Lilac

Bring the fresh promise of new beginnings with this on-trend pastel shade. Here's how and why to make it work in your home

It's the colour for you if:

1 You want to move forward in life

2 You'd like a fresh and welcoming feel

3 You're craving a relaxing space

4 You want a change from blue or pink

Lilac is an unusual and somewhat underrated color that's packed Twith meaning and symbolism. It shares its name with lilac the flower, which has the shortest spring-time bloom period of just three weeks and is adorned with the most delicate lilac- and pink-edged petals. Lilac has come to represent the start of spring and the hope of a warmer season.

‘Lilac has a spiritual, dreama like quality, too,' says Marianne Shillingford at Dulux. 'In Buddhism and Hinduism, the sacred lilac lotus is a symbol of beauty, rebirth, and enlightenment.? In 19th-century Europe, lilac was worn after black to indicate that you were in the final stages of mourning - another sign of moving forward and looking to the future.