earthy tones (previous trend)
fresh and bright tones (current trend)
If you walk into any home decor store, you'll notice the bright pop colored decor pieces, and gray or light fresh neutral walls as a background. If you haven't decorated your house in a while and plan on doing so, keep reading.
Is your home is filled with earthy muted tones: beige, reds, rust, golds tans and browns? Are your walls painted beige or tan? you might have already noticed it, but you will have trouble mixing in any trendy bright colored decor piece like pillows, rugs, accessories etc into your earthy colored home. Why? because earthy muted tones (like the ones below) don't mix well with bright colors. Your beige/tan/ brown walls will look "dirty" next to the bright, fresh tones of all that trendy decor.
For example, a very popular wall color in the previous "brown and beige era" was benjamine Moore shaker beige HC-45 or Lenox tan HC-44. These colors pair well with earthy tones like beige, tan, browns, like in the photos below
earthy colors (previous trend)
Bright and fresh (current trend)
The cheerful bright colors you see in stores right now pair beautifuly with light and bright neutrals like off whites, light neutrals and especially grays (light or dark). They do not work well with any "muddy" neutrals like a medium colored beige. So if your wall colors are more the ones above (beige, tan or brown) pairing them with bright colored decor pieces, will make your walls look dirty.
You might think "oh well, I like earthy tones, and so I'll simply redecorate with earthy muted tones again and just stay with the same wall color. Well, you could do that if you buy all custom pieces. Otherwise, you will have to work with what's current and trendy, which of course works best with the current and trendy wall colors: grays, white, off whites, pastels, light neutrals or medium dark grays.
So which wall colors work with the current trend home decor ?
Light grays: Revered Pewter HC-172 is a light warm gray that works well with many colors
Transitional Bedroom by Los Angeles Architects & Designers Tim Barber LTD Architecture & Interior Design
If you are looking for a cool gray, Stonington gray HC-170 is a good option
HC-169 is another cool gray that pars beautifully with pops of color like yellow
If you loved the earthy era and not really warming up to bright colors, but still want a fresh look, simply introduce grays to your decor. Gray stained wood pieces instead of dark brown, or gray upholstered pieces will instantly change your decor to an updated look. As for the walls, you can keep them beige, or repaint with a gray, gray-beige, or a light neutral like an off white.
