This is one of my favourite times of the year. Yesterday, 20th March, marks the official first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and it was also the International Day of Happiness.

And if that doesn’t put a big smile on your face, today, 21st March, oh my, we have the trifecta. It’s only International Colour Day!

What is International Colour Day?

The AIC, International Colour Association, has chosen 21st March to be the International Colour Day. This is because in the northern hemisphere this day marks the spring equinox, where equi = equal and nox = night, so around the equinox, night and day are approximately equal in length.

This symbolically represents the complementary nature of light and darkness, light and shadow, as expressed in all human cultures and in nature.

It’s when we move from the darkness into the light.

And what better day to celebrate colour than the moment the balance of light begins to shift again.

This is still with UNESCO to have this day officially recognised, but while we’re waiting, there’s no harm in celebrating it, right?

Want to bring the colour in?

To celebrate International Colour Day this year, I’m sharing some of the wonderful colour lovers I’ve had the pleasure of chatting to over the years in my On The Colour Couch series.

I asked them about their favourite colour, what it means to them, and in a couple of cases why they don’t have a favourite at all.

Many you may recognise from John Cooper, last year’s winner of BBC1 Interior Design Masters; chalk paint creator, Annie Sloane CBE; Kitty Joseph textile designer, iconic fashion designer Dame Zandra Rhodes, textile designer Kaffe Fassett MBE, and garden designer Lee Burkhill featured on BBC1 Garden Rescue.

Head over to Instagram to see the Colour Couch guests sharing their favourite colours.

Want to dive further into colour?

If you’d like to dive further into colour, you can download the first chapter of my book ‘The Little Book of Colour’ for free.

Wishing you a colour filled day!

Colourfully Yours,
Karen x

Updated March 2026