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French studio Uchronia has completed the interiors for Cafe Shin in Paris, which features a central coffee counter topped with a washi-paper roof to emulate a traditional Korean house. More
Stained green plywood and a wiggly salmon-pink room divider embellish our latest lookbook, which features a rainbow of colourful residential kitchens. More
Paint brand Dulux has revealed an “uplifting” bright yellow colour called True Joy as its Colour of the Year for 2025.
True Joy was chosen for its bold and sunny disposition that adds a sense of cheerfulness to interiors, according to Dulux.
Dulux has announced a bright yellow named True Joy for its Colour of the Year 2025″Dulux Colour of the Year 2025 True Joy is an uplifting yellow – a bright and positive colour that brings optimism, pride and imagination to homes and commercial spaces,” the brand’s senior colour designer Dawn Scott told Dezeen.
“It was chosen to inspire people to leap out of their comfort zone, to just go for it and feel confident.”
The sunny colour aims to evoke optimism and creativityDulux worked with trend forecast researchers ColourFutures to choose the 2025 Colour of the Year. The company’s analysis across design, architecture, journalism and technology found three trends to base the colour selection on.
“This year, our global trend forecast highlighted three major trends: the excitement of making a joyful leap into the unknown, the celebration of handmade craftsmanship and the re-embrace of heritage,” said Scott.
“These themes have informed our choice of True Joy, along with the colour yellow more generally, creating a collection that helps you design spaces where people can feel inspired to pursue new horizons, connect with human creativity and feel rooted in their identities.”
Dulux collaborated with ColourFutures to chose the colourScott hopes the sunny hue will provoke feelings of human connection and motivate people to make bolder colour choices.
“True Joy will likely define the year by resonating deeply with our collective desire for change and reconnection,” she said.
Three colour palettes incorporating True Joy were created”As we move into an era dominated by technology and AI, this colour will inspire us to embrace new frontiers, encouraging spaces that are both adventurous and spontaneous,” Scott added.
“It will also reflect our growing appreciation for human creativity and craftsmanship, grounding us in environments filled with earthy, handmade touches that reconnect us with our humanity.”
Soft pink Sweet Embrace named Dulux Colour of the Year 2024
Three complementary colour palettes were also revealed alongside True Joy to offer suggested colour pairings for interiors.
The Bold Colour Story palette contrasts True Joy with bright blues and oranges, designed to be used in education and office interiors to encourage creativity.
Dulux suggested pairing the bright yellow with neutral shades from the Human Colour StoryThe Human Colour Story features more neutral shades of wood and clay, aiming to reflect raw materials in artisanal craftsmanship and add warmth to education and healthcare settings.
Deep tones of brown and green characterise the Proud Colour Story palette, which was created for hospitality and residential spaces to create a welcoming atmosphere.
The Proud Colour Story combines True Joy with deep huesDulux’s Colour of the Year for 2023 was a pale yellow named Wild Wonder and for 2024, the brand chose a soft pink colour called Sweet Embrace.
Scott described True Joy as a striking and exciting contrast to the subtler hues that came before it.
The rich tones of the Proud Colour Story aim to create a welcoming interior”Where Sweet Embrace provided warmth and comfort, creating spaces that made people feel at ease during uncertain times, the yellow of this year encourages a joyful leap into new horizons,” Scott explained.
“It’s a bold and uplifting colour that reflects a shift from seeking simplicity and calm to embracing adventure and creativity.”
The photography is courtesy of Dulux.
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A London house extension designed by Office S&M features a ceramic facade with the same pink glaze used for Tube station tiles on the Hammersmith and City Line.
Office S&M designed Beacon House, a single-storey rear extension, for a Victorian terraced house in Tottenham, north London.
Pink “pillow-shaped” tiles clad the extensionIt creates a larger kitchen and dining space for a couple and their two young children.
The architects chose “pillow-shaped” tiles for the extension’s facade, giving the structure a puffy aesthetic.
The pink glaze is the same used for tiles on Hammersmith and City Line stationsThe bubblegum pink glaze is specifically used on Hammersmith and City Line station tiles, to match the colour that indicates the line on the London Underground map.
Here, it was selected to complement the original brickwork and reflect the clients’ love of municipal architecture.
Pale green window frames contrast the pink”Alex and Ella showed us examples of public buildings they grew up with and ones they visited on their travels, which included sun-bleached climbing frames, tiled swimming pools, leisure centres and stations,” said Catrina Stewart, co-founder of Office S&M along with Hugh McEwen.
“Just like with these buildings, they wanted their home to be both robust and joyful,” Stewart told Dezeen.
The extension creates a generous kitchen and dining areaThe extruded clay tiles, handcrafted by manufacturers Materials Assemble and Teamwork Italy, contrast with the pale green colour of the window frames and downpipe.
“Ella grew up in west London and her dad used to take the Hammersmith and City line every day; the pink tiles reminded her of home,” added Stewart.
Curved details include a kitchen island and the wall wrapping a downstairs WCThe renovation also involved improving the building’s performance, making it better insulated and ventilated, and bringing a contemporary feel to the interiors throughout.
The design features the bold colours and graphic style that have become Office S&M’s calling card, as previously seen in projects like Mo-tel House and Graphic House.
As with Graphic House, the interior features several bespoke elements that inject a sense of the owners’ personality. Stewart points to the kitchen island as an example.
Bold colours feature throughout the houseThe central focus of the extension, it features a resin and timber worktop made by surface design studio Mirrl, using a technique inspired by Japanese lacquer craft Tsugaru Nuri.
“A bespoke pattern was created, referencing the clients’ memories of pastel hues and fading colours found along the British seaside,” Stewart said.
The hallway includes monochrome tiles and a round yellow mirrorTiled surfaces and curved details feature all over, continuing the aesthetic of the building’s exterior.
Examples of tiles include a yellow-grouted kitchen splashback, the monochrome flooring in the entrance hallway, and the soft yellow and pink surfaces in the first-floor bathroom.
Pale pink and yellow tiles were installed in the first-floor bathroomProminent curves include the kitchen island, as well as a rounded wall framing the downstairs toilet and a yellow-framed hallway mirror.
“Many of the municipal buildings that they showed us were associated with a story or a memory,” said Stewart.
“The subtle references in their home serve as a reminder of these stories and experiences.”
The three-bedroom property is home to a couple with two childrenThe colour scheme naturally progresses through the building, with richer tones at the front of the house and lighter tones as you move through to the top-lit extension.
Local craft makers were involved in many of the smaller details, from the baby blue banquette upholstery in the kitchen, to the hand-painted gold number fixed to the front door.
The photography is by French + Tye.
Project credits
Architect: Office S&MStructural engineer: Foster StructuresContractor: YG BuildersFurniture build: YG BuildersKitchen surfaces: MirrlGlazed pink external tiles: Materials Assemble, Teamwork ItalyGlobal paints: YesColoursUpholstery: Studio SwadeGold number sign: Mark Errington
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Interior designers are finding interesting ways to pair red and green – a combination more typically associated with Christmas – to create quirky colour-block interiors. This lookbook brings together recent examples of how it can be done.
Set on opposite sides of the colour wheel, red and green are inherently compatible, each helping to offset the other.
Combining two such bright colours in a residential interior can sound daunting, even without their festive affiliation. But a slew of recent projects show that they can have a place in modern interiors.
Below, we’ve collated eight home interiors that prove this colour combination isn’t just for Santa, combining subdued green tones with warmer hues ranging from pink to crimson.
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring clerestory windows, exposed ceiling beams and kitchen skylights.
Photo by Yannis DrakoulidisTrikoupi Apartment, Greece, by Point Supreme Architects
Colourful built-in furniture pieces define different areas inside this Athens apartment in the wake of a renovation by local studio Point Supreme Architects, which saw many of the home’s partition walls removed to make the interior feel more sunny and spacious.
Among them is a stained plywood storage wall that runs along one side of the apartment, providing a dramatic contrast with the oxblood-coloured kitchen cabinets and the glossy Ferrari-red island.
Find out more about Trikoupi Apartment ›
Photo by José HeviaCasa Milc, Spain, by Lucas y Hernandez Gil
Spanish studio Lucas y Hernandez Gil aimed to bring personality back to this 19th-century Madrid apartment, which had been renovated one too many times, with the addition of playful shapes and “warm and friendly” colours.
Painted a pale sage green from floor to ceiling, the kitchen features a crimson dining table from the studio’s own furniture brand Kresta Design that was brought in to mirror the gently curved walls.
“The kitchen is designed as a play of opposites between materials and shapes,” co-founder Cristina Domínguez Lucas told Dezeen.
Find out more about Casa Milc ›
Photo by Joe FletcherRedwood House, USA, by Studio Terpeluk
Unexpected colour combinations help balance out the timber-heavy interiors of this Albert Lanier-designed house in San Francisco’s Noe Valley, renovated by local firm Studio Terpeluk.
A baby pink kitchen and minty green storage unit shine against the Douglas fir flooring and red cedar walls, alongside classic furniture pieces including a red-lacquered version of Carl Hansen’s Wishbone Chair.
“Color was a recurring theme in the exquisite and eclectic art collection of the owners,” studio founder Brett Terpeluk said. “This went perfectly hand in hand with my interest in mid-century Italian design and its bold use of color.”
Find out more about Redwood House ›
Photo by José HeviaRelámpago House, Spain, by H3O
Zigzagging partitions nod to the history of this lightning-struck home, renovated by Spanish studio H3O and painted in pastel primary colours inspired by the “radical, fun and optimistic spirit” of 1970s pop art.
Even the floors are finished in a pale green resin, providing a counterpoint to the coral pink and butter yellow of the walls.
Find out more about Relámpago House ›
Berlin apartment, Germany, by Gisbert Pöppler
Berlin studio Gisbert Pöppler has renovated an apartment that occupies a glass pavilion on the roof of a 1930s residential building in the city’s Mitte neighbourhood.
Custom furnishings and fixtures – including mint-coloured cabinetry and cherry red-lacquered wood panelling – were added to help the home fit its owner like a “tailor-made suit”.
Find out more about this Berlin apartment ›
Photo by Félix Dol MaillotUnivers Uchronia, France, by Uchronia
French studio Uchronia, crowned emerging interior designer of the year at the 2023 Dezeen Awards, is known for its fearless use of colour. And the home of founder Julien Sebban is no exception.
The Parisian apartment was designed as a homage to the 1970s, with reddish-brown walnut burl surfaces, wavy wainscoting and patterned green tiles that match the poured resin floor.
Find out more about Univers Uchronia ›
Photo by French + TyeGraphic House, UK, by Office S&M
This Edwardian terrace home belongs to a couple of graphic designers, whose love for art deco forms and adventurous colours informed the interior scheme by architecture studio Office S&M.
“In this project, colours and shapes have been used to help define key moments throughout the house and tell a story about the building’s function and history,” Office S&M co-founder Catrina Stewart told Dezeen.
Find out more about Graphic House ›
Photo by Taran WilkhuForest Gate House, UK, by PL Studio
This London townhouse belonging to a couple and their chihuahua puppy brims with shades of green and blue, while details in various pinkish hues bring a sense of overall “warmth and joy” to the palette.
“We wanted to create a home that reflected our clients’ personalities and joyful spirit, a home filled with positive energy,” design firm PL Studio told Dezeen.
“They were not afraid of mixing different shades and colour combinations, so we went for bright, bold and fearless.”
Find out more about Forest Gate House ›
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring clerestory windows, exposed ceiling beams and kitchen skylights.
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Local entrepreneur Varun Kataria has unveiled a venue with a mix of colourful, retro details that contains the only permanent roller rink in New York City.
Set in Bushwick, Brooklyn, Xanadu occupies a former industrial warehouse, which was converted by Kataria and his team, who also run the nearby restaurant and venue Turks Inn and Sultan Room.
Xanadu is a multi-functional space with a massive roller rink in BrooklynThe multi-functional space now contains a roller rink, stage, bar area and large bathrooms, one of which can be converted into a smaller “club within a club”.
According to Kataria, the space originally had columns throughout, but to make a large enough surface for an uninterrupted roller rink the ceiling needed to be supported without columns.
It includes a mix of colours and patternsWorking with a local architect friend, Kataria created a structure around the existing structure, suspending the ceiling from the superstructure in order to support the weight, essentially creating a second ceiling.
This allows for a wide space centred around the hand-painted, maple-wood rink, but without sacrificing details for the attendant spaces.
Plentiful seating lines the leisure spaces around the rinkThe result is a “fun and maximum” space that contains a dizzying mix of patterns and colours.
At the entrance, a desk was placed to rent out custom skates. From here, a walkway passes under an archway anchored by a sofa that wraps around a pole. Guests pass a long bar and on the wall across from it are raised seating areas.
Banquet seating wraps the far side of the space and throughout, multiple entryways have been placed to give access to the massive rink.
It has a massive maple wood roller rinkThe ceiling has incongruous shapes cut into it with track lighting. Kataria said that the Memphis Group design movement in part influenced the shape, giving the space the sense of an “elevated adult day care.
“It’s not afraid to be playful,” said Kataria. “And the relationship with color became a real joy.”
A stage sits adjacent to the ringHe added that the combination of many influences and time-periods was meant to have an “uncanny” effect on the visitors.
Details such as infinity mirrors in the long sloping bar, colourful patterns in the carpet and vinyl surface coverings – almost every vinyl surface has a different pattern – create a mix of historical time periods that Kataria said work together to “push nostalgic buttons”, while being contemporary.
Fendi creates oversized “pinball machine” for Autumn Winter 2023 runway show
He said that the idea was to revive a entertainment form that people often associate more squarely with the past.
“I’m not gonna say it’s an industry in decline, but the spaces themselves are in decline, right?” Kataria told Dezeen.
“They’re usually old. But there’s more skaters than ever now. So I think as a cultural practice, it’s exploding, you know, with new energy.”
One bathroom can be converted into a mini clubThe bathrooms are mostly monotone – one red and one blue. The red one has a hidden DJ set up so that it can become Club Flush.
Other recent rinks include an ice skating rink built in Canada by architecture studio Lemay, which it says is the largest in the world.
The photography is by Matt Harrington.
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Portuguese studio Alarquitectos has used walls of pink and blue to brighten São Sebastião 123, an apartment converted from a 20th-century office in Lisbon.
Tasked with revitalising the old workspace’s dark and poorly ventilated interiors, Alarquitectos opened it up by removing the existing partitions and adding a courtyard.
Along with an existing outdoor space that has been reorganised, this courtyard doubles as a lightwell for the 167-metre-square apartment.
Walls of pink and blue decorate the São Sebastião 123 apartmentSão Sebastião 123 is organised with a series of “fluid” living spaces at its front and more private spaces, including the bedrooms, at the rear.
Narrow corridors brightened by the colour-blocked walls lead into the airy, open-plan living area that is illuminated by a window and full-height opening connected to a slim balcony.
In the living area, a shelving unit runs the length of the room and is paired with pine flooring and grey-toned furnishings.
A sliding door connects the living space to the kitchenA sliding door leads from the living space into a kitchen “box”, which is enclosed on both sides by deep-blue cabinets topped with metal counters, and complemented by terrazzo flooring.
Bronze detailing is used for lighting fixtures, mirrors and door knobs throughout the home.
The kitchen features deep-blue cabinets and terrazzo flooring”We envisioned the kitchen as a vibrant focal point, hence the striking colour of the kitchen box,” studio co-founder Mafalda Ambrósio told Dezeen.
“We sought cool colours that contrast with the warm tones of the pine wood,” she continued.
“This colour palette was inspired by the aggregates in the kitchen terrazzo, resulting in a deep blue with green pigments and a light pink.”
There is a dining room with an oak table and three pendant lightsAdjacent to the kitchen is a dining area with an oak dining table and three pendant lights. Further counter space and shelving are provided along one side.
To the back of the dining area, a full-height door opens up to the new enclosed courtyard, which is lined with ceramic-tiled walls and terrazzo flooring and decorated with black-steel furniture and leafy plants.
H3O creates “unpredictable” zigzagging interiors for lightning-struck home
A glazed opening onto the courtyard draws light into a bedroom, while a smaller circular opening illuminates the adjacent corridor – operating as a “physical bridge between the interior and exterior”.
“We extended our focus to the exterior space, not merely as a source of natural light and ventilation but also as an extension of the living experience,” Ambrósio said. “The materials for the patios were meticulously chosen to create a sense of refinement and tranquillity.”
Ceramic-tiled walls and terrazzo flooring features in the courtyardSão Sebastião 123 is complete with two small workspaces beside the living area and a shared bathroom lined with ceramic tiles and terrazzo flooring matching the external courtyard.
Other recent projects defined by colourful interiors include a playful seaside hotel that uses colour blocking to distinguish different areas and a residential conversion with jagged walls that reference a lightning bolt.
The photography is by Do mal o menos.
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Three jagged walls delineate the colourful spaces inside this converted barn in Sant Just Desvern, Spain, transformed by Barcelona studio H3O to reference a lightning bolt that struck the building generations ago.
The one-storey Relámpago House is a former barn with a white-painted barrel-vaulted ceiling in the Spanish town of Sant Just Desvern on the outskirts of Barcelona.
Relámpago House features a colour-block interiorFor the interior scheme, H3O took cues from an old family legend told by the homeowner, whose ancestors are said to have survived a lightning bolt that struck the barn and entered the building through the chimney, narrowly avoiding the family members sheltering under the dining table.
“Transforming a story into architecture seemed to us a fascinating and fun challenge,” the studio told Dezeen.
H3O delineated spaces with jagged walls informed by lightning boltsH3O inserted three intersecting walls shaped like lightning bolts into the plan, defining rooms within the otherwise open space.
“This geometry choice is not random – it emulates the unpredictable trajectory and rapid dispersion of a lightning bolt’s energy,” added the studio.
The all-pink bedroom is accessed via a colourful doorThe colourful intersecting walls enclose a private bedroom and bathroom, as well as forming the perimeter of the open-plan kitchen and living area.
This communal space features zigzagged strip lighting suspended above a boxy metal kitchen island and walls clad in green glazed tiles.
Strip lighting was suspended above a metal kitchen islandSugary pink walls delineate the bedroom, accessed via a contrasting door that is painted dark green on one side and deep blue on the other.
“The interaction of these colours with the opening and closing doors creates an experience of spatial fluidity inspired by the pop art aesthetic of the 70s, reflecting a radical, fun and optimistic spirit,” explained H3O.
The angular bathroom has a blue ceiling and wallsCharacterised by a mixture of green tiles and floor-to-ceiling dark blue paint, the bathroom is the smallest and most angular of the spaces, with a jagged, asymmetric mirror that wraps one corner of the room and tops a geometric sink.
“The construction of the walls involved a meticulous design and execution process, ensuring that every angle and twist served an aesthetic function and optimised habitability and indoor living,” the studio said.
Stones were collected to create “seemingly out-of-context” door handlesSmall stones were collected to create “seemingly out-of-context” door handles throughout the dwelling, adding organic accents to the otherwise colour-blocked interior.
As a final nod to the home’s tumultuous history, a sculptural silver lightning bolt now protrudes from the chimney.
Masquespacio founders create home and office where “everything revolves around play”
“The idea of a lightning bolt redefining space, filling it with form and colour, pushed us to explore beyond conventional boundaries,” reflected H3O.
“Relámpago House transforms a forgotten barn into a visual spectacle.”
A silver lightning bolt protrudes from the building’s chimneyVarious other architectural projects have been defined by zigzagging motifs.
London-based Outpost studio created a jagged zinc kitchen extension in Haggerston while German practice Wulf Architekten designed a sports centre for a school in Überlingen with a folding roof to reference the mountains of the surrounding Alps.
The photography is by José Hevia.
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The founders of Spanish studio Masquespacio have transformed a traditional Valencian farmhouse into their self-designed home and studio, with maximalist interiors that nod to the Memphis movement.
Creative and life partners Ana Milena Hernández Palacios and Christophe Penasse renovated the 1920s villa, which was once a farmhouse on the outskirts of Valencia, to create a hybrid home and studio that reflects their maximalist approach to interiors.
Masquespacio has designed a live-work space in Valencia”Everything revolves around the concept of play,” explained Hernández Palacios, who co-founded Masquespacio with Penasse in 2010.
“We’ve been influenced by many styles over the last decade, from New Memphis to art deco and futurism,” Penasse added. “We can say that our private home is a mix of it all.”
The ground floor holds the studio’s workspacesThe duo maintained the building’s original timber front door and white facade decorated with light-blue window frames and ornate grilles.
Inside, the ground floor was reserved for their studio, spread across several interconnected meeting rooms in the former farmstead, known locally as an alquería.
Masquespacio restored the building’s original hydraulic floor tilesHere, Masquespacio restored the building’s decoratively patterned hydraulic floor tiles alongside its traditional doors and windows.
Painted in bright hues, they help to colour-code the different office spaces, filled with the studio’s characteristic chunky, lumpy and latticed furniture.
There is a double-height interior courtyard at the centre of the home”As always, the project includes a mix of colours, textures and forms – one of the main aspects of all our designs, no matter what aesthetic we’re working with,” Penasse told Dezeen.
At the centre of the home is a double-height interior courtyard illuminated by skylights, with exposed-brick walls painted in lilac surrounded by wiggly flowerbeds with lush statement cheese plants.
From the courtyard, visitors can see up to an interior balcony on the first floor, which is accessed via a purple concrete staircase and contains the living spaces.
The couple’s bed is encased in a green dome next to a hot-pink seating booth.The balcony reveals two sculptural objects – a giant green dome that conceals the couple’s bed and a curved hot-pink screen that hides a seating booth.
This immersive furniture – Penasse’s favourite part of the project – creates a focal point that connects both levels of the house but also provides more private quarters for the couple despite the open nature of the overall plan.
A mosaic of yellow tiles defines the bathroom”There are no wall partitions to hide our home [from downstairs] but it’s kept private by the bed’s form and a semi-transparent green curtain that allows us to take advantage of the natural light almost everywhere on the upper floor,” explained Penasse.
The sleeping area is connected to the main living space via a tunnel-like corridor, which includes an all-yellow bathroom with triangular cabinets and walls clad with a mosaic of handmade ceramic tiles.
Ten self-designed studios by architects and designers
Opposite the bathroom is a colourful open-air terrace featuring circular windows and similar built-in seating to Bun Turin – an Italian burger joint designed by Masquespacio with boxy blue-tiled tables created to look like swimming pools.
“Geometry can be found all over our house,” explained Hernández Palacios. “Everything is a game of circles and triangles.”
The terrace follows a similar geometry to the interiorsThe light blue kitchen includes large, triangular alcoves and cupboards finished in natural stone and aluminium, designed to conceal utilities.
There is also an island made from veiny marble and petite glazed tiles. Bespoke Masquespacio bar stools were wrapped in matching pale blue fabric.
Triangular cupboards feature in the kitchenNext to the open-plan kitchen, the living and dining spaces include more brightly coloured furniture from the studio’s Mas Creations collection, which features the same twisted and angular shapes and soft upholstery as the pieces downstairs.
Floor-to-ceiling curtains form a backdrop for a snaking lime green sofa, while dark green dining chairs with pyramidal backrests were positioned around a jewel-like glass table.
Striking pyramid-shaped dining chairs continue the maximalist theme”Ninety-five per cent of the furniture and objects in our house are part of our Mas Creations collection, locally designed and produced by our studio,” said Penasse.
Similarly bold projects from Masquespacio include a restaurant in Milan, Italy, with interiors that take cues from futuristic spaceships and the first Mango Teen store in Barcelona featuring vivid graphic shapes.
The photography is courtesy of Masquespacio.
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