ideal for the times. GABRIELLE FAGAN finds out how best to use it

THIS has been a troubled year beset by uncertainty and change, so perhaps it’s no surprise Dulux’s Colour of the Year for 2021 is a warm, comforting clay brown. The brand has selected ‘Brave Ground’ (its name makes it sound more punchy than it looks) as 2021’s key hue – but while it may seem a safe choice, its beauty and appeal lies in the fact that, rather like a chameleon, this is a colour that can adapt to many different settings and palettes and allow them all to shine.

“It’s not a shade that has to hit you between the eyes, rather it’s got this deep, soft, chocolatey feel,” enthuses Marianne Shillingford, creative director at Dulux UK. “I think of it as a colour that almost puts an arm around your shoulder and comforts and reassures.”

The panel of experts who picked Brave Ground believe it “will enable people to draw upon nature, to help them find the courage to embrace the future”.

Certainly, it’s a world away from 2020’s soft green Tranquil Dawn, but it is in line with the growing trend for turning away from cooler tones and greys, and back to more nurturing, subtle tones that conjure cosseting, nurturing spaces.

What is Brave Ground about?

“BRAVE Ground is a warm, organic, versatile neutral that I’d describe as the ‘Mother Earth’ of colours,” says Marianne.

“It won’t step into the limelight because it’s the perfect ‘support act’. Instead of overpowering, it works with different palettes by holding everything together.

“Brave Ground is earthy and empowering, it evokes stability, growth, and will help create peaceful spaces where we feel anchored and grounded.”

How did you decide on Brave Ground?

“THE colours on our walls are the backdrop to how we live our life. For many of us, lockdown has served to emphasise how important our home environment has become,” explains Marianne, who says the shade was chosen before the coronavirus pandemic, but didn’t change as a result of it. “It’s been the place where we work, learn, relax. It can 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 changing circumstances.”

Ready to step forward onto a new decor path? Here, Marianne shows four ways to work Brave Ground into your home and transform your rooms for 2021...