A viewing platform in a hospital with a circular window

Transform Healthcare Spaces with Pastel Blue Tones - Colour of the Year 2024

12 September 2023

Well-designed healthcare spaces have been shown to improve patient outcomes. The nature-inspired blues and greens in the Dulux Trade calm colour story help to create soothing, restorative spaces where people can feel rested.

There is strong evidence to suggest that well-designed healthcare facilities have measurable positive outcomes. The right products and colours can help patients recover sooner, improving patient and visitor experience and increasing staff effectiveness in their care¹. So, putting patient, staff, and visitor wellbeing at the heart of designing healthcare spaces is key.

Inspired by the tones of woodland and colourful seascape, the natural blues and greens in our calm colour story make institutional spaces feel soothing rather than sterile. A calm tone of colour can create a tranquil setting to help patients, visitors and staff to feel less stressed.

¹ _{The case for good design: Healthcare, Office of the Victorian Government Architect, September 2022}

Bring balance to a therapy room

A therapy room with a vertical painted split wall effect.

A vertical split wall effect using a pastel blue and Dulux Trade Colour of the Year 2024, Sweet Embrace^TM, creates a subtle, balanced feel in this therapy room. The use of the blue tone colour palette paired with our hero shade brings a sense of calm and clarity that helps to put patients at ease.

Which colours?

Fresh Foliage

Serene Waters

Create calm recovery spaces

A school building with exterior walls painted in soft pink with accents painted in ochre

The shades in our calm colour story can create a restful space that helps patients, visitors and staff feel more comfortable. Here, a combination of Sweet Embrace^TM and a band of coastal blue makes this hospital space feel calming and restorative, as well as adding visual interest.

Which colours?

Ocean Stone

A soothing waiting room

A waiting area with walls painted with a split wall effect combining two different shades of green

The nature-inspired colour in our calm story such as the use of forest greens and natural materials, helps people feel connected to nature – something that has been shown to relieve stress.

Which colours?

Neptune Seas

Pea Shoot

A tranquil passageway

A bridge passageway with floor to ceiling glass and a ceiling painted in a soft pink

Dulux Trade Colour of the Year 2024, Sweet Embrace^TM, is a calm tone colour, which when used on the ceiling of this interior-meets-exterior passageway enhances the natural daylight that floods through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Sweet Embrace^TM adds just the right amount of warmth to soften the modern, industrial feel.