DESIGN

We at Team ORC are thrilled to announce that the official One Room Challenge® 2026 Color of the Year is...

Whatever color you want it to be!

Last week, Pantone announced their 2026 Color of the Year: Cloud Dancer. The response has been massive, and has consisted of, from what we've seen, mostly eye rolling. There has never been a response to the Color of the Year announcement quite like the one we saw last week. If you've missed it, just head over to Instagram or TikTok and search "Pantone Color of the Year" for seemingly infinite video commentary on Pantone's... interesting selection.

As much as we at Team ORC agree that white was a questionable choice for Color of the Year, our objection to Pantone's Color of the Year would remain regardless of the actual color chosen. Our aspiration is instead to abolish the idea of any "color of the year" altogether.

Now, we obviously hold no sway at Pantone and would not presume to tell them how to run their color monopoly. We as a community of design-lovers can, however, decide how we want to think and talk about color.

The speed of the trend cycle is already so out of control, and crowning a new "it" color every year is just a means to artificially speed it up. It's consumerism dressed up as creativity, attempting to convince us we need to repaint perfectly good rooms because last year's shade is suddenly passé. To put it plainly: we believe the premise of a "color of the year" is, at its core, just a way to separate you from your money.

Why we’re opting out

We're firm believers that everyone should just use colors they love, no matter what happens to be trending. That's why the One Room Challenge Color of the Year is whatever color you want surrounding you in your space.

The idea of a Color of the Year is ultimately unsustainable and exhausting. Ignore color trends, surround yourself with colors you love, and your space will be timeless.

Cheers to choosing your own colors in 2026!