The 6 Best Beige Paint Colors to Use in Your Home
By Corrie Pelc
Picking paint colors for your home is hard. The color you choose depends on which room you’re painting, the color of your flooring or carpeting, how much light the room gets, what colors you like and dislike — the list goes on.
That’s probably why beige paint is always such a popular choice. While white is always a clean and classic color choice for home interiors, it can sometimes come off too stark. A neutral shade like beige is a little more interesting. It can go cooler or warmer depending on its undertones and, thankfully, it goes with pretty much any other color you can think of!
Saying you’re going to stick with beige paint is a great start, but there are literally hundreds of different hues of “beige” to pick from. Rather than get overwhelmed, we’ve narrowed down the field to give you a great place to start with our buyer’s guide of the best beige paint you can buy right now.
What Color is Beige?
Certainly you’ve heard of the color beige before, but you may wonder what color it really is?
According to most, " beige" is a light brown color. However, it's way more than that depending on its undertone. If the beige has a hint of blue, gray, pink, or purple in it, it has a cool undertone. If it has any red, orange or yellow, then it has a warm undertone.
That means you can have a beige color that is a gray beige — or greige — that works well with pinks, blues, and other cool-toned colors. Yellow or orange beige works better with warmer tones. Beige with a purple undertone is known as taupe and can be cooler or warmer depending on how much red is in it.
So depending on the colors of your furniture, flooring, and home decor, you’ll want to choose a beige with a cool or warm tone. You can also opt for a beige paint with neutral undertones, which is neither too cool nor too warm. Beiges with neutral undertones tend to go with just about anything.
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Test Factors We Considered When Picking the Best Beige Paints
Here are the test factors we kept in mind when narrowing down our list of the best beige paints:
Price: Knowing how much the paint costs is important for factoring it into the user’s DIY budget.
Size: How large of a can is this paint color available in?
Finishes: What types of paint finishes does this paint color offer? The most common type of paint finishes include:
- Flat: The least shiny paint finish, flat works well on both interior room walls and ceilings. However, since it’s also the hardest to clean and least durable, it’s not a good paint for high-traffic spots like kitchens, bathrooms, and children’s rooms.
- Eggshell: Has slightly more sheen than flat and ends up providing a soft glow to rooms. It is a popular option as it can work in almost any room.
- Satin: Probably the most popular of all paint finishes, satin has a good amount of sheen, is durable and is pretty easy to clean. It’s a great option for walls and doors, and the interior walls of most rooms.
- Semi-Gloss: The next step up on the shine list, semi-gloss paints have high durability, making them a good option for pieces in high-traffic areas that will see a lot of fingerprints like moldings, windows, and doors.
- Gloss/High Gloss: Gloss is super durable, can be easily cleaned, and is very shiny, making it a great option for kitchens and bathrooms.
- Undertone: What undertone does this beige paint have — is it cool, warm, or neutral?
- Complementary Colors: What colors do this paint work particularly well with?
- Uncomplementary Colors: Any colors this paint does not work well with?
Now let’s take a look at the best beige paints you can purchase in 2021.
Best Overall Beige Paint: Shaker Beige by Benjamin Moore
~ $18 for 1 quart at Ace Hardware
An easy, breezy neutral beige that plays well with any color in the rainbow.
If you want to invoke the calm tranquility of a little cabin on the beach, then Shaker Beige by Benjamin Moore is the perfect beige for you. This color is part of Benjamin Moore's Historical Colors collection — a series of 191 paint colors that debuted back in 1976 and are inspired by 18th- and 19th-century North American architecture. This mid-toned beige is very neutral, making it a great backdrop for any room and any colors you already have in your home. It's a timeless classic color that looks especially well with browns, oranges, and grays. Shaker Beige by Benjamin Moore is an almost foolproof way to update a room in your home.
Ideal for: Providing a beautiful backdrop for any room in your home.
- Price: ~ $18
- Size: From sample up to five gallons
- Finishes: Flat, eggshell, and semi-gloss
- Undertone: Neutral
- Complementary Colors: Browns, oranges, grays
- Uncomplementary Colors: None
Pros:
- Neutral beige that works well with all colors
- Part of the tried-and-true Historical Colors collection
- Available in three finishes
Cons:
- Not available in satin
Best Splurge Beige Paint: Farrow and Ball Elephant's Breath
~ $110-$120 for 1 gallon at Farrlow-Ball.com
A trendy taupe-colored paint that is worth the high price tag.
One of the most talked-about interior paints on the internet, Farrow and Ball Elephant's Breath is a fabulous taupe that plays well as a neutral in just about any room you can think of. What's interesting about this color is even though it's a warmer taupe, it has a hint of magenta that keeps it more neutral. That bit of magenta can even make the paint look more lilac in certain light, so just keep that in mind when you're selecting your colors. Since Farrow and Ball Elephant's Breath is more expensive, we suggest ordering a sample can first to make sure it's the right paint for you.
Ideal for: Home decorators looking for a neutral taupe that can lean warm or cool depending on what colors you team it up with.
- Price: ~ $110-$120
- Size: From sample up to one gallon
- Finishes: Estate emulsion (flat) or modern emulsion (very soft sheen)
- Undertone: Warm or cool depending on the lighting and what colors it's teamed up with
- Complementary Colors: Greys, blues, purples, pinks
- Uncomplementary Colors: Oranges and yellows may not work well
Pros:
- Very popular color amongst interior decorators
- Neutral that can learn warm or cool depending on what colors you pair it with
- Paint manufacturer has over 75 years of experience
Cons:
- Expensive
- Can only order online
Best Light Beige Paint: Manchester Tan by Benjamin Moore
~ $18 for 1 quart at Ace Hardware
A light warm/neutral beige paint that provides an excellent backdrop for any room.
Benjamin Moore's Manchester Tan is based on the sandstone used to build Manchester Town Hall — a Victorian building located in Manchester, England. This low-key beige is an interesting color — it has a slight green undertone, which would make one think it would be a cooler-toned color. However, it does have a touch of yellow in it as well, which makes it what we would consider warm neutral. No matter what you call it, it's an excellent option for creating a very subtle backdrop in spaces like living rooms and dining rooms. Manchester Tan by Benjamin Moore especially looks nice with blues, greens, and browns, and provides a cozy, inviting feel to any room you use it in.
Ideal for: Homeowners looking for a warm and welcoming light beige for the interior of their home.
- Price: ~ $18
- Size: From sample up to five gallons
- Finishes: Flat, eggshell, and semi-gloss
- Undertone: Warm/neutral
- Complementary Colors: Blues, greens, and browns
- Uncomplementary Colors: Some reds may enhance the yellow of this color
Pros:
- Warm/neutral beige
- Light color makes it an excellent backdrop for other colors
- Touch of green adds interest
Cons:
- Not available in satin
Best Greige Paint: Accessible Beige by Sherwin Williams
~ $16-$37 for 1 quart at Lowe's
The perfect way to try the “greige” trend in your home.
Despite its name, Sherwin Williams' Accessible Beige is actually a gray beige paint, also popularly known as "greige." On the rainbow, it would fit smack-dab in the middle between beige and gray. In addition to the gray, Accessible Beige has a slight touch of green as well. While you would think gray and green would make this color a cool-toned color, it's actually more on the warm spectrum as it does have some yellow in it. However, it's a bit of a chameleon color and will look warmer or cooler depending on what colors you pair it with. Accessible Beige by Sherwin Williams looks lovely with a palette of blues, greens, creams, and browns, but we suggest staying away from pairing it with anything too pink-toned.
Ideal for: Dipping your toes into the “greige” trend with a color that works with almost any other on the color wheel.
- Price: ~ $16-$37 (depends on type of paint purchased)
- Size: From one quart up to five gallons
- Finishes: Flat, eggshell, satin, and semi-gloss
- Undertone: Warm/neutral
- Complementary Colors: Blues, greens, browns, and creams
- Uncomplementary Colors: Pink
Pros:
- Excellent way to try the “greige” trend
- Warm undertone despite its gray and green tones
- Chameleon color that looks warm or cool depending on the colors it’s paired with
Cons:
- Does not play well with pink
Best Cool-Toned Beige Paint: Bashful by Benjamin Moore
~ $21-$33 for 1 quart at Ace Hardware
A pink-flushed beige that leans earthy rather than sweet.
Bashful is a pink-tinged beige that is part of Benjamin Moore's Classic Color Collection — 1,680 timeless colors that are tried-and-true for interior decorators. Although many DIY home decorators tend to shy away from pinks, this particular color is a true neutral that can work for any room in your house, from living rooms to bathrooms. Although it gets its cool undertone from its pink tinge, it also has some peach in it, which keeps it from being too bright and girly. Bashful by Benjamin Moore looks amazing with a variety of colors, including blues, purples, and greens, as well as other neutrals. If you're interested in trying the pink trend, this earthy cool-toned beige is a great way to start.
Ideal for: Homeowners who like the idea of using pink on their walls without it screaming princess.
- Price: ~ $21-$33
- Size: From sample up to five gallons
- Finishes: Flat, matte, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss, and high-gloss
- Undertone: Cool
- Complementary Colors: Pinks, purples, greens, grays, blues
- Uncomplementary Colors: Oranges, yellows
Pros:
- Part of Benjamin Moore’s tried-and-true Classic Color Collection
- Pink-tinged beige with enough peach in it to keep it from going too girly
- Works with a wide variety of colors
Cons:
- May not work well with yellows and very warm-toned accent colors
Best Warm-Toned Beige Paint: Kilim Beige by Sherwin Williams
~ $16-$23 for 1 quart at Lowe's
A warm-toned beige that adds an inviting, comfortable feel to any room.
Kilim Beige by Sherwin Williams is a very warm-toned beige thanks to its orange undertone. However, don't let that scare you — we're not talking bright orange here. It's just enough of an orange tinge to give it a warm, inviting feeling. This particular shade is a great way to add comfort to your living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and hallways — the uses are pretty endless for this color. It looks amazing with darker browns, creams, and deeper shades of blues, greens, and reds. And although Kilim Beige by Sherwin Williams is a warm-toned color, we do not recommend using anything too yellow with it as it may make the paint look dingy.
Ideal for: Homeowners looking to add some warmth to the interior walls of their home.
- Price: ~ $16-$23
- Size: From sample up to five gallons
- Finishes: Flat, eggshell, satin, and semi-gloss
- Undertone: Warm
- Complementary Colors: Browns, creams, blues, greens
- Uncomplementary Colors: Yellows, anything too cool-toned
Pros:
- Warm-toned beige
- Orange undertone adds interest
- Works with many different colors
Cons:
- Does not work well with yellows or anything too cool-toned
Tell us about your favorite beige paint and share your painting tips below!
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