“Colour is never stable – but with the right knowledge, it becomes your greatest tool.” Andrea Lucena-Orr

The Seminar Series at Decor + Design is a unique opportunity to learn from the very best in the Australian industry. As our Official Colour Partner for 2025, Dulux will be represented by Andrea Lucena-Orr, Colour & Communications Manager. Andrea is a judge on the VIVID Emerging Designer Awards, and will also open the Seminar Series on Wednesday 16 July with a session on Dulux Practical Colour Application & Training for designers.

With over two decades of experience forecasting colour trends, Andrea will empower interior designers, architects and specifiers to use colour with confidence – whether it’s bold hues or the subtle art of selecting the perfect white. Andrea will unpack practical techniques and trend insights, including highlights from Milan Design Week 2025. Visitors can book the session when registering to attend the exhibition here.

In the lead up to the event, we asked Andrea some questions to delve into how Australians use colour differently, plus how the approach to colour internationally is constantly shifting.

Your session at Decor + Design focuses on confident colour application. How does Australia’s natural landscape and quality of light influence the way we should approach both interior and exterior colour?

Australia’s natural landscape definitely has an influence for how we approach colour for our interiors and exteriors. Our light is much brighter in the southern hemisphere and our general lifestyle is more casual so we are known to entertain outside for many months of the year. Australians tend to use more muted shades in colour, which are more subdued and seen to be more natural.

You’ve been forecasting colour trends for over 25 years. What’s one shift you’ve seen in the way people respond to colour emotionally or culturally?

We have been forecasting colour since 1999 and the one shift I’ve seen in the way people respond to colour emotionally and culturally is around bedroom colours. We often see people explore colour for children’s bedrooms and main bedrooms which is such an important space to use colour.

These rooms are used for our personal rest and relaxation, therefore they should reflect our own taste to ensure our bedroom feels like our own sanctuary.

Dulux’s trend palettes are very influential. Could you share a bit about the process of developing these colour palettes each year?

We research macro and micro trends such as world events, financial and political platforms, media focus, technology innovation and fashion to name a few. We analyse these as well as attend many seminars and workshops both locally and overseas. We also review global reports on design and attend trade fairs including Milan Design Week.

Once we have all of our information we then review where colour is now and where it’s heading…interior colour is an evolution, we don’t just change everything dramatically in a year. This is a slow change and you can see that year-on-year, however when you look back the changes become more dramatic over 5 or 10 years. We also ensure that the colours we are seeing work in our marketplace as not all colours from Western Europe will necessarily work in our brighter light or generally from a cultural perspective.

As a member of the Colour Marketing Group, you have a global perspective. What’s something international that’s resonating right now – and how does it translate to the Australian market?

I feel from a global perspective, consumer sentiment has taken a hit over the last couple of years which is due to many macro trends. Often this means that people become less daring and tend to go back to more conservative decisions. Also, it’s no surprise during these turbulent times we see brown and a general warmth in our base colours. We are certainly seeing more beiges, tans, toffees and warmer neutrals and whites now that we did four years ago.

What can people who attend your session at Decor + Design 2025 expect to walk away with?

After my session, I hope people who have attended will feel much more confident in using colour, but also feel more positive in helping their clients select more colour, even if this means choosing the right white! Colour is never stable as we know, so I will go through the tips and tricks to help attendees ensure they have the knowledge needed to work through ways to help use colour more successfully in their projects.

Not only will I help with colour, I will also educate the best way to understand how whites and neutrals work with surrounding colour and light. I will go through the Dulux tools in depth to ensure that everyone knows how to use these easily. Also happy to share some exciting things we saw recently in Milan Design Week!

Don’t miss Andrea’s session at Decor + Design 2025! Australia’s definitive destination for Australia’s interior design industry, taking place from 16 – 18 July at Melbourne Exhibition Centre. Register now to visit the exhibition and reserve your seminar ticket – places are limited so book now to ensure that you don’t miss out.