Pantone's 2025 Color of the Year Is Here
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During Pantone’s Color of the Year selection process, there’s usually some back and forth about the hue most deserving of the title. But for 2025, the team swiftly aligned on Mocha Mousse (Pantone 17-1230). The warm, mellow brown reflects a desire for nourishment in every facet of our lives, especially through simple pleasures.
“Mocha Mousse expresses a level of thoughtful indulgence,” Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, tells House Beautiful. “It's not just indulging ourselves and treating ourselves, which we deserve, but also the possibility of sharing it with others.”
Those occasions can take many forms. “Everybody has their moments that they look forward to, whether it's that coffee or tea break during the day, taking a walk with your dog, calling your mom, taking a walk with your friend, going out into nature—just those moments that give you pleasure,” adds Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute.
While brown was once seen “as purely a country shade, very rustic in feeling,” Eiseman says we’ve moved beyond that impression of the color family into something more elegant. With a softness similar to Pantone’s 2024 Color of the Year Peach Fuzz, Mocha Mousse is a comforting neutral that can be woven into an array of styles for a lush yet classic touch. But it also has an organic quality, which honors nature.
Interior designers have recently expressed their affection for brown, including Robert Novogratz who used to hate it as a paint color but now finds it’s his favorite. When painted on walls, Mocha Mousse can envelop a room in warmth. But if you’re not looking to repaint your house, Pantone collaborated with brands, like Spoonflower and Joybird, to create patterned wallpaper, sofas, upholstered bed frames, throw pillows, and more. The global color authority even took it a step further this year by launching a home fragrance called Mocha Moments with Pura, should you want to smell it instead. Or you can incorporate it in accents, like ceramics and glassware, for other additions on the subtle side.
When it comes to pairing Mocha Mousse with other colors, Pantone recommends using bright white for a modern, minimalist look with a more organic feel. Among other browns, Mocha Mousse can feel especially grounding. Pantone also put together five color palettes with Mocha Mousse that range from bold to subdued for consideration. Eiseman notes that metallics, like a chrome table, can also nicely reflect Mocha Mousse while elevating an interior. Whether you use Mocha Mousse to achieve a Rich Ranch aesthetic or a sophisticated atmosphere, its versatility knows no bounds.
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