This cheeky tone has been named Pantone’s Colour of the Year for a good reason. From the catwalks and across cyber space, Viva Magenta has been splashed across the globe, catching the public’s attention with its bright, bold hue.

Red’s rebellious sister, Viva Magenta is a specific shade of pinkish purple that evokes a sense of excitement and euphoria – like finding a tenner in your jeans pocket you never knew you had and then spending it on a frivolous, eclectic cocktail.

Like most colours in the red family, its organic origins stem from the cochineal beetle; an insect that produces one of the most precious and strongest natural dyes, carmine. This unique substance was harvested as far back as the second century BC by the Aztecs and Mayans, and original stone copies of Hello! magazine chiselled into cave walls reveal how the dye was used in their fabrics. Possibly.  

No one’s saying that you should suddenly slap the colour everywhere in your house – although strap yourself in for the C-list celebrity that inevitably does – but conforming to one idea, one story or one colour just isn’t done anymore. Jazz that dark blue living room with a shock of magenta upholstery, wrapped tight around an armchair; tickle your dark green dining room with smaller magenta accents on sideboards and shelves; positively spank your plain old bedroom with the kind of bold cushions and bedspread that will have Mr and Mrs Beige next door selling up and running for the hills.   

An unconventional shade for an unconventional time, you really can’t fail to raise a smile, no matter which room you choose to lick with this confident colour. Viva magenta!