2024 looks warm and fuzzy

Talk about the warm and fuzzies. Or the comforts of home.

Continuing the tradition of highlighting the Pantone Color of the Year in new-home design, this year let’s talk peach fuzz.

For 2024, the Pantone Color Institute introduced Peach Fuzz 13-1023 as its official color of the year.

“In seeking a hue that echoes our innate yearning for closeness and connection, we chose a color radiant with warmth and modern elegance,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, when announcing the choice.

She noted that the shade “resonates with compassion, offers a tactile embrace and effortlessly bridges the youthful with the timeless.”

Pantone Vice President Laurie Pressman said Peach Fuzz meets the collective need for nurturing, empathy, compassion and desire for a more peaceful future. Describing a “velvety gentle peach whose all-embracing spirit enriches heart, mind and body,” she said the color helps counterbalance any turmoil.

But how might a new homeowner incorporate a delicate, comforting hue into a new home’s design palette without oversoftening?

Pantone has addressed that and designers are ready to do so, as well.

“A vital part of living a full life is having the good health, stamina and strength to enjoy it,” Pressman said. She added that a color such as Peach Fuzz 13-1023 has a “gentle lightness and airy presence” to lift us to the future.

In other words, incorporating the lightness of Peach Fuzz into home decor doesn’t mean avoiding rich, dark or sharper colors. In fact, a color such as Peach Fuzz might do its job better in the presence of complementary and accent tones.

Weave Peach Fuzz into the kitchen and primary dining spaces by choosing dish towels and drying mats with hints of the color accenting dark navy blue or yellow.

Swap out a solid-color table runner with one in a colorful pattern. Or choose a centerpiece cloth with a handmade look on which you can position decorative bowls or vases.

Freshen up any space in the home with floral arrangements that incorporate Peach Fuzz. In the off-season, you can DIY bouquets of silk flowers featuring peach-toned hybrid roses or peonies.

Also during the design process, ask the builder’s design center experts about the newest choices in glass tile for backsplashes.

Boldly colored glass tile backsplashes may go out of style during periods of minimalist design. But clusters of small, colored glass accent tiles stand the test of time and add beautiful accents to larger backsplash tiles in light or solid colors.

Consider two-sided pillows and blankets. One side might feature a mixed pattern blending Peach Fuzz with rich wintery colors. The other can evoke spring and summer sensations with complementary greens, whites and sky blues.

Tip: Choose an ottoman with storage, so you can change out these items as seasons, moods or tastes evolve. The same concept works in the bedroom. Place a cushioned chest at the foot of the bed that doubles as a place to sit and a storage vessel for seasonal decor.

Outdoors, use the next several weeks of winter to research ways to continue the soothing theme of Peach Fuzz. Visit the local garden shop and research annuals, roses and flowering succulents with hints of the color.

While you’re at it, search outdoor furniture stores for cushions and pillows and look at garden flags or decorative garden ornaments with images from nature that feature Peach Fuzz.

Finally, how about some Peach Fuzz lighting? You don’t need to buy peach-colored bulbs to express the warmth, comfort and calmness of Peach Fuzz.

Simply visit the lighting aisle at the hardware store. Notice the Kelvin number printed on boxes of lightbulbs. Lower Kelvin numbers (2,500 to 3,000) will give off the softness of yellows and orange. Higher Kelvin numbers (5,000 to 6,000+) emit much cooler whites.

Consider a mix of both kinds of light, depending on the fixture and the room.

Daylight bulbs are best for task lighting in places such as kitchens, offices and ceiling fixtures. Softer lighting from table lamps can invite coziness and togetherness to bedrooms and living rooms.

Ask the builder’s design team for ways to add ambience in every room, whether with the healing warmth of Pantone Peach Fuzz 13-1023 or by transitioning with color from room to room throughout the new house.

Long before California’s peach trees start fruiting, you’ll be all warmed up for the year.