There was a time when taupe paint colors, (brown, tan, and beige) were found in your grandparents' homes and not in a good way. Well I'm happy to say (and sorry if this is news to you), that it's back and trending.
And Studio Interiors, Photographer: Nicole Franzen
Taupe cabinetry started trending first and for good reason. I love the added warmth and contrast it adds to the kitchen above. It used to be the case that kitchens would have taupe painted walls with white cabinetry, and now it's reversed. White walls, and taupe cabinets. Take a nice scroll through the following cabinetry to get convinced.
Taupe painted cabinets
And Studio Interiors, Photographer: Nicole Franzen
We introduced accessible beige to all the trim in our Idaho Modern Cottage. Contrast trim for the win, and I miss it. Painting the trim this taupe-y color felt like a risk at the time and now I would paint an entire room with this stuff. Walls and ceiling.
Taupe painted trim
Now we paint entire walls in warm taupe-y browns and I'm here for it. Before you say "no, this is so 90's" I'll stop you right there. The 90's are coming back in both interior, fashion, branding, and design. Trends get reused and recycled and I'm hopping on board.
Taupe Painted Walls
Taupe is a really great way to keep a room feeling neutral, but also warm. Out with the cool greys and in with the warm taupes is what I say. I wanted to give you a place to start so here's a roundup of some of my favorite taupe paint colors. These are great paint options, however my recommendation is to proceed with caution. If you google these paint colors, some of the images look a little outdated. Personally, I think a taupe-y paint color looks best with some architectural elements. Think trim, beams, arches, shelves. Go see this post to see 19 different ways to add moulding and trim to your walls for some inspo.
Nimbus BM
Griege Clare
Agreeable Gray SW
Anew Gray SW
Cornforth White F&B
Fawn Brindle SW
Mouse's Back F&B
Accessible Beige SW
Repose Gray SW
Tell me though, are we missing any colors?
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Tony Taupe by SW
Inspired by your Accessible Beige (trim) and Alabaster (walls), in my home I’ve chosen Shitake (trim) and Snowbound (walls).
Accessible Beige was the primary color in my homes for the last 8 years. It was as close as I could get to the grey trend.
I love taupes.... I'd been using them throughout my home since the 90's but finally needed? wanted a change so went with a creamy white. I'm considering painting my doors and trim in taupe tho..... My cabinets are still a medium, warm oak, and although I'd love to change them, the hubs isn't on board. At least they are the golden oak, so I can live with them. The only problem I had with my taupes was that it didn't really play nice with my natural wood pieces, not sure why. At any rate, I'm loving the crisp light feel of my white rooms now.
oops. Meant at least they aren't golden oak!
BM Balboa Mist. It is my trim color throughout my hose and it is just beautiful.
Edgecomb Gray by BM!
Yes, I love all the listed colors but you are definitely missing SW Loggia. I’m currently using it as my baseboard and trim color with SW Pure White and love the contrast.
SW sandbar and Tony taupe
I feel like when trends resurface, they do so with necessary editing and refinement. The second time something comes around is so much more reliable than the first time, in my opinion. So…I’m here for it too! I just painted a client’s walls alabaster and did trim and kitchen cabinets in agreeable gray and it took a very basic house and made it so special!
Bungalow beige - beautiful beige. I would say a hair deeper than accessible beige. We did the bead board and trim in a bathroom and decided to extend it around the trim in bedroom. Looks great.
Revere Pewter has been used by
Love BM Revere Pewter designers for ever and still goin And then there’s BM Seattle Mist and SW Gossamer Vail also used from cabinetry to walls and trim . Both amazing colors that I’ve used for years.
I painted my main areas Collingwood BM. I've read it described as a gray, but, it's definitely a beige. I've used to call it a greige, but it's certainly not a gray, to me. I get southern light in the morning, in a city. Love it, hardcore.
I love the warmer tones. I chose Greek Villa SW for all of my public facing rooms but did trim and ceiling in it as well and love it. I may add a slightly darker tone like Accessible Beige SW for trim in the future. I love what you do but we are retired and must live on a tighter budget. Our new LVP flooring is Mannington Swiss Oak in Almond and the warm white walls and ceiling really brighten our home.
Wow - love the inspiration images. I have just read all of the comments and it is so interesting to see how differently people view color. Some see certain colors as "taupey" that I see as gray. I also think it is so relative. A house full of gray furnishings is going to make a lot of paint colors look warm vs if they were in with a bunch of neutral furnishings. I am a fan of BM Smokey Taupe, Grant Beige and Natural Cream. BUT there are so many good colors out there.
First of all I love everything you do. You and your family are absolutely wonderful. I am inspired lately by @terranelsonhome kitchen. She used BM Pashmina.
Oh my word I’m loving the return of the 90’s in every single way!!! Love the taupe I don’t have to change on my bedroom cupboards now 😁
We did our trim in Collingwood by BM with Simply White walls and love it. I was just going to do it in my bedroom but before I knew it, it was doors and trim throughout the entire main level.
I painted my kitchen SW Tumblin’ Tumbleweed and I love it.
Sherwin Williams Natural Linen. We have that on our trim/molding with SW Greek Villa on the walls. It’s such a good warm/cozy combo for my home
Our walls are painted BM baby fawn amd I love the subtle warmth it brings to our great room/kitchen/dining open space.
Benjamin Moore Wish - Its said to be greige with red undertones, but the undertones really warm it up (at least in my living room) and it came out less green that other greige paints. It really feels more light taupe, in the best way.
I used Benjamin Moore cosmopolitan in a home office, on the walls, and it was such a beautiful soft color.
Revere pewter! I love it lightened 50% and full force! I used the lightened version on my kitchen cabinets and then the full power version on my master bedroom walls. It looks great with gold hardware and fixtures!
I’ve used BM Revere Pewter both ways as well, 1/2 and full strength, it’s beautiful
I'm down with taupe on the walls! I live in the pacific northwest and have soundly rejected gray as an interior color all through its recent domination. However... if I wanted brown cabinets I would go with wood. Do not care for the taupe cabinets.
One I would add here is SW Moth Wing. It is on the warmer end of the taupe spectrum and a nice mid tone that reads a bit moody without being super dark. I could see it reading more brown in a south facing space but I think it would be an excellent choice for a north facing room, especially if you were going for a cozy, neutral vibe
Pittsburgh Paints “Cool Concrete”, the name is misleading. A light neutral taupe/beige. Painted our giant living room built-in this color and it completely changed the feel of the room.
We repainted our white kitchen in Edgecomb Gray on our cabinets with brass hardware and it made a huge difference in making it feel more comfortable and home-y. It's a little light for taupe, but in the same vein.
Honestly surprised no one has mentioned BM Manchester Tan. I suppose it could veer greenish but in our house, Revere Pewter looks green and Manchester Tan SINGS! :)
I love shitake by SW
I’ve always loved the “griege” type of taupe. BM Revere Pewter is one of my favorites.
Benjamin Moore barren plain!
I’m on my second kitchen design with this as the cabinet colour. It’s so pretty!
Eeeeee! I just painted my great room Cornforth White! Didn’t even know I was trending!
We just started installing cabinets on my current kitchen project. My client wanted something a little darker so we went with SW Backdrop. They look so good!
Farrow and Ball — Elephants breath
Portola — Piano Room
So inspiring! Would love your taupe kitchen cabinet paint color recommendations for different tones of wood floors!
YES PLEASE, Julia!
Canvas Tan SW
I have used Behr’s “Chocolate Froth” in numerous homes in numerous states. It performs in a variety of lights and has been quite a great go-to chameleon to subtly warm up a space.
We just painted our built in bookshelves and new mantle Conforth White and I'm obsessed. And feeling so validated by this post!!
BM- Florentine Plaster
BM- Brandon Beige
They work beautifully together!
Our kitchen & living room open to each other. We painted our north facing kitchen Shirwin Williams
Dhurrie Beige & our living room that has bright exposure SW Tony Taupe. This was about 5 years ago when everyone was doing gray.
Revere pewter!
SW Pasmina, we painted all doors in our modern cottage this color and walls SW Cloud Cover. Very nice contrast.
Living in a city where the sky is often grey, i always prefered warm earth tones to greys. I just painted my living room light grey by farrow and ball, which is definitely more taupe than grey.
Fairview Taupe BM my master is painted with it. It envelopes you with sedation.
Revere Pewter! Have it on my thrum with chantilly lace walls and the molding just pops!
We’ve done Revere Pewter for trim as well! White Dove for walls 🥰❤️
My favorite! BM RP♥️
Tried out so many taupe/beige paints for my upcoming kitchen cabinets. Landed on BM Natural Cream! Very excited for them to arrive. Thanks for your ongoing inspiration ❤️
I think I’m going with BM Natural Cream for some of my cabinets, too. I won’t tell you how many samples…
Natural cream is on the walls of our kitchen with Dune White cabinets - love it...it is a warm putty color.
We're freshening up our home by painting all primary living spaces Alabaster w/same trim. However, I wanted to warm up the secondary bedrooms a bit and used SW Neutral Ground. It adds the perfect amount of color and warmth and is beautiful w/Alabaster trim.
Another option for consideration: I have used SW Taupe Tone in both my current and previous home and it has been perfect every time. I tried not using it in the new home to "do something different", but ended up re-painting with it anyway and should have just embraced it from the start because it's the perfect taupe.
Currently loving SW Shiitake!
BM Natural Cream
I'm definitely not the norm in this thread but to me beige and taupe remind me of depressing institutional places you never want loved ones to have to go live in. Moody colors make me depressed and we already have 9 months of winter here. No thank you.
What color do you think that first amber interior cabinetry is?! I love the look! Thanks for sharing
Do I need to take into consideration the color of my wood floors before I paint my trim or cabinets a shade of taupe?
Absolutely! Floor color should always be a consideration no matter what color you're painting.
BM Edgecomb Gray!
I painted all my main areas Alabaster with Revere Pewter trim
Loggia is amazing
We used SW Sandbar on the walls and SW Connected Gray (an incredible green/gray) on the trim throughout our house (and kitchen cabinets) and I could not love it more!
Coastal Fog - BM
Ditto Coastal Fog!! Painted our old living room that 17 years ago and it’s still amazing!
Loving so many of these! We used accessible beige in our mudroom on our custom double peg rail wall, and I just love the warmth it brings. We are also about to be using Farrow and Ball, French Gray, which has a taupe, olive undertone, and I can’t wait to see it come to life!
We have our house painted Repose Gray (SW) and it appears very blue (cool). We decided at the time not to paint the original trim which is Antique White (SW). I think changing the trim paint will help neutralize the repose. Any suggestions on trim colors to try?
Repose gray is great for cooler toned floors (it looks warm!)
I'd repaint the walls - the trim will not make that look any warmer - Repose tends to skew subtle gray blue (even slightly violet) undertone almost any time you look at it applied.
We painted the vertical panelling, ikea closets and trim in our entryway BM edgecomb gray. It added such welcome warmth and coziness to the space!
Elephants Breath by Farrow and Ball, it's beautiful!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Taupe (greige) whatever it's called. Always have and always will. Some greys feel too cool/blue for me. I want my home to feel like a calming warm hug and taupe does it.
I really love the taupe cabinet and furniture trend. I've used Benjamin Moore's Collingwood on my kitchen cabinets. It's an off-white taupe, but perfect for my windowless galley kitchen. I also love Benjamin Moore's Pale Oak.
Wonderful news, I’ve never liked greys, and the lack of natural light shifts most colors grey in my home. So I have found SW Kilimanjaro Beige to be a perfect warm, neutral mid tone taupe/beige for my kitchen. It plays well when brown fruit wood cabinets and trim. I’m going to use it in my den/dining room/foyer area, possibly diluting it 25%.
Finding a warm taupe that doesn’t lean grey (or pink, or green) has been a quest, I’m so glad to have found my holy grail.
We did the main areas of our last house in SW balanced beige. It’s a perfect taupe. Just a shade darker than accessible beige which we needed since we had so much natural light.
We used versatile gray (at the recommendation of Maria Killiam) on the outside of our house because our brick and mortar has pink and purple undertones. It looks great!
Cinnamon Sugar by Magnolia...a deep, warm taupe
So timely! We're renovating our bedrooms and I was just feeling a deep/warm taupe for our primary. Also love the additional suggestions in the comments - making a list right now!
Add Benjamin Moore Smokey Taupe to the list! After i saw it in a friend’s house in 2000, it’s been my go-to. The perfect taupe!
I just purchased 2 gallons of SW- Studio Taupe to do our master bedroom. Walls, trim and doors! Would do the ceiling too but it’s too textured! Velvet olive green curtains, brass and walnut accents. So excited! Great to hear that I’m on trend!
I work at a nursing home and one of the women always said her favorite color was beige. I never understood it until now haha.
Having traditional warm wood furniture, I’ve always tended to lean toward warmer tones of white/beige. (Never was a grey fan…too cold for me). I just might repaint my family room with white walls and taupe trims! So excited to know I’m fashionable again!
I recently painted my kitchen cabinets SW Urban Putty and it’s a great taupe! Also, painted my office SW Studio Clay which is a darker taupe and so warm and inviting :)
Revere pewter! I used this for the trim on our 3rd floor and it looks amazing! Now I’m using it in the master bedroom, doing both the walls and the trim/baseboards (different sheens) but I lightened it 50%
Barbra ;)
I second this!
Shiitake!!!
I lightened Accessible Beige by 50% and it looks like a wonderful warm white against some of the natural wood tones and natural brick in my home ❤️
I’m dying to do an all taupe dining room but I’m struggling with the transition. Two arched openings that are trimmed out into rooms on either side. I have seen you talk about transitions, but I’m really stuck on this one! So obsessed with all of these colors. My house in NC was painted Nimbus and it’s such a beautiful chameleon.
Not sure if this answers your question but, our old house had the same...our living room had two arches that led into two different colors, an entryway and our dining room. The advice we received from a designer was that the arches needed to be the same wall color. So in our case, the arches were both the color of the living room...not the color of the entry or the dining room or the trim. Looked great!
SW Popular Grey (walls) and Versatile Grey (cabinets, accents). I am anti-grey, pro-taupe, so I was sad about the names, but the colors are amazing. Did a whole-house remodel (after a lightning strike and house fire) with these colors and I could not be happier. And color is a big big big deal for me. The very best part is the SW Toque White trim with brushed brass accents. Perfect.
Thanks for sharing so much inspiration.
I just used SW Canvas Tan and I love it!
It’s coming back, in the best way. I’m here for it! Great round-up of images and colors!
Diverse Beige by SW. We used this for our kitchen cabinetry in a mid-century home w a 90s kitchen reno (black granite, etc). It looks GREAT and has pink/ orange undertones rather than yellow or green, so it doesn’t skew dingy in soft white light bulbs. Love it and would do it 1000x again!
The downstairs of our house is painted Balanced Beige by SW. The upstairs, which doesn't get quite as much light, is painted Tony Taupe, a tad darker. Then we have some accents in Virtual Taupe and Smokehouse. All on the same card/in the same family.
Oh, now I see that these are all in the same Accessible Beige family/color card!
Another Balanced Beige fan here. It has looked so great in several houses.
Pale Oak (BM) is a beautiful taupe color and one I often favor. I too see Revere Pewter (BM) as taupey but they classify it as grey, which indicated my need to put a true taupe next to it. Either way, I am all in on this trend coming back and I love the idea of cabinetry taking on the color and the walls going white. As always, thank you for your talented insights.
I just painted my Master bedroom in SW Natural Linen with SW Jogging Path on doors, trim & ceiling - looks beeeautiful!!
Love all your inspiration pics!
I’m leaning heavily into BM Stone Hearth for our kitchen cabinets, but our renovation is SO delayed and months beyond schedule… but it’s one I loved and am strongly considering! (Along with Greige and Beijing from Clare!)
I used BM Stone Hearth on our bathroom cabinets and they look great! Just the right taupe. I’m sure you will love your kitchen cabinets too.
I was going to say this! It goes beautifully with Snowbound SW!
I’m loving my new bedroom color SW white duck. It’s a more creamy taupe and it just feels warm and comforting instead of stark white. Love it. It’s definitely on the lighter taupe spectrum.
For perhaps the 1st time ever I’m in style! My walls are Agreeable Gray, and interior doors are Anew Gray. The trim also was Anew Gray, but wanted white trim/doors. Doors are still Anew Gray because the white trim sets them off beautifully!
It's not on the list, but I personally love Revere Pewter :)
Me too!! I painted my kitchen cupboards with revere pewter and left the walls white. I love it!
Agreed! It's such a great warm greige and changes nicely with the light/time of day.
Coastal fog BM
YAS! So good
Hey I'm on trend. Most of my living areas are painted Agreeable Gray or Anew Gray. Now I'm trying to convince my husband to paint our crown molding, windows and trim which are golden oak. What color would you suggest?
I am really liking Valspar’s Parlour Taupe.
Same color as your walls!!
Hi Julie! Wld you mind sharing cpl photos w/your golden oak? I have golden oak cabinets and built ins. I want to paint but my husband isn’t on board yet. I am trying narrow down the neutral taupe for my walls as I type. Your combo sounds lovely. Thx
SW Elegant Taupe....love the one 😍
My entire house is painted a taupe-y color - I'm glad to see I'm back in style again. 😂 I never liked the cool gray trend (I think because gray isn't a flattering color on me, so definitely didn't want a house that made me look bad, ha!) so I love that the warmer tones are back. Love all these inspiration images!
My apartment is trending! Instead of trailing decades behind, now leading the pack in a beige-ish sort of way.
Gorgeous inspiration pics. We painted our whole house in BM Nimbus when we bought it and love it. It definite leans more grey in north facing rooms, but is a lovely warm light greige in southern facing rooms. Also makes a gorgeous backdrop for black and brass accents and greenery. Love this color!
For a slightly lighter tone and real chameleon of a color SW Gossamer Veil is a great one!
Grant Beige - Benjamin Moore. Started in my trailer with this one and think I’ll now do my kitchen cabinets ❤️
If your looking for a color just a bit lighter than Accessible Beige, try Shoji White. It’s beautiful!
I’m so glad to hear this! I had picked both Accessible Beige & Shoji White. I think they’re both just beautiful!
Just decided between SW White Duck, Shoji White and Oyster White! It was White Ducks undertones that worked in my space.
I painted all of my living areas - Kitchen, living room, hallways in Grant Beige by Benjamin Moore!!
I actually just painted our entire living area Fawn Brindle. In our home, it definitely reads more gray than taupe but it adds loads of warmth.
I love Sherwin Williams Acier. I am also painting my living room SW Eclipse this week (dark taupey-green). I’m so exciting! Great post
Love these colors! I just did our guest house kitchen cabinets in Sherwin Williams Shitake. It is a gorgeous, warm, taupey mushroom color that is to die for.
Shiitake by SW!
I love Shuitake by SW too!
We have our living room & kitchen painted in SW Colonnade Gray. With the light in our house, it’s the perfect greige.
Loving this look as well! Ball & Twine by SW is another wonderful color!
Revere Pewter BM! We used it on all the trim in our house with Snowbound SW on the walls! LOVE!
I’d add SW Austere Gray if you like a smidge of green to your taupe!
Pediment (SW) is the taupe I’m planning to use in my primary bathroom on the molding and cabinets. We are adding molding in the bathtub area and will use it to define the mirrors and sconces. We are using a cool white marble and I think the taupe will be the warmth the room needs. Brass hardware is beautiful with this combination and I’ve loved brass for years!
Loggia by SW is delicious...its classy, warm and creamy. and Carrington Beige by Benjamin Moore is one of my favorites...gives a little nod to the Colonial era. Looks gorgeous for entire rooms tone on tone with contrasting sheen on trim/walls.
Oooh love these so much! I’m obsessed with Sherwin Williams portico and trying to find a place for it 🤩.
Whenever I love a paint color but can’t see a whole room in that color, I paint a piece of furniture the color in question.
Your beige trim in your previous home inspired me to do a beige-y color on my new kitchen cabinets - we chose Pale Oak - BM and LOVE the way it turned out! It's a good grey / beige-y color too!!