Office reception with ochre and blue walls

Transform Workspaces with Indigo Blues and 2026 Colour Trends

09 September 2025

A colourful neutral, blue is a tone that can complement almost any colour on the spectrum. Discover how, when used in different Dulux Trade palettes, it can help create both calming and uplifting spaces – just what is needed in today's hybrid workplace environment.

Designing Productive colour schemes for Hybrid Office Environments

Flexible and fluid, blue is – we believe – the perfect adaptable tone for 2026. Our colour experts selected these colours of the Year: Free Groove™, Slow Swing™ and Mellow Flow™ to create a family of blues.

Our three indigos feature in all our 2026 colour stories, with one acting as the lead colour in each. This gives you the flexibility to use this tone in multiple ways to create ergonomic office aesthetics that feel very different and support various work functions.

In an office setting, versatility is particularly useful as staff, many of whom may still spend days working from home, are placing new demands on their workplace. Today's hybrid office must match their expectations by being comfortable, innovative and aesthetic¹. It should provide collaborative workspace colours for interaction but also offer quiet workplace areas², as research has shown that employees need private spaces where they can concentrate and be more productive³. Dulux Trade colours for 2026 and our family of indigo blues offer scope for implementing office colour psychology in countless ways. Our Free palette of upbeat greens, yellows and blues can add a dose of energy, positivity and personality to help bring any sterile office space to life. Meanwhile, our Slow palette of natural browns and blues has a cooling, quietening effect – perfect for creating a peaceful break-out space in a busy open-plan office.

¹ Seven reason aesthetic office design is important in the modern workplace, Dealer Support, September 2023. ² 5 Benefits of working in a quiet environment, Workplays, May 2024 ³ The business case for a healthy office; a holistic overview of relations between office workspace design and mental health, Daan Kropman, Pascale LeBlanc, Rianne Appel-Meulenbroek, Lisanne Bergefurt, Ergonomics, August 2022

A SLOW COLOUR STORY

A FREE COLOUR STORY

Go for Stand-Out Colour in Open-plan office aesthetics

Open-plan office with arched windows, blue arch and green walls

The Dulux Trade Free palette brings personality and vibrancy to this light, open-plan office space with its uniform banks of desks and tech equipment. Set against green walls, an arch painted in Colour of the Year Free Groove™ creates an eye-catching focal point and highlights the grand, arched windows, enhancing the open-plan office aesthetics while creating visual interest in the workspace.

Collaborative Workspace Colour Palette

Paint a Break-Out Space for Employee Well-Being

Office with blue feature wall and parquet floor

Rich and resonant, our Free Groove™ is ideal for a feature wall and, when mixed with the hushed tones of the Dulux Trade Slow palette, it can help define a quieter meeting space in a busy open plan office, supporting break-out space design that enhances focus and creativity while reducing workplace stress.

Break-Out Area Colour Palette

Bring Calm to the Open-Plan with Biophilic office colour schemes

Workspace with rank of desks and brown dividing wall

An open-plan office is useful for collaboration but constant noise and activity can overwhelm the individual worker. Painting the background with calming Dulux Trade Slow colours like our dark blue Slow Swing™ can help quieten the visual pace of the space and help employees feel at ease, incorporating biophilic office colour schemes that connect workers to natural environments and improve concentration.

Calming Office Environment Palette

Make it Part of the Landscape with Office exterior colour trends

Exterior of office building with a tiered glass facade

Recalling the quiet tones of a wintery scene, Dulux Trade Slow colours can give any building a sense of stability and stillness. Here two tones from our family of indigo blues help this glass office building feel rooted in its environment, demonstrating how office exterior colour trends can enhance architectural features while creating a professional, contemporary impression.

Office Exterior Palette

Slow Swing

Horizons

Explore Colour Applications Across Sectors

Find out how Dulux Trade family of blues and 2026 colour stories can transform Education spaces, Hospitality environments and Healthcare facilities.

Transform Workspaces with Indigo Blues and 2026 Colour Trends