Color Theory

color theory – best beiges

March 10, 2009

If we say beige, do you say blah? Of all the paint colors out there, beige is seldom considered the most exciting—especially when you’ve got rich dark chocolates, icy blues, and sunny yellows to choose from. Suzanne is currently designing an apartment that is composed almost entirely of shades of beige. The walls of the dining room (pictured below painted Farrow & Ball’s Stony Ground) have lent a sophisticated, subdued mood that will hopefully prove difficult to tire of. Come on ladies, jump on the beige bandwagon!

1. Benjamin Moore November Rain (0C-50), 2. Farrow and Ball Skimming Stone, 3. Benjamin Moore Pale Oak (0C-20), 4. Farrow and Ball Stony Ground, 5. Farrow and Ball Shaded White, 6. Benjamin Moore Elmira White (HC-84). Do you guys have a go-to beige?

  • http://www.inthetweeds.com LeilaMac

    I’m a big fan of Benjamin Moore’s Monroe Bisque – a nice warm beige, not too yellow, not too gray, juuuuust right.

  • Niki R

    Sherwin Williams Perfect Greige and Benjamin Moore’s Spice Gold are two of my favorites

  • Kelly

    I love beige. My mom uses beige on the walls of many rooms in our house, and combined with the right lighting it actually makes the rooms so warm, comforting, and inviting – not at all blah.

  • kim

    i absolutely LOVE Benjamin Moore’s “Pale Oak” (OC-20). i have a western facing loft, and picking the right neutral was a nightmare for me until i painted the walls in Pale Oak. for me, it’s not a ‘beige’ so much as a putty color. on my walls, it’s got a soft gray cast. i thought, when i saw the big painted swatch on the wall (over Ralph Lauren’s journal white) it would be much darker. after it was up on the walls, it was just a gorgeous, subtle off-white with a putty/grayish cast. i went with eggshell, because the matte finish had a slightly different cast (almost a purple cast, and come to find out the mix of tint is different in the matte vs. eggshell), and i coudn’t be happier. if you’re looking for a beautiful off-white that won’t turn green or blue or pink on you when the lighting changes throughout the day, i highly recommend checking out “Pale Oak” as a possible color.

  • stephanie murray

    love ben moore’s grant beige (HC-83)…painted my kitchen and attached family room after a friend recommended it. it’s warm and cozy ( with green undertones) but also feels very “grown up”.