Conjuring images of ancient tapestries aged with hues of burnished gold, sun-bleached fields of pale grains, or the earthy sweetness of that most regal of spices, warm yellows â€� from richÌýSaffron to our new pale and creamy Polenta â€� do more than just catch the eye; they capture the senses. These hues stand apart from their brighter counterparts on the colour chart. Deeper, earthier, and more pigmented, they offer a sophisticated richness that distinguishes them from sharper, acid yellows or pallid paler shades.

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Our iteration of Saffron, while introduced to the paint collection only a few years ago, is by no means a new discovery. It’s a timeless shade that has been inspiring creatives for centuries, even dating back to Renaissance interiors when it symbolised enlightenment. This season, we welcome its softer sibling, Polenta â€� a creamy, pale yellow, lightly touched with a hint of black for refined depth. Richer than cream, yet gentler than vibrant yellow, it beautifully balances ourÌýyellow paint palette.â€�Ìý

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‘A warm yellow, like Neptune’s Saffron works so well on a large scale and can really bring a space to life,â€� says Taline Findlater and Victoria Gray ofÌý. To maximise its warm, uplifting benefits consider making Saffron your scheme’s foundation â€� enveloping the walls, covering your kitchen cabinetry, or even, as Victoria suggests, ‘painting your ceiling to draw your eye upwards with an unexpected twistâ€�. For a striking contrast that has the same intensity and earthiness, try pairing Saffron with the dark blue of Ink, or for a softer palette, balance it with creamy off-white Salt or try a soothing tonal scheme layering it with our new Polenta.

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If you're drawn to the idea of yellow but prefer to keep it more understated, consider experimenting in spaces you use less frequently that are ripe for creativity, like a guest bedroom or a downstairs loo. Interior designer Lucinda Sanford suggests ‘using just one shade throughout can actually soften its impact, making it feel less intense and more cohesiveâ€�.Ìý

As a mid-shade, Polenta strikes the perfect balance between a colour and a neutral tone, making it both versatile and welcoming. With a hint of lightness that’s easy to live with, it’s a natural partner for fellow neutral paint shades in our collection like Salt, the pale grey of Silver Birch or fresh, creamy Orkney White, which all feature warm undertones.â€�Ìý

These warm yellows bring with them an inviting brightness that can transform spaces, especially in cooler, north-facing rooms. Their adaptability to changing light throughout the day gives them a unique vibrancy, making each room feel dynamic and alive from morning to evening. Whether used as an accent or across entire walls, shades like Saffron and Polenta remind us that warm yellows are no passing trend but a classic, heritage hue that has elevated homes from Renaissance times to today.

Discover our range of over 45 water-based paint shades, low in VOCs and made in the UK by trusted experts since 1740.

Landing on your chosen shades is the first step in putting together a scheme, but the key to success is considering how to apply those colours. The rule of thumb used by the designers at Neptune is the 60:30:10 ratio � a base colour (usually a light or dark neutral) that represents sixty per cent of the scheme, one or two complementing accent colours which account for thirty per cent, and the final highlights (usually a bolder or brighter shade) making up the last ten per cent.

It was this ratio that guided our autumn palette, a contemporary take on the refreshing colours of the early twentieth century that balances warm neutrals with sophisticated soft shades and touches of strong colour. This decorative shift came about as a reaction to the darker, more sombre shades of Victorian interiors, with the new era celebrating cheerful and fresh palettes using warm whites, sage and olive greens,Ìýmustard, terracotta, soft blues, and deepest pinks. Interpreting these colours for today’s homes means dialling up the whites to pale beiges, introducing colourful hues with enough black in them to feel refined rather than sweet, and adding a shot of energy with our new orange-brown shade, Bracken.

THE NEUTRAL BACKGROUND
Sixty per cent

Pick a warm, pink or yellow-tinged white or cream as your base colour. You could try:

Salt, a creamy off-white with a comforting warmth
Silver Birch, a pale creamy-grey, almost an oatmeal shade
Driftwood, a classic putty colour that feels calm yet cosy
Orkney White, a fresh, soft white that adds subtle warmth

THE MID-TONED LAYER
Thirty per cent

You could take two routes here: a softer palette of Cactus, Flax Blue and Lead Light; or a darker one of Constable Green, Navy and Clove. Both work well with the warm neutrals. You could consider:

Cactus, a deep, relaxing green with a gentle grey coolness
Flax Blue, a hazy blue with a touch of grey that’s muted but deep
Lead Light, a soft khaki; an earthy brown with a hint of green
Constable Green, a rich, inky green that feels enveloping
Navy, a deep, dark blue that feels fresh against white
Clove, a sultry natural shade hovering between deep plum and soft brown

THE FINISHING TOUCH
Ten per centÌý

Bracken, a vibrant, warm orange-brown that brings energy
Blakeney Blue, a fresh, true blue with an underlying warmth

The Victorian naturalist and philosopher Henry David Thoreau once opined that ‘God created ferns to show what he could do with leaves�. A little overblown, you might think, but actually his praise was � for the era � rather restrained. From around 1830 until 1910, society on both sides of the Atlantic was gripped by ‘pteridomania� � better known as fern fever. Appreciation for this large family of plants was seen as proof of intellect, even virility. Frond-like motifs and references appeared in art, interior decoration, literature, and even on custard cream biscuits. Wordsworth enthused about the ‘brilliant and various colours of the fern� in the Lake District; Ruskin painted them in Perthshire. Enthusiasts � particularly women � travelled to Devon to collect rare specimens and then housed them in ‘Wardian cases� (invented in 1829 as a means of transporting live plants, but later a fashionable means of displaying them) and custom-built ‘ferneries�.

Bracken is probably the most iconic fern species � the one with triangular arrangements of delicately branching fronds. It’s a very old (ancestors can be found in fossils dating back fifty-five million years) and large plant, growing up to two metres. Like most ferns, it doesn’t flower or generate seeds but instead reproduces with spores, like fungi. This method has evidently proved extraordinarily efficient: it has colonised almost all temperate and tropical regions of the globe and can quickly dominate a habitat. It’s bracken that you’ll see unfurling tender new fronds on verges and in woodland during the spring. Come October, bracken puts on a spectacle like no other: emerald leaves sliding softly through a suitably autumnal minor scale of gold, copper, russet, rust, chestnut and dun. Because of how widespread bracken is, such displays can cover landscapes as far as the eye can see.

The colour itself is an evocative one. It’s why Neptune has chosen to name its new seasonal shade Bracken. Orange softened with a touch of brown and mustard, it immediately recalls the changing of the seasons and autumn foliage, of course, but other things spring to mind too. The joy of late autumnal sunshine, pumpkins, Halloween, the glowing embers of a bonfire, and hot, spiced drinks gripped between gloved hands. A brighter, more vivacious cousin to perennially popular terracotta and clay-pink shades, it’s comforting, inviting and liveable, with a bold, contemporary edge. It feels subtly Victorian too: an off -beat allusion to all those Pre-Raphaelite redheads, Aesthetic Movement ‘art colours�, and the work of William Morris and his contemporaries. Exactly the kind of colour, in short, of which Henry David Thoreau would heartily approve.

History lies closer to the surface in some places than in others. Heading down from the village of St Margaret’s Hope in South Ronaldsay in the Orkney Islands, for example, the waters of Scapa Flow will glimmer beyond a moon-bright crescent of sand. The name itself, Scapa Flow, is a relic. It’s a corruption of the moniker given to this body of water by Norse raiders and conquerors a thousand years ago � precious, because it’s cradled away from the worst Atlantic storms.

The islands and their history have a curious affinity to the colour white. They were formed by glaciers wearing away layers of sand and limestone. The Norsemen who held them for centuries traded in cloth, salt, walrus ivory and fish, plying frothing seas in longships powered by winds puffed into woollen sails. Relics of earlier histories � in the forms of fossil, bone or stone fragments � are often unearthed by storms.

White has been a colour of dualities. Power and simplicity; pride and humility; wisdom and innocence; joy and mourning. It was associated with deities and enlightenment, but also material wealth. Fine cloth, like wool, silk, linen and lace, had to be bleached to a pristine whiteness � a labour intensive and expensive process � and keeping it that way took battalions of servants who could launder, repair and starch precious textiles. Simultaneously, white has been embraced as a symbol of purity and virtue, which is why brides wear it. In design, it can sometimes be haughty. Le Corbusier, for example, liked to opine that whitewashing all interior walls would have a moralising effect on a society. But whites � particularly those infused with candlelight yellow, peachy or shell-pink undertones � as Neptune’s new creamy neutral Orkney White is � can be fresh, cleansing, even warming.

Syrie Maugham, a trail-blazing British interior designer nicknamed the ‘princess of pale� during the 1920s and 1930s, had a knack for layering off-white tones. This was a revelation for generations used to a surfeit of bright colours, piled fabrics and high ornamentation. We’ll never know what Orkney’s Norsemen might have made of her spaces, but perhaps given that one admirer called them visions of ‘smiling, shimmering, all-white�, I think we can guess.

Such a palette was also the starting point for our spring 2024 colour inspiration, which sees our new creamy Orkney White (inspired by the white sands of the Hebrides) and classic warm Salt shades balanced with the soft blue of Alpine and relaxing Sage green, the khaki tones of Lead Light and the darker drama of Walnut. And the finishing touch: a mere hint of spicy red Paprika or ochre-toned Saffron. An interior’s palette even Turner might have approved of.

If you’ve found yourself drawn to richer, braver colour palettes in recent times, there may be more to it than a simple desire for a change of scene from milky pale walls. Cultural historian, author, and colour expert Kassia St Clair explains: “Colour trends tend to be cyclical: periods of colour restraint are often followed by bold experimentation.� But trends are only one small part of our changing tastes. “Other things come into play too,� she adds. “We respond to shifts in politics and culture. So, for example, people coming out of times of enforced restraint or fear - precipitated by economic downturns, wars, environmental disasters, or outbreaks of disease - generally respond by being braver with fashion and interior choices.�

And while we might subconsciously lean towards colour as a reaction to the world around us, we also respond to colour on an emotional level. “We don’t just see colours with the eye and mind, but with the heart,� explains Lucinda Chambers, the founder of online fashion and interiors store Collagerie and former fashion director of Vogue, who recently transformed spaces in our Neptune Fulham store in her signature colourful style. “Colours bring joy into the world and make the everyday experiences richer and more inspirational.�

• It can be easier to be bold in smaller spaces, so start small with a powder room, pantry or utility room, and gradually develop your colour confidence.
• Build up a mood board over a period of time â€� collect together ideas, swatches and samples and photos of things that catch your eye. After a few weeks going through this process, common threads start to emerge which can then lead you towards a scheme for your space.

• When in doubt about using â€� and combining - colour, we recommend applying the 60-30-10 decorating ratio. The principle advises that 60% of a space is dedicated to your main colour, 30% to your secondary colour, and 10% to your accent colour.Ìý

• Introduce a large sample of your chosen colour into your space (try painting a couple of pieces of A3 paper, for example) and live with it for a few days, observing how the colour changes in different lights. If it doesn’t make you feel good and enhance the room, then consider dialling up or down on the intensity of the shade.
• Bear in mind, different colours have different psychological effects on us. Soft pinks, like Potter’s Pink feel nurturing, while stronger tones such as Rhubarb and Chestnut feel enveloping and warm. Dark blues like Navy and Ink are associated with peace, and dark greens like Constable Green with balance. Browns suggest comfort and relaxation and darker shades such as Walnut can feel luxurious, while ochre shades like Saffron and Mustard relate to optimism, energy, and sophistication.Ìý

• Finally, “brave colour choices are part of a natural human celebration of life and all that it has to offer,â€� says Kassia. So, push yourself out of your comfort zone, take a chance on a new colour scheme and dare to make the odd mistake. It could be the best decorating decision you ever made.

Pink has always had exceedingly spirited champions. Marilyn Monroe sashayed her way through ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friendâ€� in what would become an iconic hot pink belted gown. Diana Vreeland, the legendary magazine editor, quipped that it was the ‘navy blue of India.â€� While the designer Elsa Schiaparelli, upon encountering what would become herÌýsignature ‘Shockingâ€� shade, wrote that it was ‘bright, impossible, impudent…like all the lights and the birds and the fish in the world together.â€�

At the other end of pink’s spectrum, Robert Adam, the Neoclassical architect who popularised lighter, subtler pink schemes two centuries earlier, was no less feisty. A veteran of the Grand Tour and a student of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Adam began his career by savaging the work of his rival James ‘Athenianâ€� Stuart. Adam derided Stuart’s (largely green) designs for Spencer House as pityfulissimo, and those for Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire ‘so excessively and ridiculously bad…[they] beggared all description.’Ì�Ìý

Adam’s own vision for Kedleston, which he duly executed when he was hired in Stuart’s place, was exuberant in its use of pink. The spectacular Marble Hall, for example, had a pale pink ceiling and walls and was lined with rosy alabaster columns. His style â€� which he deployed at many grand houses and was widely copied â€� has had a lasting impact on interior design to this day.Ìý

Adam would have been surprised, then, by the idea â€� so ingrained today â€� that pinks are inherently feminine. In his day, they were more aligned with men. This was because they were seen less as a separate colour and more as pale reds, a hue associated with clerical and military uniforms, energy, power, and wealth. It ·É²¹²õ²Ô’t until the 20th century that a shift was made. Over the course of several decades, it became the default colour for any product, idea, or service aimed at women and girls; ‘shrink it and pink itâ€� was the lazy marketing mantra.ÌýÌý

Neptune’s new Potter’s Pink is neither the full-blooded shade associated with Monroe and Schiaparelli, nor the commercialised Legally Blonde and Barbie tone, nor even that beloved of Adam, which is perhaps best described as the colour of a cherub’s blushes. Imagine instead something more earthy, natural, and lived-in, with undertones of grey and yellow. The kind of tint that puts you in mind of freshly applied gypsum plaster, straight-from-the-earth red clay deposits or sun-dappled, faded Italian palazzos. Characterful enough to steal the scene on its own but, unlike Adam, equally capable of playing well with others. The kind of colour, in other words, that is more than capable of being its own champion.

Meet Potter's PinkÌýÌý

Our new seasonal shade takes its name from the delicate freshness of un-fired pottery clay. With the subtle look of raw plaster on walls, it has a sense of earthy texture and historic precedence. Potter’s Pink works beautifully across whole rooms (and even ceilings), where it feels both light and cocooning. It also serves as a natural foil to dark timbers and organic textures like linen and sheepskin.ÌýÌý

Made in the UK, this water-based paint is very low in VOCs and available in emulsion and eggshell.