Beige is back (so is color), and WARNING, it’s the hardest, most clashing color to work with!
Unfortunately, maybe you already know that through trial and error that coordinating multiple beige items is TOUGH when tying a room together.
What does that mean for your interiors? You need to be CAREFUL, especially when buying materials online.
We just went through the black and white trend which is complete opposite ends of the spectrum and makes it very simple. Any black and white combo will look good together because it’s such a clean and beautiful contrast. And throw a pop of color in there … beautiful accent. Bring in some warmth with beige … so cozy!
But mixing beige with beige or with other neutrals is much more complicated. Unfortunately, we’ll probably see beige clashing fairly often now that beige is trending.
The saddest part about that fact is that beige, white, and other neutrals are usually chosen for installed finishes that are expensive because it seems like a safe choice. When done wrong, it would be a big, expensive project to fix.
Surprising that beige is so complicated, right? It feels like a blank canvas and staying neutral would be a sure way for a room to look good. But it’s not that simple because of undertones. You can see in this post what it looks like when you don’t pick the right beige finishes to go together.
So let’s talk through some great ways to use beige. I recommend starting at level 1 if you don’t know where to start:
Level 1 beginner beige
Introduce beige in one item. Let’s look at a wall color in a bedroom as an example where everything else is white, black, or color and will compliment the beige.
I may have cheated slightly. In addition to the paint color, it looks like there may be some beige in the pattern of the olive and brown rug.
Level 2 intermediate beige
Have a couple beige items. My key recommendation is to pick easily returnable items for your 2nd, 3rd, etc. beige purchases. You’ll need them all in one room together. So if you want a beige couch, buy that first since that’s hard to return. And then add beige pillows, sculptures, cocktail tables, etc. My only advice is don’t get carried away. Going overboard on the same color in one space will make your room feel predictable.
In this image above, you can see that I stuck with pink beige items (pink undertones) so they don’t clash with one another. I probably would have stopped at 3 items but I wanted to show different type of decor that is easier to return if the shade is off once in your space or something.
Level 3 advanced beige
You have a trained eye that can easily identify beige undertones. You can choose beiges so well that you can confidently install multiple beige hard finishes, like in a kitchen. This will mean taking samples and comparing next to other finishes and paint colors already existing in your home and determining whether or not it’ll clash or enhance.
Don’t look too hard at this photo, as it is AI-generated, but you get the point of these different beiges blend and compliment seamlessly, instead of clashing.