Apricot (#FFA66B): an introduction
The color of French apricot tarts and powdery daffodils
The below introduction to the color Apricot is translated from Anna-Lena’s blog - see the original German version here.
As we previously mentioned, we have a new concept where we are creating tablescapes and a menu showcasing our seasonal color. We had an absolute blast cooking and photographing the Apricot tablescape, which will be featured in our next article. Subscribe to make sure you don’t miss it!
“Et je resterai demain / Notre amour sera beau / Au fond de ton jardin / Au 3 rue de l’abricot / Rue de l’abricot / Rue de l’abricot” — “Rue de l’abricot” by France Gall
Everything has its season, yet nowadays we tend to rush through things rather than wait until a season has truly arrived. People decorate for Halloween in July, and shortly after New Year’s the Christmas trees are already out the door — even though the Christmas season officially hasn’t ended yet.
It’s the same with spring flowers. I can never bring myself to buy daffodils or tulips in winter. To me, they simply belong to spring, which this year very dutifully kept us waiting. After a beautiful winter with snow and ice - which is as it should be - spring has finally arrived. The crocuses, winter aconites, and snowdrops are in full bloom, the birds are singing their hearts out, and we’re tilting our weary faces toward the sky to soak up the warming sun.
That’s exactly the moment when I bring the first tulips and daffodils indoors. In the flower bed, I find the mix of dark red tulips and apricot-colored daffodils particularly charming. Finding that specific combination as cut flowers, however, is a challenge. But at my favorite florist, there are sometimes white daffodils and apricot-colored French tulips. As I buy them, I decide that apricot will be this year’s spring color.
Apricot is a light, delicate mix of orange and pink — more yellow-toned than salmon or coral, but less powdery than peach. This soft hue is often associated with new beginnings, joie de vivre, and optimism — making it the perfect spring color.
But apricot isn’t just a spring trend. Alongside Pantone’s “Peach Fuzz,” Coloro’s “Apricot Crush” was the trend color of 2024. It’s not new, though — apricot manages to be on trend every few decades, without ever pushing itself too aggressively into the spotlight. That was last the case in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, but also earlier, such as in the Roaring Twenties. It was first defined as a color in 1851.
For me, this shade is above all associated with a great deal of savoir-vivre. Perhaps that French connection is also why many people perceive the hue as warm, sweet, and carefree.
It doesn’t impose itself the way red or orange does, and it doesn’t evoke Mediterranean associations the way terracotta does. Apricot won’t transport you to India like pink, or to the South Pacific like coral. It’s a color that gently tells a warm story, and only becomes bold when you actively style it that way.
Like so many pastel tones, apricot integrates well into a wide variety of interior styles.
Combined with more neutral tones in a minimalist setting, apricot can provide the warm embrace that may be needed to keep a space from feeling too sterile.
Paired with other pastels like light blue or mint, apricot serves as the warm counterpart without becoming too feminine. Apricot is particularly beautiful, though, alongside other shades from the same color spectrum, punctuated by rich, darker tones such as forest green, ocean blue, or even anthracite.
A word of caution: be careful when you start combining apricot with glitz and glam. Paired with cream-colored natural stone and mirrored surfaces, you can quickly end up with an opulent 1980s interior that looks like it fell headfirst into a powder box.
If you find yourself standing before a bare wall in your hallway or child’s room, wondering which color to choose, I can only encourage you to give apricot a try. Especially on a large surface, it’s a color that knows how to make itself beautifully at home. Make sure to look left and right as well — might the doors benefit from a touch of color, perhaps in a lighter shade from the apricot spectrum? And if that’s not your particular challenge at the moment, I’d still urge you to see if you can find some apricot-colored daffodils somewhere, to get you fully into the spring spirit.
As for me, I’ll be slipping my husband a recipe for a tarte tatin aux abricots and hunting down the right décor for an apricot-friendly spring dinner.