Every year Pantone releases its ‘Colour Of The Year’. Last year’s was two shades – Rose Quartz and Serenity, this year’s was a zesty shade of green (Greenery) and for 2018 Dulux has announced its Colour of The year as Heart Wood, which reminds me of a mushroom – a dark mushroom.

Nothing wrong with dark mushrooms of course. In fact, I’ve got a few ‘dark mushroom’ colours dotted throughout my home including a bee embossed storage box from South Africa and a couple of nondescript throws that seem to tie in with any theme.

But dark mushroom isn’t – and never will be – my preferred colour. It’s too…..well, plain I guess is what I’m trying to say.

But who says we have to follow protocol anyway and follow the herd? Instead, I’ve decided to be the black sheep of the family and come up with my own Colour Of The Year for 2018 – and I’m calling it Merry Berry!

Merry what now?!

So what’s in the name? I hear you ask. Well, I’m usually merry most of the time (not merry as in drunk, but merry as in an optimistic, happy go-lucky kind of way), and as berry rhymes with merry (and berries are usually red), this is the colour I’m going for.

I’ve walked around my home to pick out my favourite cheery interior accessories to show you just how cool Merry Berry really is…

First up it’s this homely Great British Puddings sign, which takes pride of place on one of my kitchen walls. Anyone who knows me, knows what a sweet tooth I have and I couldn’t believe it when I spotted this sign for around £6 in Primark a few years ago – especially as similar signs were being sold for much more in other online shops.

The sign features some of my favourite puddings and cakes including Victoria Sponge, Spotted Dick and Bakewell Tart. As we’re on the subject of sweet treats, other favourites of mine include Key Lime Pie, Gypsy Tart and Banoffee Pie. Crikey, just the mention of these is making me hungry!

Don’t tamper with the camper!

Next up it’s this super cool Volkswagon LEGO camper van that my mum bought for my son last Christmas.

When he built it, it looked so good that I couldn’t bear the thought of it gathering dust in his bedroom; it needed to be shown off, so I convinced him to let me put it in my dining room display cabinet – and it has been there ever since.

It’s great as it acts as a conversational piece when guests come over for dinner.

It wasn’t cheap, but it’s one of those pieces that will never go out of fashion. I’m even considering getting a matching campervan rug from Lionshome, which would tie the look together even more.

By the way, if you’re wondering about the OXO tin, I picked this up at a boot fair for 50p a few years ago. It’s always worth scouring boot fairs for one-off finds!

Another item that has elements of my Merry Berry colour is a beautiful vase that I picked from Debenhams.

I had it filled with faux flowers throughout the summer – and someone recently bought me some flowers round, so I dug out the vase again for autumn.

And that’s the great thing about Merry Berry – it’s a colour that is very versatile and wouldn’t look out of place whatever the season. Am I selling it to you yet?

Sign of the times

Then I’ve got this fab ‘Mix It Up!’ metal sign in my kitchen – you can tell I’ve gone for a 50s/retro vibe can’t you?!

I actually picked this up in the BHS Closing down sale for £3. Oh how I miss the browsing the aisles of BHS at the weekend – good job that they are still online though, so it’s not all bad.

If you’re wondering, the tea chest was found in a supermarket in France, but I have seen them online in a variety of different designs.

Moving on to my office and here I keep my Merry Berry ‘Wonder Woman’ coaster – which costs £3.60 and my Costa Coffee canister.

I can’t get enough of Costa Coffee – and a friend bought me the canister filled with coffee for my birthday.

Last, but by no means least, I’ve chosen this letter ‘H’ for home as my final Merry Berry piece.

From memory I think it was from Dunelm-Mill and I recall buying it around Christmas.

But because I love the fun polka dot element, I’ve ended up keeping it in my hallway (above my mirror) year-round. It was either that or trying to remember to put it away 12 days after Christmas each year!

So, I guess the only question that remains is….

If you could pick your own ‘Colour Of The Year’, what would you choose?

Go on, be brave and pick one!

A Pin for Your Interiors Ideas Board