Summer Trends: Cocoa Colours

The natural shade of the moment? It’s dark. It’s edgy. It’s oozing with character. It’s delightfully rich – introducing Cocoa. We’re amping things up this summer with this utterly deep hue. Deliciously, decadently, darker than its forerunner Mocha Mousse, Cocoa’s chocolatey tones are unbridled and undiluted, drawn straight from the intense, velvety hues of freshly roasted cocoa beans.

As Cocoa wraps around you and your rooms, you’ll notice a sinking of shoulders and an exhaling as true relaxation takes hold. The shade feels like the comforting embrace of warm summer air at dusk, like the fading heat of golden hour on sun-kissed skin, like the sweet hush of twilight as day gently gives way to night. It creates a cosy, inviting aura that’s both grounding and sophisticated, harnessing the solace of nature indoors with daring darkness.

To usher Cocoa into the home, intermingle it with a mix of textured paler tones – we’re thinking sandy linens, blonde timber, bleached rattan... – to keep things fresh and accentuate the shade’s enthralling depth. Let the hue take centre stage on key pieces such as sofas, armchairs or rugs, or bring in just a dash of it to keep things a little more subdued. Don’t be afraid to let it saturate a space – a wrap-around Cocoa cocoon creates an all-encompassing, immersive calmness and sense of connection.

The enveloping Cocoa cushioning of Porada’s Koji sofa by Giuseppe Viganò is complemented by coordaining timber detailing, the all-over shade making for a tasty block of irresistibility. Meanwhile the Brik seating collection by Martina and Massimo Castagna for Bonaldo cuts the deep brown into more bite-sized chunks, the modular designs themselves segmented like Cadbury-esque bars waiting to be indulged in.

The richest shade in Knoll’s Muecke Wood collection by Jonathan Muecke is the Oxford Walnut finish, a smooth tone that speaks of nuts smothered in chocolate – or for something more delicate try Tonelli’s Cathedral suspension lamp by Studio14, the Cocoa mellowed and broken into glass pieces in smoked or bronze fused glass.