Dulux has released its 2026 colour forecast, and the theme this year is warmth and connection. There are three palettes: Evoke, with earthy pinks, warm golds and deeper accent shades; Elemental, built on warm whites and neutrals; and Ethereal, a softer collection of gentle greens, mauves and blush pinks. Not every shade in the Dulux 2026 colour forecast suits Western Australia. Our light is bright and harsh, most of our homes are brick, and a colour that looks gentle in a showroom on the east coast can look flat or washed out in a Perth living room at four in the afternoon. As Dulux accredited painters who have worked on hundreds of Perth homes, here is our take on what works.
The three palettes at a glance
Evoke is the bold one. It leans into vintage, maximalist style with rich, comforting tones: Baked Clay, Magic Melon, Wink, Topelo Honey, Chocolate Treat and Deep Aqua, softened by Snowy Mountains Half. Elemental is the calm one, described by Dulux as a grounded counterbalance to the overwhelm of modern life. It runs from Hog Bristle Quarter and Blended Cream through Phantom Beige and Stone Master to darker accents like Coffee Dust and Red Mane. Ethereal is the playful one, with soft mid-tones such as Aroma, Blue Shell, Different Pink and Kindness, anchored by Natural White and the deep green of Amazon Depths.
You can see every colour in each palette on the Dulux 2026 Colour Forecast page. The question for a WA home is which of these shades will still look right once they are on your walls under our sun.
What suits Perth light and brick
The Elemental palette is the safe bet for most Perth homes, and that is not a criticism. Warm whites and neutrals like Hog Bristle Quarter and Blended Cream sit comfortably next to red and orange face brick, limestone and jarrah, and they hold their colour under strong light where cooler whites turn blue and clinical. If you have a double brick home from the seventies or eighties and want the interior to feel current without fighting the brick, start here. Stone Master and Coffee Dust make good accents on a front door, garage door or eaves, and Better Homes and Gardens has some useful exterior scheme ideas if you are thinking about the outside as well.
Evoke is where WA homes can be braver than people expect. Baked Clay, Topelo Honey and Chocolate Treat pick up the tones that are already in our brick and our landscape, so they feel like they belong rather than like a trend that has been imported. Earthy pinks and warm golds look best in rooms that get soft morning light or evening light, such as a bedroom, dining room or a study. Keep the deeper accents like Deep Aqua and Red Jacks to a single wall or a piece of joinery. One practical note: dark colours on north and west facing exterior walls take a beating from UV in Perth, so save the drama for inside or for shaded elevations.
Ethereal is the palette to be careful with. Its soft greens, mauves and blush pinks are lovely in a south facing room or a bedroom with filtered light. In a big west facing living area with white tiles, the same colours can wash out to almost nothing by mid afternoon. If you love the look, go one or two shades deeper on the Dulux strip than the forecast suggests, and test it on the wall before committing.
Before and after: how a palette changes a room
The biggest transformations we see are not from the boldest colours. They come from swapping a cool grey or a stark white for a warm neutral, then adding one considered accent. A family room that felt cold and grey becomes warm and settled with Hog Bristle Quarter on the walls and Coffee Dust on the fireplace surround. A dated pink brick feature wall stops being an eyesore when the surrounding walls move to Blended Cream and the trims to a warm white. You can see examples of what a well chosen scheme does to a Perth home in our project gallery.
Our advice is simple. Pick your palette, then buy sample pots of three or four shades and paint large patches on two different walls. Look at them in the morning, at midday and in the evening with the lights on before you decide. Every residential painting quote we accept comes with a free colour consultation with a colour consultant, so if you would like a hand narrowing the Dulux 2026 colour forecast down to the shades that will work in your home, get in touch and we will walk through it with you.
