4 Vintage Colors Designers Swear are Making a Comeback in 2026
From deep purples to sunbaked terracottas, expect to see these four nostalgic shades everywhere this year
Heritage hues that once crowned grand dining rooms, cozy snugs, and country bedrooms might've taken a back seat for a while, but as the interiors world continues to show love for past design, vintage colors are making their way back into this year's color trends.
While vintage paint colors, in theory, could read overly traditional, these four once-loved colors couldn't be further from fussy. From ochre to purple (can you believe it?), they're each rich, warm, and masterfully powerful – and have made a welcome return.
1. Purple
Deep purple grasscloth walls envelop this snug living room designed by French & French, providing warmth, depth, and richness.
'Purples are making a comeback,' says Heather French of French & French Interiors. 'It feels reminiscent of the ’70s – purples mixed with mustard yellows, muddy greens, and burnt oranges. I think purple can be difficult to design with because you don’t see much inspiration for it unless you’re actively looking, but when balanced with warm tones and sophisticated textures, layered shades of this hue begin to feel elevated rather than youthful.'
Whether it's a deep aubergine like Farrow & Ball's Brinjal to grace the walls of a home library or a fresher gray-tinted lavender such as Benjamin Moore's Lavender Blue, purple strikes a balance between classic and contemporary all at once. 'Purple is an unexpected color to bring into the home, and when done right, it feels modern, playful, and sophisticated all at once,' adds Heather.
2. Ochre
Farrow & Ball’s India Yellow is the color of choice in this sophisticated living room designed by Rebecca Hughes.
Ochre is the new butter yellow for 2026. Deeper, warmer, and far richer than its pale yellow counterpart, ochre has crept back into this year's color trends with full force. A slightly more orange mustard yellow with a more muted feel, ochre is the surprisingly livable answer to decorating with yellow.
As we continue to embrace color rather than shy away from it, ochre, a color used since ancient times, has returned. While cool-toned neutrals ruled the 2010s, the last few years have been filled with welcome retro color trends, allowing those vibrant, vivid tones we once feared to seep back into homes everywhere.
A chic kitchen cabinet color trend as well as a clever choice for cabinetry in a living room (pictured above), ochre strikes a balance between warm, cheery, and grounding.
3. Magnolia
Striking a balance between warm and clean, Magnolia pairs beautifully with richer colors like orange, pink, and green.
'Magnolia is a beautiful, nostalgic shade that simply suffered from being overused,' explains Francesca. A cream paint with yellow undertones, magnolia never feels stark; in fact, it's the best alternative to white out there. It might've once been a 2000s interior design trend that many avoided after its popular spell, but heritage creams like magnolia are returning.
One of those timeless paint colors that works its magic in any room, it's hard to envision a space that wouldn't appreciate a lick of the warm white paint.
'To make it feel fitting today, the most important thing is to trust your own instincts and choose a shade because it resonates with you emotionally rather than because it is currently in fashion,' explains Francesca. 'When a color is chosen with sincerity, it never truly goes out of style. You can ensure these heritage tones feel contemporary by focusing on the quality and depth of the pigment itself.'
4. Terracotta
A sunbaked hue that glows and warms, Farrow & Ball's Fake Tan brings a playful edge to this country kitchen.
While Francesca admits that truly timeless colors stay in rotation, she adds, 'Having said so, colors that have been silent for a while, like deep ochres and terracotta, have been making a huge return this year. These are historical colors, part of our heritage, that should have never been out of fashion, but at the time, they saturated the market, and they were considered old-fashioned.'
With warming, Mediterranean roots, the terracotta color trend couldn't be more versatile. Bringing warmth to any space, yet retaining that grounding, liveable quality that many turn to neutrals for, terracotta evokes a classical yet comfortable feel that we all crave. From deeper clay-tones like Farrow & Ball's Naperon to more subdued options like Faded Terracotta, the best terracotta paints bring lasting depth without overwhelming your scheme.
'As people yearn for stability, nostalgic colors provide comfort while still enabling personal expression through rich, unexpected hues,' says Hannah Yeo, Senior Manager, Color Marketing at Benjamin Moore. 'Warm taupe and brown hues slowly replaced cooler grays; while terracotta hues such as Baked Terra Cotta 1202 warm up the spaces.'
These four shades might be back, but Francesca is quick to point out that the best colors are the ones that stick around. 'I have been making colors for more than thirty years, and I believe that a good color should not be considered a trend or vintage. A good color stays modern and up to date forever; it becomes part of us, and there is no need to change it all the time. If we follow what is popular rather than what we really like and feel, then we are almost obliged to change the colors as often as the wave of trends comes by.'
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