Dope Taupes
(with special appearances by beige, cream, gray and more!)
We're huge fans of all shades of neutrals here at Jenny Martin Design. There's no better way to build a scheme for a room than starting with a timeless colour and use pops of your current favourite colours to inject your personality into the space! The days of brown as the 'top dog' neutral are out, and taupe has succeeded as the new go to colour. We can hear you already, "Excuse me, what exactly is a taupe? Is it one of those 'designer' colours that don't actually exist?". We're happy to report that this is no malachite or eburnean. To us, taupe is a beautiful colour that falls anywhere between brown and gray; think of it as a 'warm gray'. Where most grays are often described as cold feeling, taupes lean more on the warmer side. It should be pointed out though; we love all grays in our office, warm or cold!
We use different brands of paint here at the office, and thought we'd share our favourites here with you!
Let's start with the grand daddy of paint companies -
Benjamin Moore. We're great friends with Benny, and are often in the company of at least one of his paint decks. Let's have a look at the top picks!
Florentine Plaster CC-520
Source: http://www.benjaminmoore.ca/en-ca/paint-color/florentineplaster
Hello Gorgeous! This is a stunning taupe that falls more towards the beige spectrum, with just enough gray to keep it current and modern!
Here's a beautiful bathroom painted with Florentine Plaster:
Source: http://www.houzz.com/photos/317739/Private-Residence---Ensuite-Design-traditional-bathroom-vancouver
Revere Pewter HC-172
http://www.benjaminmoore.ca/en-ca/paint-color/reverepewter
With just a touch more gray than Florentine Plaster, this taupe is commonly used in more modern homes. Don't let that deter you if you're a lover of traditional style - taupes are the most versatile neutrals out there!
A modern bathroom kept simple with Revere Pewter letting the wood tones of the vanity pop. Anyone ready for a bath?
Source: Designed by Rasmussen / Su Architects
Pale Oak OC-20
Source: http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-ca/paint-color/paleoak
This is a light whisper of a taupe, and is also one of the fabulous Canadian designer, Candice Olsen's favourite neutrals. If you don't get a lot of natural light in a space, a light tone like this would be perfect to use!
A serene bedroom scene with our friend Pale Oak. We love how beautiful it looks with that gorgeous flooring!
Source: http://www.houzz.com/pro/risaboyer/risa-boyer-architecture
Natural Cream OC-14
Source: http://www.benjaminmoore.ca/en-ca/paint-color/naturalcream
This taupe is a bit darker than Pale Oak, but still maintains a light feel. This putty-like colour is found in Benjamin Moore's off-white collection and is so exquisitely neutral it will work anywhere. We mean that. Anywhere.
Source: http://underthetuliptree.typepad.com/under-the-tulip-tree/2010/12/dining-room-redo.html
Our other top paint company is Sherwin-Williams. We find
Sherwin-Williams really has the best selection of taupes and grays (sorry, Benny); although their paint names leave a bit to be desired. No one's looking at the paint name once the paint is on the wall, anyway.
Shoji White SW 7042
Source: http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/
This taupe is quite light, an off white taupe if you will. We have
actually used this as a paint colour for kitchen cabinets, and the
result was impressive.
Source: http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/
Useful Gray SW 7050
Source: http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/
Here's a gorgeous medium taupe that is exactly what its name implies- useful. Use it everywhere! It's saturated enough that it shows on the wall, but doesn't feel like a 'dark' colour.
Source: http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/
Mega Greige SW 7031
Source: http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/
We'll finish things off with a couple of darker taupes for you adventurous souls out there. The first is Mega Greige and we love it. It's not actually as dark and scary as it might seem on a chip. Put it against some white cabinets and trim and look at it pop!
Source: http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/454963/list/Choosing-Paint--How-To-Pick-the-Right-Gray
Adaptive Shade SW 7053
Source: http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/
This dark taupe is a beautiful balance between brown and grey. It's much
warmer than a standard dark gray, and much more exciting than plain old
brown! You could use it on walls anywhere, but also consider this taupe
for cabinets. Just look at this kitchen below - the cabinets are painted relatively dark, but with the lighter counter tops and wall colour it feels perfectly balanced!
Source: http://soledadbuilders.com/
We hope you enjoyed this journey through the surprisingly diverse land of taupes. Hopefully we've inspired you to give one of these shades a try. Our best piece of advice when considering paint for any room is to buy a test pot and paint squares on a couple of walls in the room. Then look at the colour in the morning, midday, and the evening. Watch how it changes and that way you'll know for sure if it's the right colour for your space!
