We Predicted It: Pantone’s 2025 Color of the Year Is Brown

We saw it coming eight months ago.

As paint companies began unveiling their spring color palettes, an unexpected trend emerged: a variety of rich, earthy browns. We quickly recognized that brown—yes, drab old brown—was primed to be the standout color for 2024.

Over the next few months, our prediction seemed to unfold with perfect precision: “mocha” became the buzzword at press previews, earth-toned monochrome looks dominated the runways, and designers incorporated brown in everything from kitchens to bedrooms. Even Kelly Wearstler’s Instagram was awash in bronzes. But the moment that truly solidified our bet came today when Pantone made its official announcement.

We Predicted It: Pantone’s 2025 Color of the Year Is Brown. The renowned color authority named Pantone 17-1230 Mocha Mousse its Color of the Year for 2025, reinforcing what we had already foreseen.

Surprisingly, it’s not the deep, near-black hue many might have anticipated. Instead, Pantone’s 2025 pick is a creamy, warm shade, which Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, describes as “an unpretentious classic” that’s also “sophisticated and lush.” Pressman explains, “Pantone 17-1230 Mocha Mousse extends our perception of the browns from being humble and grounded to embrace the aspirational and luxe.”

We Predicted It: Pantone’s 2025 Color of the Year Is Brown, and indeed, this soft, elegant brown has already become a color that’s redefining spaces across the design world. Infused with subtle elegance and earthy refinement, Mocha Mousse offers a discrete, tasteful touch of glamour.

Pantone’s choice of brown, from over 20,000 hues in their color library, is historic. Since its founding in 1999, Pantone has consistently tapped into the collective values of the world through color, and this year, brown takes the spotlight. For Pressman, this selection reflects a collective desire for warmth in design—following the comfort of Pantone’s 2024 Color of the Year, the soft and inviting Pantone 13-1023 Peach Fuzz.

But in 2025, the focus is on something more timeless. “It is a foundational shade that creates a base upon which to combine with other colors,” Pressman continues. “Infused with a sensorial warmth, it evokes a feeling of the comfort of home—whether appearing in soft touch weaves, cushy velvets, on flooring, or a painted wall.”

We Predicted It: Pantone’s 2025 Color of the Year Is Brown, and the decision couldn’t be more fitting for a year that’s embracing comfort, warmth, and sophistication in design.