Which brick colours are catching your eye for projects in 2025? Today’s range of clay brick colours offers architects and developers a rich and varied spectrum to design with. While every project is different and pre-existing requirements (both technical and aesthetic) can create limitations, some builds provide an exciting opportunity to experiment with different aesthetics.
In this article, we’ll share the brick colour trends we’re predicting you’ll see more of this year to provide inspiration for your next project.
Brick colour of the year 2025
This year, the brick colour of the year is silver city, a very pale silver-grey that ‘pulls in design cues from its natural surroundings.’
This notion of brick colours and textures reflecting their natural environment is not new. Before infrastructure allowed us to transport raw materials across the country (and the globe), brickmakers used clay from local quarries and builders used local bricks. Due to variation in regional clay composition, buildings across the country would display striking colour differences that harmonised with surrounding nature.
Returning to the brick colour of the year, a silver-grey would look most at home in slate and stone-dominant environments such as Cumbria or Lancashire, or the dramatic granite and schist landscapes of much of Scotland. It can also help soften steel and concrete-heavy surroundings in cities like Manchester, Leeds and Bristol without clashes.
In the Michelmersh portfolio, Blockleys offers the impactful cool-toned greys Synthesis S09 and Sterling Grey and Floren.be provides delicate pale greys with depth in its Polaris and Alpha facing bricks. Our swatchbook can help you find the perfect shade for your project as well as match existing bricks.
Pastel colour bricks
The prevalence of pastels might feel like a distinctly millennial trend, but we can trace their popularity back to the 18th century when pastel portraits became highly sought after.
Pastel colours have a cyclical presence in design trends. After the Second World War, the surge of soft, bright hues in decor, cars and fashion reflected post-war optimism. In the 1980s, the global influence of TV show Miami Vice and the vibrant namesake city it portrayed made pastels popular once more. The 2010s boost seemingly sprung from cultural shifts and was accelerated by consumer goods branding that favoured openness and softness.
Fast forward to today and pastels are on the rise again in our built environment, possibly as a result of seeking comfort in the face of continuing uncertainty about the future. You’re unlikely to see ‘millenial pink’ clay bricks but you might see more pale reds and yellows that evoke a soothing and hopeful atmosphere. Floren’s Alaska Rustic and Warboys Cream and Blockleys’ Penine Buff Wirecut and Park Royal are examples of pastel bricks from the Michelmersh portfolio.
Bold brick colours
While pastels will be a firm favourite for many specifiers this year, bold brick colours are also likely to see a surge in popularity. Dezeen has reported that a steady retreat from the minimalism trend will see more ‘dynamic and emotionally engaging designs’ from a ‘collective yearning for authenticity’ which puts vibrant orange and red clay bricks firmly in the picture.
The strengths of clay brick are consistent regardless of colour, but bricks like Michelmersh’s Hampshire Stock Red and Hampshire Stock Orange can offer a bright charm reminiscent of classic British buildings. This helps projects either stand out in contrast to minimalist or brutalist environments or fit in to preserve a historic aesthetic. A smooth sandfaced finish (like our Hampshire stock facing bricks have) help create an even more striking impact.
The versatility of bold reds and oranges for both contemporary and heritage designs can be seen in our Design District and Wolverton Hall Folly.
Find your perfect brick colour blend
Feeling inspired, but not sure how to go about finding the best brick colours for your design? We have multiple resources to make your selection:
- Try our free Façade Designer which lets you visualise any combination of our products, in your specified ratios, in just a few clicks.
- Order our swatchbook, containing every product in our portfolio, to see our full range of colours as well as the most relevant technical information.
- Download building information modelling (BIM) files, available for all of our clay brick products, which allow you to see the aesthetic you can achieve with specific colours.
