A Revolution in Color, Pantone's Color of The Year for 2026

Plant For Profits Column, Leslie F. Halleck

Color Needs a Price Perception Makover

Each year designers of all sorts, including landscape and garden designers as well as plant purveyors, look forward to the release of the annual Pantone Color of The Year. It’s always followed by a bevy of social media posts coordinating the color/s with particular plants or plant color palettes for the garden, as well as interior design suggestions.

If you pay attention to such things, you may have noticed that Pantone’s color of the year for 2026 is….white. Just white. Or, white with a hint of cold grey. They call it “Cloud Dancer”.

Snarky Marketing

As you can imagine, there’s been quite a reaction to this color choice. I can personally project any number of potential messages in this choice….is Pantone hoping for a clean slate in 2026? Is this commentary on racism and conformity? Are they projecting or encouraging political neutrality? Are they going for serenity? Are they also just so worn out from life that picking a greyish white was just easier than trying? Have they raised the white flag and just given up? Or, maybe they picked it because it’s the color just about everyone has painted their brick house, me excluded. (Btw if you want to start a fight on Nextdoor white brick is still a hot topic).

They say it is supposed to represent a "fresh start". Given Pantone is following up 2025’s color of the year “Mocha Mousse” -a turd-like shade of brown - with a cold shade of white, I must assume there’s something intentional signaling here. I mean, we can go on and on with the speculation, and I suspect that is exactly what they want. I mean, I’m writing this column about so, there ya go.

There’s a lot of mileage a business can rack up by stirring up negative or contrarian press. Or, perhaps in this case just snarky press. So, I’m not totally surprised Pantone would make such a “controversial” color choice for the new year (much like last year). Picking a lame duck color can get them just as much, if not more, marketing exposure even if the choice is bad.

The choice of “Cloud Dancer” did crinkle my brow though, as design trends of late have been going in quite the opposite direction, with people wanting to reintroduce more color bathing and vibrancy into their homes as a way to boost mood and vibe. The newest popular trends are “Grandmacore” or “Granny Chic” both which use 90s style throwbacks and a lot of color and more traditional patterns. I’m seeing a ton of reverse makeovers online, taking the millennial-gray and white renovations and reversing them with tons of color and “old-fashioned” patterns and furniture.

But I’ve already seen articles popping up from designers to the contrary warning us that color in our homes is “aggressive” and will amp us up and we need to stick to neutrals in order to stay calm. Ladies; we all know we just need to calm down (cite Project 2025), so paint all those walls white, would you?

White = Wealth

From a business perspective, there’s another very important reason why white and neutrals have dominated design choices over the last decade +; quiet luxury. White is psychologically associated with wealth and sophistication. It’s “clean”, if not literally then at least figuratively. Homes and cars that are white or less colorful are perceived as higher end. This is why most of us are forced to bathe our homes in white or all neutral colors when we’re trying to sell them. White paint, tile, or cabinets don’t technically make my house any more valuable…but for whatever reason they contribute to that collective perception.

While there is nothing offensive about white, I also associate it with homogeneity and conformity. Which, I suppose, is the point.

From my own experience in landscape design, horticultural consulting, and in overseeing horticulture operations on some very wealthy private estates for extended periods, I can tell you that the more money someone had, the less flower color they usually wanted in their landscapes; white was typically the color of choice. So, I guess in the societal and political climate of the day, where wealth-chasing seems to have replaced basic human empathy and creativity as the measure of human worth, maybe it is no surprise white would be an appropriate choice for 2026.

Don’t’ get me wrong, white has its place. White gardens can certainly be quite serene and soothing, and there are certainly many beautiful and striking white-flowering plants, or plants with lovely achlorophyllous white variegation. I have loads of white ‘Infinity’ bearded Iris in my garden and it’s the first cultivar to bloom each spring. I also have a black fence and white flowers certainly do pop in contrast.

Living spaces bathed in white can feel calming (at least for a little while), but they can also start to make me edgy and read cold, stark, and sterile…as well as signal a total lack of personality. Elevated, yet apart.

A Revolution in Color

That said, I’ve noticed that people who actually love to garden and care for plants hands-on generally like to mix things up a bit; and tend to get bored of all-white sooner than later. I’ve had to go white and neutral with most things in my home, as I prepare to sell it. While I can initially appreciate the neutrality and the clean feel, I also feel like my surroundings have entirely lost any and all personality and energy. I’ve had to do something similar with my entire landscape, and yep…there are a lot of white pansies out there right now.

I guess if your goal is to have a very neutral and non-offensive, non-aggressive year in 2026, “Cloud Dancer” may be your answer. You could also take advantage of this opportunity to maximize your pricing and sales with high-end landscape and garden design customers who prioritize projecting wealth and status. This is certainly their color.

Or, perhaps there’s a bit of revolution to be had this coming year in bucking conformity by simply bringing some color back into your life, and those of your customers. Color just needed a price perception makeover: I don’t know about you, but I plan to aggressively surround myself with a lot more color in the New Year. If you need some permission to cut loose with color, you got it.

Just don’t expect to see any red and yellow combos in my garden anytime soon. I’m not that nuts.