I see this wall colour often in Canadian homes. Like a ghost of the decade of Johnny Deep and Kate Moss relationship (I loved it btw). Undoubtedly, it does bring up warm family home look, but we just think there are no other choices to achieve that look. There are. But if you’re staging on a budget and repainting is not on your to-do list, don’t despair. This is how to rock BEIGE.
King of 90’s
Let’s talk paint today! Beige is as iconic to 90’s as grunge music to my generation and Barbie dolls to little girls. With the Beverly Hills 90210 fashion came the magnificent beige. It was everywhere, and everyone had to have it. Same with dr. Martens shoes in my high school.
Guess what…it’s back! And with just few tricks, this wall colour can look very modern! I myself love it so much and have such sentiment for it, that I made it one of my branding colors.
Above all, beige undeniable benefit is that it’s cozy and hence its popularity contest trophy. People want beige, what am I saying, they adore beige, because it brings them home, it gives them peace. Beige says to them: “Come in, it’s your warm home, it’s your anchor, your understated, never-posh asylum, no one is judging you here, and even if they do, who cares”.
“Beige is only boring if you don’t like beige, it’s not boring to the person who adores and feels safe around. I vote NO JUDGEMENT. Beige can be sexy, sensual and very classy and warm. Bright color is the one thing people experiment the most with to lend a cozy vibe but the bevy of books showing colorful interiors out there fail to explain color theory 101 and the importance of selecting ones that work for you, not against you – and suit your home the best.” (Holly Becker)
Natural wall colour
Moreover, far more important to me is that beige is a natural wall colour and its derivative from organic tones and materials is an actual final selling point. Give me some wood-forest moods and I’m on board.
As a little girl, I thought that design is only based on visuals and all this magazine copy is just an extra unnecessary typography. Later on I realized that this IS the design – the vision, the idea, the words behind it. And if you understand that vision and idea and words you can start creating, thanks to the abundance of inspiration surrounding us.
So here’s the idea behind today’s take on BEIGE. In other words, how to use the color you might already have at home and bring it to 2020.
So stay away from generic “contemporary” look like this (no tall branches please!)…
but rather make it more sophisticated, yet cozy look like this by pairing it with natural materials: wood, linen, stone, etc.
From 90’s boring (?) beige to modern hip nude
“If you go the beige, brown, cream look you are dangerously close to 90’s suburbia. Mix with black, white, ink navy, blush pinks and modern finishes (brass or copper) to make sure that it stays firmly in 2016.” (Emily Henderson) In other words, make it edgy with proper props, otherwise it will come across as mellow and lukewarm. Add some black as contrast to create drama.
“Beige is NOT boring. I am so tired of hearing people say that about beige but perhaps vision is needed because beige can be a great base for fun things to happen. Think about your face. Your foundation/skin tone is beige or a tone of beige and then you add shine, sparkle, color, etc. It works. Your face isn’t boring! Same with a room with lots of beige. With texture, a variety of tones and mixing in a strong navy, some olive and accents of bright pink and orange – well, beige is still the most dominant color in this palette but it comes across as anything but boring now!” (Holly Becker) And sticking to Holly’s “face metaphor”: if you want to wear no makeup and still look sassy, make sure your skin is flawless. But adding a bit of color to beige, oh my(!) – it will move mountains:
Some of my favorite choices
Restoration Hardware
Subsequently, there’s no general direction here: you can make the light barely seen nude work and use the dark moody one to create cozy dining area. Of course, you know me, I love adding a drop of grey to keep it muted. Here are some of my suggestions:
BENJAMIN MOORE’S LONDON FOG 1541
FARROW AND BALL – DROP CLOTH
BENJAMIN MOORE’S BALBOA MIST 1549
Actually, one of Benjamin’s Moore colour of the year trends for 2020 is Golden Straw 2152-50 – very nice delicate yellowy beige.
So what do you think about beige? Or shall I say: “nude” wall colour? How did you style it?
Feature photo source
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