THE word pistachio is incredibly evocative, suggesting opulence and exoticism.
To me, it conjures up thoughts of Byzantium, of unfettered feasting on mountains of gorgeously comfortable cushions.
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Pistachio is a glorious colour, but the version of “pistachio” that’s haunting us in 2026 is far muddier and less delectable than the one I am thinking of.
This pistachio is no better than wattle and daub. We are no longer living in the Middle Ages; there’s no need to plaster your walls in tones of mud and rotting leaves.
It feels like low self-esteem decorating, and I’m concerned it’s going to become a gateway drug for even less charismatic shades of green. Consider avocado, another drab colour that is far too phlegmy for my liking.
2026’s version of pistachio is, in my opinion, a bit peaky. I am a big fan of the current aesthetic zeitgeist about bringing the outdoors indoors, but we first need to consider what nature is about.
In this part of the Northern Hemisphere we don’t, admittedly, have light bouncing off orange trees and the honeyed-toned sands of the local beach, but that doesn’t mean that by the time nature comes into our houses, it needs to be clinging to the last vestiges of its vegetation.
Pistachio hasn’t received any grim news from its doctor; it isn’t facing palliative care. Pistachio should be light ice-cream bright.
Celebrities are naturally very enthusiastic about this new pistachio.
Stacey Solomon had a pistachio kitchen and a pistachio sofa in Pickle Cottage; Victoria Beckham has a pistachio chaise in her bedroom.
Their version of pistachio has no pizazz whatsoever.
If you absolutely must have it, you should introduce another colour to bring out the best in it.
Stacey revealed to her fans last week that she has sold Pickle Cottage.
Obviously MiLady Swash is hurriedly putting pistachio behind her since Lady VB has taken up the trend.
Personally, I would have liked to do those walls of Stacey’s in a fresh sky blue.
That would have made sense of the “meh” sofa landscaping; you’re then in an open natural vista.
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But of course people are very reticent about committing too much to experiential interior design.
What tends to be much more popular is marrying neutrals with another neutral, like pistachio, so your living room ends up looking like something’s gone horribly wrong in your boil wash.
Choose another colour to work with. But don’t do pink. Too many people do this. If you’ve got too much pink and green, it’s literally going to look like granny’s nightie.
I don’t think Madame Beckham would want me adding a splash of colour to her home either.
I can imagine her rubbing her door frames with garlic every time I drive past, laser-style taste alarms positioned everywhere in her Manor House to ward me off.
Whenever I walk into a room, she runs out of it.
But I can’t help wondering whether Sir Dave wouldn’t fancy a dash more colour. I mean, he’s clearly a bit of an orange and yellow man; you can just tell.
Pistachio has a long history. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term “pistachio green” was first used by an English scholar, Francis Gladwin, in a translated Persian text in 1793.
The colour pistachio was very big in the 1920s, big in the 1950s, and had a massive revival in the Eighties.
The shell of the pistachio is beige; it’s the seed that has that distinctive green shade. The green colour comes from chlorophyll, the green pigment found in fruit and vegetables such as apples and lettuce.
Princess Diana wore pistachio with big hair in the Wham era.
The pistachios before now have been lovely and a bit limey.
The Eighties pistachio was an almost Opal Fruit sort of green – just lovely.
I think this pistachio trend comes from a specific place: the huge interest in Dubai chocolate.
The point is to be exotic; Dubai chocolate is oriental and indulgent – and can make you sick as a dog if you eat too much of it.
What I would say to make pistachio work, is to take a leaf out of the culinary palette. One of the things you could put with pistachios chocolate; when you’ve got flavours that work together, the colours tend to go well together too.
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So you could marry pistachio with a really rich chocolatey brown; it could be a dark wooden floor, or a mouthwatering chocolatey velvet.
I would encourage people to bring in something on the fresh side of the palette.
I worry that in the darker shade you are two or three chromatic steps from avocado.
Look at pistachio ice cream; it’s really quite fresh. I’d like to see more of that; it reflects the light we’ve got here in the UK.
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Keep it fresh rather than fuggy and clotted.
I have nothing against the colour green. Actually, I love it!
I even have a green dining room. Green is amazing.
It’s blue and yellow at the same time, cold and hot. And it looks great with itself.
It’s a horizon colour, a colour that makes walls feel further away.
On the other hand, colours like brown, purple and red make the walls feel a lot closer.
I’ve used a pale greyish green and set it against a pale blue as part of a Persian motif.
I was leaning into exoticism, but also the bright, optimistic and slightly bracing green that true pistachio should be all about. Boldness, opulence – and va-va-boom!