It’s a big day when paint company Pantone announces their Color of the Year. The 2023 Pantone Color of the Year, Viva Magenta, is a color that is already trending in the fashion and beauty world and now it’s making its way into interior design.

Just like in previous years, Pantone’s choices for this year’s trending colors are rooted in nature. But Pantone always chooses a color that has a little more edge than other paint companies.

Last year, Pantone chose Very Peri as their Color of the Year, a daring and carefree blue shade that was certainly bolder than the other blue and green shades that were trending. And this year we see a similar interior color trend, the colors are warmer and in Pantone’s case a lot bolder.

Read on to learn more about Viva Magenta, the Pantone Color of the Year 2023, and how you can use this bold color in your interiors, and sometimes enhanced, or subdued with complimentary color schemes.

A Deeper Dive into the Origin, Meaning, and Nuances of Viva Magenta

The story behind Viva Magenta is all about the balance between our digital and physical lives. In recent years, we have responded and reacted with a greater pull toward the natural world, and the Pantone Color of the Year 2023 is chosen to reflect our pull toward natural colors and the movement surrounding sustainability, and ecology.

In recent years, and perhaps as a response to covid and lockdowns, etc., an increased love for nature has also been reflected in our homes, not just with paint colors but also by adding plants, florals (live flowers, prints, and wallcoverings), and living walls to our interiors. And by paying more attention to our outdoor spaces.  

Our current lifestyle trends are at the heart of the Color of the Year selection process. And Pantone feels that Viva Magenta is the perfect rich shade for these times. The origin of Viva Magenta comes from the cochineal beetle. This insect produces carmine dye, one of the most precious, strongest, and brightest colors of the natural dye family.

This year’s color merges the richness, warmth, and strength of the natural world with the rich, open horizons of the digital world. The result is a red shade that celebrates life, Viva Magenta is a bold shade that also adds a fun touch to your home.

How Viva Magenta Can Be Used In Your Home

For a bold statement, you can opt for a magenta feature wall or sofa. But it can also be added as an accenting pop of color through curtains, rugs, pillows, or flowers. Viva Magenta certainly adds a warm and dramatic tone to any room of the house.

Living Rooms are a Great Place to Start

One interior photo shows how you can test the waters with one or two pieces of furniture. Sure, it’s a bit of a commitment, but it also makes a lovely bold statement.

This living room shows a neutral base with white walls, shelves, and furniture that is spruced up with a bold pink rug.

If pink walls are a bridge too far for you, consider painting the ceiling. Ceilings are often a forgotten component, but you can add such an impactful colorful statement to any room by painting the ceiling as you can see in this photo of a home library crowned with a hot pink ceiling.

Pink on pink in this home. The living room walls are painted in an earthy pink shade which is complimented by a hot pink sofa in a traditional style.

A bold pink shade creates a stunning feature wall in the living room.

And this living area mixes up color quite nicely.

Viva Magenta in Kitchens

This home is festooned with colorful wallpapers. But their love for color continues with this hot pink kitchen. The boldness of these rich pink kitchen cabinets looks pretty stunning.

Another room where two pink shades have been combined. Soft pastel pink cabinets and walls are combined with a hot pink tablecloth for a bold color accent in a colorful apartment. This is a very simple way to anchor a deep richness into this kitchen space.

This family home is packed with color and in the kitchen/dining area they placed a hot pink rug on the floor for visual impact, warmth, and depth.

This kitchen in a midcentury home combines green cabinets and walls with deep pink tiles. It shows that green and pink are a great color combination together.

Detouring from the kitchen, and going back to the living room, here is another green and pink example showing a playful pop of color in a more traditional sofa setting.

You can add bold color accents with textiles, decor, and art but why not make a statement with furniture? These built-in cabinets add a vibrant pink color touch to a blue and white kitchen.

This Bold Color in Bedrooms

To make a bold pink like Pantone’s Viva Magenta truly pop you can combine it with darker color tones. This moody gray bedroom shows exactly that, the walls and floor are painted in a dark shade but with a pink throw and rug, you add a joyful pop to the room.

Again, a room where two shades of pink are combined. This pink bedroom in a colorful family home combined a plaster pink shade with a bold pink/reddish rug.

We’ve already seen hot pink as an accent color in the bedroom but you can paint the walls as well as this attic bedroom shows.

Pantone’s Viva Magenta Color Palette

Pantone has also released a color palette with complimentary shades for Viva Magenta. This color palette mainly features light, neutral, natural shades that will make the Pantone Color of the Year 2023 stand out.

top row: Pale Dogwood – Gray Sand – Gray Lilac – Viva Magenta
bottom row: Pale Khaki – Fields of Rye – Agate Gray – Plein Air

Besides these neutral color tones, you may have noticed other color combinations in the images here. For a natural look, you can combine Viva Magenta with green and blue. If you want the 2023 color to really stand out you can combine it with dark gray. Or you can go for a full pink look, where dusty pink tones form the neutral base of your room with magenta color accents.

How do you feel about the Pantone Color of the Year 2023: Viva Magenta? Do you enjoy the bold color, or is it too much for you? Truth be told, I’m still forming my opinion, but some of you will have immediate gut reactions to it. Let me know your thoughts, especially if you’d like to explore using this color in your spaces – I can help you test the waters.

If this bold rich magenta color for 2023 has inspired you, and you’d like to see how to incorporate it into your spaces, I’m always available for consultations. Choose a contact method right below this blog post, or click this “contact” link. You can also email me at: carmen@sohointeriordesign.com And you can always call me anytime at (407) 743-2399.