Forget Pastels: This Spring, Saturate Your Home with Nature’s Deeper Hues 

By Elizabeth Wulfhorst

Spring brings the yellow of daffodils and forsythia, the pale purple of crocuses, the pink of bleeding heart and the bright blue of grape hyacinth – a panoply of pastel colors that wake the senses from a winter of bare trees and muted hues.

This spring’s color and style trends are in line with that idea of renewal and rebirth, but in a much less Easter-eggy way, with shades that are deep, rich and saturated – calling to mind a forest floor, a lush jungle and a starless night sky – and bold, abstract patterns and textures. 

According to Pantone, the color guru company, 2025’s “palettes span from the most classic neutrals to the most innovative of backlit brights, reflecting an essential bond between humans, animals, and fauna.”

What that means is hues and designs drenched in nature, reminiscent of the outdoors – mossy greens, muddy browns, deep indigo blues and neutrals like cream, beige and putty.

“Patterns are very big” this year, too, said interior designer Teri Lodato of Riverside Interiors, LLC, but in a more abstract way. Gone are stripes, polka dots and plaids and in are patterns that simply hint at shapes without being obvious – think animal prints, amoebas, vines – “lending themselves to that earthy kind of natural environment that we’re trying to evoke,” Lodato said. 

The trend is not for the timid, someone who is shy with color or pattern, either. Color drenching or painting everything in a room – walls, ceilings and trim – with the same or similar palette is very popular right now. These palettes should be embraced wholeheartedly.

In addition to color and pattern, “metallic is really in vogue for this time of year, too,” she said. Bronze, gold and pewter all work well with these saturated tones.

Making the Trends Work for You

So, how can you bring these trends into your home? “It really depends on your existing style,” Lodato said, but one of the best ways to start is with paint. “Paint is relatively inexpensive in the scope of things,” she said. “So I think if you painted a room or did an accent wall, something that’s going to grab the attention of the room, it’s going to create a focal point… and could absolutely change the vibe of a room, really give it a lot of dimension and interest.”

Benjamin Moore’s Color of the Year is Cinnamon Slate, “a delicate mix of heathered plum and velvety brown,” according to its website. It coordinates well with creams and beiges so it could make the perfect accent wall if your current paint choice is already neutral.

Another way to adopt the trend is with a large area rug which Lodato likens to “laying down a foundation.”

“You’re not going to get that impact with a light fixture or with lamps. You really have to invest in something large enough where it’s going to set the tone for the room.”

Another way to make an impact is with draperies – not an inexpensive investment – which is something substantial enough to change the vibe in the room. Many of the bold patterns popular now lend themselves to draperies because the pattern has room to breathe. “You might not get the same impact on a throw pillow,” Lodato explained, because the surface usually isn’t big enough to show enough of the pattern.

Not Ready to Commit?

It is an interior designer’s job to look at the big picture and ensure all the elements in a room work together. But what if you don’t have the budget for a total room makeover? There are still ways to make these trends part of your design scheme with smaller accessories; they just might not have the same effect. A print that conjures nature, bowls and linens with splashes of those deep hues, a table runner woven through with metallic threads can all help update a room for not a lot of money.

At Forge, a home goods store in Red Bank that offers products made to last by artisans from around the country, you can find many items that fit the bill. Owner Alexandra Montaperto even suggests the literal version of bringing nature into your home: She collected a beautiful piece of bark that she uses in the store to showcase jewelry for sale, a practice easily imitated in the home to hold place cards, photos or your own trinkets.

The article originally appeared in the March 13 – 19, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.