Boost healthcare spaces with Dulux Professional Colour of the Year

Hospital interior with walls and floor painted in soft green

Boost healthcare spaces with Dulux Professional Colour of the Year

In buildings where the focus is on health and wellbeing, people need a soothing setting that feels in tune with nature. The Dulux Professional Lush palette can bring value to healthcare buildings by creating calm, restorative spaces where people can relax and recover.

Studies have shown that patients exposed to nature scenes have less anxiety, fewer pain medication requests and a quicker post-operative recovery. Even three-to-five minutes of time in nature or viewing nature-themed events can ease unpleasant emotions¹.

Lush colours, inspired by the tones of forests and woodlands, could help increase a sense of connection with nature. Subtle and soothing, they can make sterile and impersonal healthcare spaces feel more approachable, reducing stress for patients, visitors and staff.

These four colour schemes, using Dulux Professional Colour of the Year, Wild Wonder^TM, and the Lush palette can help bring value to healthcare buildings by creating a comfortable and restorative atmosphere.

_{1 Informing Healing Spaces through Environmental Design; Thirteen Tips, US Dept of Veterans Affairs, Updated 2020. https://www.va.gov/WHOLEHEALTHLIBRARY/tools/healing-spaces-environmentaldesign.asp}

From sterile to soothing

Inspired by nature, Lush colours can help to make a sterile and impersonal healthcare space feel familiar and soothing. Here, walls painted in soft greens, with windows highlighted in Wild Wonder^TM, bring a softness and personality to a space that can often feel stark and clinical.

Which colours?

Spun Mohair - 82YY 67/046 G8.03.79
Wild Wonder - 50YY 49/191 G0.16.68
Mouse Tail - 52GY 24/050 K0.05.47
Silver Lichen - 20GY 46/067 J0.05.65

Hospital walls painted with a split wall effect combining a dark green and a soft, pastel green with a band of straw-yellow.

A comforting waiting area

The combination of shades in the Lush palette, together with Wild WonderTM, can create a calm waiting area that helps both visitors and staff feel anchored and comfortable. Here, a split wall effect enhances the approachable feel of the space and adds visual interest.

Which colours?

Spun Mohair - 82YY 67/046 G8.03.79
Wild Wonder - 50YY 49/191 G0.16.68
Old Time Olive - 60YY 33/130 G3.12.56
Cocao Pod - 38RR 15/026 AN.02.35

A split wall effect in a hospital waiting area with paneled walls and a sofa

A softer exterior that plays to nature

The linear feel of this contemporary exterior is softened by the colour scheme – a subtle green combined with Dulux Professional Colour of the Year, Wild Wonder^TM. Inspired by nature, Lush colours also fit perfectly with the surrounding greenery, helping the building feel part of the landscape.

Which colours?

Spun Mohair - 82YY 67/046 G8.03.79
5Wild Wonder - 50YY 49/191 G0.16.68

Contemporary hospital exterior painted with soft natural colors, surrounded by greenery

A tranquil outdoor space

Nature-inspired colours can help heighten the restorative benefits of a healthcare space. This exterior passageway, painted in a combination of Lush colours and Wild Wonder^TM, blends perfectly with the surrounding landscape.

Which colours?

Mouse Tail - 52GY 24/050 K0.05.47
Wild Wonder - 50YY 49/191 G0.16.68
Spun Mohair - 82YY 67/046 G8.03.79
Cocao Pod - 38RR 15/026 AN.02.35