Colour Edit: Crown Paints identifies Sage Green as defining interior palettes for 25/26.

According to colour expert Crown Paints, muted green tones are dominating UK interiors, with sage-inspired shades establishing themselves as the defining palette of 2025.

Across both commercial and residential projects, these soft greens, the team says, are being specified for their adaptability and ability to harmonise with a wide variety of materials and architectural styles. Acting as a modern neutral, they introduce depth and character while maintaining a calming, restorative quality.

This growing preference signals a broader movement away from cooler greys toward palettes that feel warmer, more natural and connected to the environment. When paired with natural timber, textured stone or muted metallics, sage greens in particular provide an adaptable backdrop that supports both contemporary minimalism and more layered, tactile design approaches.

Within Crown’s Colour Edit, you will find a spectrum of shades that capture this shift towards natural, grounding palettes. Greens such as Trailing Plant & Light Fern sit alongside a range of complementary tones selected to work seamlessly across both modern and traditional schemes, offering a strong foundation for residential and commercial projects alike.

Presented in an easy-to-scheme palette, the Colour Edit brings together 160 shades – including 18 new bespoke colours – all curated by Crown’s colour experts using advanced trend forecasting and 3D colour mapping. Designed to simplify the specification process, the collection distils the endless possibilities of paint into a trusted, design-led framework that helps architects and designers make confident, future-focused colour choices.

Together, these shifting preferences for greens and warm neutrals are shaping everything from contemporary open-plan living spaces to heritage refurbishments, pointing to a clear design direction for 2025 into 2026: the embrace of colours that foster calm, balance and a sense of place.

Kathryn Lloyd, colour specialist at Crown Paints, explains: “Green is a remarkably versatile colour. On one hand, deep, dark shades ground spaces adding weight and gravitas while still offering depth and character. In softer sage tones, it delivers a neutrality that’s easier to live with than some shades of grey. Hues such as Dove Stone, Light Fern or Trailing Plant provide a quiet backdrop with an organic and inviting quality. This is why they’re equally at home in pared-back Scandinavian-inspired interiors as they are in rustic, layered schemes.”

A founding Partner in all Material Source Studio locations - most recently, London - Crown Paints supports designers in many ways - from CPDs to colour insights to its hands-on POD with samples, swatches, and even a lightbox in London to help make colour decisions based on real-world lighting examples. Find out more here.