06 Jan 2026 My Cloud Dancer Side Quest
By Robin Murphy
See the full article on The Katonah Lewisboro Times
Last month, Pantone announced the 2026 Color of the Year, and it sent me on a small but very real side quest.
If you’re thinking, Pantone… who? — you’re not alone.
Pantone is the company that makes sure when you say “chartreuse,” you don’t end up with someone else’s idea of yellowish-green. Designers, brands and paint companies use their color system so everyone is speaking the same language.
And every year, Pantone picks one shade they believe captures the mood of the moment.
For 2026, they chose Cloud Dancer — a soft, airy white meant to feel calm, open, and full of breathing room. (Pantone’s language, not mine… but honestly, I get it.)
The internet, predictably, had thoughts.
A lot of people basically said: This is just white.
And maybe it is — but the feeling clicked for me immediately.
Because Cloud Dancer isn’t “just white.”
It’s that moment when you finally clear a space you’ve been avoiding.
You know the one:
- the mail pile in the kitchen
- the chair-turned-closet
- the bathroom counter where five products somehow become seventeen (My personal example: when my daughter was home for school break, our bathroom looked like a skincare aisle fell over.)
And after ignoring it for longer than I’d like to admit, I finally think:
Okay. Let’s just deal with this.
I sort the pile. I wipe the surface. I put things back where they actually belong.
And when I’m done, the whole space looks brighter. I didn’t repaint anything. I didn’t redecorate. But it feels like the room took a deep breath — and I did too.
That’s Cloud Dancer.
A subtle reset. A small act of relief.
But here’s the fun part: while Pantone crowned Cloud Dancer, the internet basically crowned a second winner — Phthalo Green, a rich blue-green that people started calling the “People’s Color of the Year.”
Which is honestly perfect.
Because if Cloud Dancer is the clean-slate exhale …
Phthalo Green is the “now I’m alive again” inhale.
One is calm. One is bold.
One says quiet. The other says fresh start, but make it powerful.
And the funny thing is, both colors point to the same craving: we want our spaces to feel better.
We want less noise. Less clutter. Less “low-key nagging energy” every time we walk into a room.
Which brings me to a small reset you can try this week — no new paint required:
A 10-minute Cloud Dancer Reset
- Pick one surface you’ve been avoiding
- Toss or recycle anything that’s been lingering too long
- Give it a quick wipe
- Put back only what belongs
- Add one thing you love — a candle, a plant, a photo
- Pause for ten seconds and enjoy how much lighter it feels
It’s amazing how quickly your brain responds to a cleared space.