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For anyone who has spent years renting, staring at the same landlord-approved beige walls and yearning for injecting personal style to their home, Pantone's new Colour of the Year might be perceived as a disappointing choice.

This time around, the influential color company has chosen a shade of white as its flagship hue.

In detail, the shade is called Cloud Dancer – a white touted as "elevated" and "billowy" which "serves as a symbol of calming influence in a society re-learning the worth of introspection".

It represents the first time a pure white has been chosen as the Colour of the Year, and it has generated significant controversy.

Per Pantone, Cloud Dancer "transcends mere pigment, it's a state of being" and signifies a collective yearning to slow down, reset and seek peace after years of visual overload.

But some critics have dubbed the decision as "Pantonedeaf", suggesting that promoting minimalist and pristine white spaces can seem disconnected from the smaller, lived-in homes the majority occupy.

Some observers contend that presenting white as an ideal risks racial undertones, landing uncomfortably amid continuing political and cultural discussions about inclusion and diversity.

Clinical or Calm?

Interior expert One design critic says the counter-reaction transcends surface appeal, noting that white bears cultural undertones and is rarely a innocuous choice.

"The color white sends a message," he says, shaped by a ten-year period of sparse star homes – most famously Kim Kardashian's austere home – that came to epitomize "wealth, control and distance from disorder".

He elaborates that white is "not about inspiration but taking care not to cause upset", with Cloud Dancer embodying "restraint, virtuous simplicity and the concept that impartiality signifies goodness".

Beaumont points to the global health crisis as a turning point in how people relate to their homes.

"Suddenly they transformed into our workspaces, sanctuaries and sources of stability," he says, stating that against this backdrop, pushing the Colour of the Year towards "more aesthetic barrenness seems rather tone-deaf".

Rather than providing calm, he argues white now threatens to amplifying "a feeling of bleakness", particularly when combined with cool, clinical lighting.

'A Clinical Atmosphere

An interior designer, a UK-based interior designer, concurs and says Cloud Dancer "doesn't really read as a colour" and is "firmly in the bin for me".

While it may work in extremely sparse or architectural spaces, she says pure white shades rarely foster calm in everyday living spaces.

"What looks serene in a styled shoot can easily seem sterile at home," she explains.

"White can feel stark and unforgiving and you don't want your home to give clinical feelings."

She continues that "homes should elicit happiness and be inviting and welcoming, and this shade seems quite distant from that."

Beaumont expresses a desire that homeowners will disregard the Pantone Colour of the Year in favour of "full-scale dopamine décor", using colour to showcase personality.

The vice president of the Pantone Colour Institute commented that people "have varied interpretations" to the meaning of the colour, but it was selected as it "works seamlessly with everything around it, providing a sophisticated impartiality that feels intentional and adaptable".

Since its launch in 2000, Pantone's Colour of the Year has evolved into a significant industry signal.

Past choices have featured the hopefulness of a vibrant pink-orange, the serene assurance of a deep blue, the energy of a bold pink-red, and more recently more gentle, feeling-based tones like a soft peach.

These hues don't just live on style predictions - they show up in fashion collections, beauty launches, home decor, packaging and even technology, influencing how products are sold and how consumers envision the year ahead.

A style and trend expert, says Cloud Dancer is a "elegant choice" and while it may appear simple, "this specific hue feels gentle and elegant rather than stark".

Contrary to those who say the colour is dull, Robinson sees it as "adaptable" and says it's best used in "sleeping quarters and communal spaces where you want a peaceful, calming atmosphere".

"Should you don't want to redecorate, you can introduce the colour into a room with pillows, throws and curtains."

Interior designer Another professional says although he was surprised that Pantone's selection this year was "essentially the lack of pigment", it is a bit like a basic flavor, in that "everyone likes it but it's nobody's favourite".

He can see its merits, noting that white can work particularly well as a backdrop for design features like wall molding and arched doorways which is a "rising style in contemporary houses".

In fashion, white has long been a staple rather than a statement and as a Colour of the Year it poses a unique test to designers more accustomed to bold shades.

Luxury stylist Oriona Robb says elevating white seems "not focused on newness and more concerned with purpose", indicating a movement towards refinement after years of trend overloads.

"White forces designers and those who wear it alike to focus on shape, scale and craftsmanship, there's really no room for error," she explains.

But she adds that it also holds assumptions around body confidence, way of life and privilege, saying: "When white is treated as something only a limited subset of people can pull off, it becomes exclusionary."

She says the industry is already cognizant of the uncomfortable undertones associated with lauding white as an ideal, especially during ongoing conversations about inclusion and approachability, and the true challenge will be whether "companies engage with that nuance authentically, or simply glamorize the colour".

A Societal Shift, Not a Fad

Stylist Katie Malik admits the choice at first surprised her, considering Pantone's track record of bold colours, but says it reflects a authentic change and fits within a wider mood of "quiet luxury