Beige has well and truly replaced grey as the minimalist’s favorite neutral. Whether you call it beige, sand, taupe, greige, or any other name, this shade is synonymous with minimalist luxury. Sophisticated, warm and welcoming, it serves as a wonderful, organic canvas on which to create your own story. This ubiquitous shade is found everywhere in nature and so pairs beautifully with many other natural tones when you want to create a beautifully "indoor-outdoor" design.
The Feng Shui and Symbolism of Beige: In Feng Shui, brown tones are Earth Element colors representing the natural transition between seasons. On the Bagua map, these relate to the guas of Tai Chi: health and balance, spirituality, self-knowledge and our primary relationships. The popularity of design styles, like Modern Farmhouse Décor Design, have created a strong desire for these types of warm neutrals in recent years. And for good reason – they are classic, clean and offer much needed respite after an exceedingly challenging year. Beige and the other Earth Element colors tend to center, ground and calm us. They provide a positive and hopeful message to those of us who are willing to listen, observe and feel.
Where to use Beige: With respect to Feng Shui positioning within the home, beige (and all Earth Element colors for that matter) work best in the Southwest, Northeast, West and Northwest bagua regions of the home or office. In Feng Shui, the Earth Element is "created" by the Fire Element, so it makes sense to try and utilize the two together, as well.
Where not to use Beige: There are times when too much beige can "over-calm" to the point of total slothfulness and start to feel depressive. A powerful calming force when needed, there are often times and spaces that require it be used canvas on which to add other colors like reds and blues.
My Favorite Tones of Beige: Some of my favorite beiges are #SW9606 Slumber Sloth, #SW9586 White Sesame, and #SW9590 Taupe of the Morning.
Pro Tip: Bring beige to life by using in the minority and coordinating with bold, fun colors! Pair with accent tones like Sherwin Williams Eros Pink #SW6860, Juneberry #SW6573, or Beetroot #SW9695. Earth Element colors have a controlling effect within the context of an over-saturated Water Element. Thus, it can be very effective when paired with colors like Sherwin Williams Naval #SW6244 and Wood Element colors like Juniper #SW9679 or Olivetone #SW9670.
Image via Sherwin Williams
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