Five paint trends for autumn

From earthy golds to vibrant purples, these are the colours that will help transform your home this autumn.

Butternut

Butternut is a quintessential autumn vegetable, perfect for warming soups and stews. As a paint colour, its orange-brown shade is just as warming as its namesake.

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House Beautiful cites designer Chad Eisner's California beach house with its butternut leather banquette as a sterling example of how judicious use of the colour can instantly create a "cosy bungalow feeling".

Mustard

Mustard has long been a seasonal classic and shows no sign of going out of style. Various hues feature on almost every autumn palette this year, including Pantone's fashion forecast and several paint brands. The rich yellow evokes the fading leaves of autumn while projecting a cosy warmth and cheer that keep spirits high as the nights draw in.

Blue

While orange and brown are widely synonymous with this time of year, Pantone's fashion forecast puts blue at the heart of its autumn palette.

Blue represents the constancy of the skies above and consequently conveys "tranquility, strength, and optimism", it says. If that sounds like the mood you're keen to project, Pantone highlights deep "riverside" blue and lighter "airy" blue as two key tones for creating a harmonious autumn hideaway.

Gold

Dulux chose "cherished gold" as its shade of the year for 2016 and its warm but luxurious feel is particularly suited to the autumn months.

"As metallics continue to add that feel-good factor into our homes, this earthy gold-inspired hue will offer that little touch of glamour in an authentic and personal way,"says Rebecca Williamson, the senior colour design manager at Dulux.

Purple

The lengthening evenings and fallen leaves might make earthy tones seem particularly fitting in autumn colour schemes, but there's no need to dismiss the more vibrant shades.

"Bodacious", one of the more unusual colours on Pantone's autumn palette, is a bold purple hue that stands out in a seasonal scheme usually dominated by neutral shades. Specially chosen for its ability to complement a variety of more traditional autumn hues, a burst of Bodacious can provide the perfectly judged accent to an autumnal makeover.