The Best Beige Paint Colors
Remember when I wrote that blog post about home decor trends and I said the color beige is back. Well, I wasn’t joking. I really did mean it.
Beige is back.
It’s funny how things come full circle.
15 years ago I remember looking for the best beige paint color to paint our previous home. Back then there was no Pinterest. Blogs were around but I had no idea they existed.
I had no one telling me what color to paint my walls or how a specific paint color would look with my lighting.
So I did what I now tell everyone to never do…I picked my paint color while standing inside of Home Depot and after a few games of eeny meeny miney mo.
I forget what paint color I ended up painting my walls but it wasn’t beige….it was almost orange.
It wasn’t the worst decision I could have made but I definitely regretted that decision until the day we moved out.
I am assuming whoever moved into that house painted those walls pretty soon after they moved in.
I did write a blog post too about the best greige paint colors and while there might be some repeats, I’ll try my best to make sure there aren’t too many.
Can you color match Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore paint Colors?
Yes you can, but keep reading…
I’ll be honest that this post might be heavily focused on Sherwin Williams beige paint colors. For some reason they are winning in the beige paint colors contest.
If you have been hanging out around here at all then you know that I have a love for Behr paint. 99.99% of the time I use Behr paint.
If I cannot find a Behr paint color that I love I will color match a paint color from SW or BM at Behr. For the most part, they have most competitor paint colors in their system already but it would not hurt to bring a sample with you.
Some will tell you to never do this and that Behr will never get the formula to match exactly…. but I have never had a problem…unless it’s a Farrow and Ball paint color. Those paint colors are really hard to match.
Where To Get Samples of Beige Paint Colors
I cannot stress how important it is to get samples of your paint choices and sample those colors on your walls for a few days. Lighting will play a huge role on what undertones will come out to play.
I get all of my samples from Samplize. They are large samples that you can stick right on your wall. They are removable so you can move them around your house too, which is helpful if you are painting your whole house the same color. The same color can look completely different in your living room and in your dining room.
Always test your paint in each room
I’ll touch briefly about each paint colors LRV too. LRV is Light Reflective Value. The lower the LRV, the darker the paint color looks on the walls.
Whites have higher LRVs and dark colors have low LRVs
Sherwin Williams Beige Paint Colors
Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige
This might be the only repeat to my greige paint color post but I will touch on it again. Only because it can very well be the most popular beige paint color that has some gray in it (hence the name greige)
I fell in love with Accessible Beige before I even knew that paint color even existed. I saw it in a model home years and years ago and found the paint can in the basement of said model home and tucked that paint color in my brain for later.
Yes, I know, I am weird
I consider Accessible Beige more of a beige color with gray undertones
I think Accessible Beige is that paint color you would get if you wanted to add just a touch of gray in your home but you can still play it safe since it is a beige wall color. It’s the paint color for those that just want to dip their toes in the gray paint can.
SW Accessible Beige has a LRV of 58 which is quite high for a beige paint color.
I won’t talk about Agreeable Gray in this post but if you want to read more about it you can in my Agreeable Gray post.
Sherwin Williams Balanced Beige
Balanced Beige is almost a true beige color with brown undertones. It does have a teeny tiny touch of gray in it but not enough to call it a greige
It’s LRV is 46 which makes it a darker beige than Accessible Beige
Sherwin Williams Kilim Beige, LRV 57
When it comes to beige paints, Kilim beige is one of the more popular choices. It’s a neutral beige and looks great with dark wood floors and furniture.
It does have a touch of a pink-orange undertone to it so like I said before, make sure to grab a sample before you paint your whole space this color.
Sherwin Williams Barcelona Beige, LRV 47
Barcelona Beige has a LRV of 47 so you can tell this paint color has some depth to it but still comes off as a neutral paint color. It is a very popular beige paint color since it’s so neutral and works well with most decor styles.
It’s not too warm and doesn’t have much gray in it either.
Sherwin Williams Latte, LRV 38
This is a great paint color to talk about. Not because I have seen this paint color in action, but because this paint color has an LRV of 38…which means it is a darker beige with alot of depth to it.
However in a space with lots of natural light, this paint color can look much lighter than you would think. My parents used this paint color in one of their condos and since there is so much natural light, Latte never looked dark to me.
I can’t stress how important lighting is. In a home without lots of natural lighting, Latte will look much darker.
Behr Beige Paint Colors
Behr French Beige (LRV 59)
French Beige is a lighter beige color with tan undertones.
Aged Beige Behr (LRV 63)
Aged Beige is a warm neutral paint color with a tiny bit of a green undertones. As you can tell with it’s higher LRV, it is also a lighter beige
Benjamin Moore Beige Paint Color
Benjamin Moore Shaker Beige
Benjamin Moore Shaker Beige is a mid tone neutral beige paint color. It is a warm beige paint color with a LRV of 54.61 so it is a bit on the lighter side
Shaker Beige has a touch of orange undertones. I would highly recommend you sample this paint color in your space especially if your room gets alot of natural light.
Benjamin Moore Manchester Tan
Manchester Tan is a light beige color or better yet, almost a neutral tan paint color.
Farrow and Ball Beige Paint Colors
Remember what I said about Farrow and Ball paint. Their formulas are difficult to color match so proceed with caution if you want to color match their paints.
Farrow and Ball Stony Ground
As the name suggests, Stony Ground is a stone tan color with warm undertones. It is a pretty paint color that pairs well with warm whites.
Farrow and Ball String
Ball String is a warm and versatile paint color with undertones of green, gray and yellow
This paint color will change throughout the day depending on your lighting
Hues of green, grey and yellow… It’s incredibly versatile, and warming
Need some painting tips?
DIY Painting Supplies
I listed out some of my favorite items I use when painting…
(This post contains affiliate links.You can see my disclosure policy here)
Benjamin Moore Classic Colors Fan Deck: Just in case you want to be even more overwhelmed you can order all of the Benjamin Moore classic paint colors
Same goes for Sherwin Williams Paint Deck
Paint brushes: I love all of Wooster’s paint brushes but this one is hands down my favorite one to use. It makes cutting in so much easier.
Painter’s tape: I hate taping and I really try to avoid it but when I can’t I make sure I use a good tape
Drop Cloths: Yes, you need them and you need many. I have used trash bags and old shower liners before too.
Cleaning Cloths: These are amazing every day cloths for cleaning but work great for baseboards and walls before painting.
Paint Cup: This paint cup is brilliant and has a magnetic strip so your paint brush stays safe from falling in your paint.
Multi Position Paint Brush tool: The best tool you will ever use if you have tall ceilings or just in general. I used something similar to this to paint my 15 foot ceilings in my family room and it was a life saver.
Paint Edger: This might get a bad rap but if you do it right, it has been a nice helper for me. Especially when trimming around windows and along baseboards.
Touch up cup: Nothing is worse than having to pull out the whole can of paint for a little touch up.
How to choose the right paint color
Start with inspiration:
I talked a little bit about this in this post but I’ll touch on it again. Picking your paint color for your walls should be one of the later things you do when designing a room. Find a large focal piece (rug, art, window treatments) and look for colors in those pieces that catch your attention. Get on Pinterest and look at magazines. Get some ideas of what you like. It is your house.
Decide on the mood of the room:
Do you want your room to be light and bright or dark and moody? If you home doesn’t get a whole lot of natural light, stark white walls might look dingy. I would consider a paint with some color to it.
Grab your swatches and bring home samples
Bring home some swatches and ideally some sample paints if you feel extra ambitious. Use large foam boards from the dollar store and paint sample boards. Test them in every room. Remember each room gets different natural light. See how they look in the morning and at night.
Consider everything in your home…your trim, your floors etc. My floors are Brazilian cherry (aka very red) and I knew I wanted a color just a tad cooler to play off the warm red tones of the floor.
Is your trim bright white, or creamy white? Very cool gray colors might not play well with very warm white trim.
Get what I am saying?
If you want to see the undertone of color, look at the darkest color on the paint color strip. If you love a paint color but fear it can be too dark, ask them to cut it with 25% or 50% white.
Keep a list of your home paint colors
It’s always a good idea to keep a list or spreadsheet of the paint colors you have used in your home. I can’t tell you know much it has helped me.
Good luck and happy painting!
If you want to save this for later, you can pin it here:
Beige is back! The best beige paint colors from Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore, Behr and Farrow and Ball.
