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April 28, 2026 \u2014 7:30pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n It\u2019s the interior colour wave no one saw coming. Well, almost no one.<\/p>\n Amid the warm tones of mushroom pink, olive green, burnt orange and even flashes of baby blue gracing the walls of the most fashionable interiors, the most consistent colour emerging right now is burgundy.<\/p>\n Whether it\u2019s a leather lounge, velvet cushions, high-gloss tiles, painted walls and joinery, or rosso levanto marble, burgundy is fast becoming the go-to shade to create a sense of depth, sophistication and, above all, design confidence.<\/p>\n Melbourne-based interior designer Ruby Shields of Studio Shields says you don\u2019t have to look far to find the inspiration.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cGucci did that collaboration with Milan Design Week<\/a> [in 2024] and burgundy was the key colour,\u201d says Shields. \u201cThey did it in a gorgeous gloss finish and mixed it with lime green. Interior designers follow fashion and whatever comes out of that work is usually implemented [in residential design].\u201d<\/p>\n Studio Shields is among 27 finalists in the 2026 Dulux Colour Awards<\/a>, which are celebrating their 40th year of highlighting Australia\u2019s best interior design.<\/p>\n Shields has two projects for consideration, including her own home, created alongside her husband, carpenter Patrick Shields. Burgundy is the anchoring colour in the study.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is such a good foundation,\u201d she says. \u201cI have a burgundy rug and a burgundy sofa, and then muddy brown wall and blues and terracotta and all those colours bounce together.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a natural colour \u2013 soils and clays all have an essence of this. It\u2019s not a chemical colour – it\u2019s a natural earthy tone.\u201d<\/p>\n Sydney-based designer Greg Natale is no stranger to burgundy. He associates it with his favourite international city.<\/p>\n \u201cI have been using burgundy for a while, going back to 2019,\u201d he says. \u201cWe were drawn to it because we love Paris and it\u2019s the colour of Paris, so it started from travelling.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a classic colour and it does work well with everything. It\u2019s another neutral \u2013 but it is dramatic.\u201d<\/p>\n In a take-no-prisoners approach, Natale has gone all in on a project in Gordon, where the kitchen joinery is wall-to-wall burgundy with marble benchtops in rosso levanto. The colour and materials are repeated throughout the house in en suite tiles, living room side tables, dressing room joinery and wall-to-wall carpet.<\/p>\n Natale describes it as a classic colour that is surprisingly versatile, but with an undertone of drama<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s cinematic and dramatic,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s very \u201970s, like [US fashion designer] Halston\u2019s offices on Fifth Avenue. They were that beautiful burgundy, all those reds. It\u2019s all very \u201970s high-end luxe.\u201d<\/p>\n Dulux colour and design manager Lauren Treloar says burgundy is \u201chaving a moment\u201d in interior design, whether it is teamed with warm neutrals or it is used \u201ccolour drenching\u201d style on walls, skirting boards, architraves and even ceilings.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cIt\u2019s all about the berries and cherries, those beautiful colours,\u201d she says. \u201cIt is a colour we have seen steadily grow in popularity in the past two or three years.\u201d<\/p>\n Sydney-based interior designer and Colour Awards judge Sarah-Jane Pyke says the rise of burgundy is yet another example of the connection between interior design and the catwalk.<\/p>\n \u201cThere has always been a tie between fashion and interiors when it comes to colour,\u201d she says. \u201cWe started with the soft purples and lilacs and then we saw the reintroduction of chocolate coming through from fashion, and maroon is the purpling of brown.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a fashion influence that\u2019s been going on.\u201d<\/p>\n However, she says it is a departure from the more conservative colour schemes typically seen a decade ago.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember when the winning project was all white \u2013 there were years of that,\u201d she says. \u201c[Stronger colour] started appearing 10 to 15 years ago, but because it has been so embraced in the past five years, there has been an explosion of colourful interiors this year.<\/p>\n \u201cNow colour drenching has gone from being the exception to almost the rule \u2013 there are no feature walls any more, thankfully.\u201d<\/p>\n While shades of blues and greens have dominated in recent years, Pyke says the emergence of burgundy as a more popular colour signals a shift in direction.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere we have seen before blues and greens \u2013 always soft pretty blues and sage greens and even deep blues have been around for a long time \u2013 now we are seeing deep brown and maroon,\u201d she says. \u201cNeutrals are moving into fleshy and biscuit tones.\u201d<\/p>\n While layering harmonising colours is a tried and true method, Pyke says successfully combining different colours, patterns and textures takes another level of skill.<\/p>\n \u201cThe criteria [for the awards] is both creativity and mastery of colour,\u201d she says. \u201c[For colours with] some of those yellow undertones, there is a mastery to balance them with the other materials and colours and taking the client along to go somewhere a bit unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Interior](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/98c167901bfe480fab97dc6616debea7ab201a8b.jpeg\")
Interior designer Greg Natale used burgundy liberally in this project in Sydney, including tiles, carpet and joinery.Anson Smart<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0378a6ac359df4aceac9be9366d28478f3dd355e.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Interior](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0d5e697f0304eab0efe4ea13d1bb1d13887b784c.jpeg\")
Interior designer Ruby Shields says burgundy works well with natural materials and textures.Martina Gemmola<\/p>\n![\"Burgundy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/8ba0ae1a4c1842410248a097afb44e335b2b9b3c.jpeg\")
Burgundy in the kitchen? It goes well with a nice drop of red wine.Anson Smart\/Greg Natale Design<\/p>\n![\"Hotels](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3d049cfa78c32960eec1992a05b724e69ab46d72.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Colour](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3f08823429a02d03c1e68a70793e72849c73d6a2.jpeg\")
Colour drenching anyone? The design team at Pac Studio match walls in Dulux Brown Ranch with a butter yellow door. The project is another finalist in this year\u2019s awards.Samuel Hartnett<\/p>\n
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