Using Brown in Interior Design in 2023

Chocolate, mocha, latte, and coffee. What’s not to like? These days, some say that the colour brown is passe in interior design. Colour Specialist, Marguerite Roberts, of Mulberry Interiors in Oakville, Ontario, Canada says that it is not so. Brown was definitely overused in basement rec rooms of the distant past. It was also used in many sad ways with little thought about interior design. It was just what everybody did. Part of the resistance to brown in decor is due to the fact that these old rec rooms remained unrenovated for far too long. Thirty or Forty years is just too long to go without an update. Just saying. Maybe people purchased nice cars instead. Every two years! Maybe skip a year or two and put some interior design and a bit of fun into the basement. After all, back in the day, those rec rooms were often used as party spaces. Why ever were they so dreary when the car was replaced every two years? We really don’t know why so many people’s basements looked like this one. We never wanted to see brown again. This is a significant portion of the square footage of the home. It’s not even a big project. Like any colour, we tire of it after awhile. We also associate it with certain other colours and those combinations are also ready for an update. Recall dusty rose…no, please don’t. Brown has been around the block a lot as well, but it has a certain staying power, especially when it is reinvented in creative ways. It is rich, warm and earthy rather than boring or outdated. It can even be exciting when it is used in very deep shades. It is especially up to date when paired with indigo, another old timer that just won’t quit. Many of these old styles can be revived if that is what the desired result is. If it is not, let’s look into brown in an updated new direction.When softened with white, it becomes a mellow latte shade which can be stunning, especially with wood furnishings, animal prints, or the new soft metallics. Brown with black has a mysterious dramatic flair that can be absolutely gorgeous as well as cozy. The look is contemporary while adding warmth and depth. Brown exists in nature, as we know, as the colours in nature are many and varied. Warm reds, oranges, golds and even purples create a riotous display in the autumn. These warm colours are enhanced and look wonderful in the company of brown. For many of us, fall is our favourite season. It follows that these colour shades when used in home decor would be pleasant and up-lifting. Fine furnishings and floorings are made in the many wood varieties. Traditional furnishings were made of walnut, mahogany, oak, pine maple and other woods. All of these wood colours happily mingled in home decor. Nowadays exotic wood varieties are used in furnishings and floorings. In contemporary design wood tones are often mixed with soft metallics for a fabulous look. They bring a whole new range of colours to the palette. Leather furnishings were traditionally coloured brown quite often, as well. Leather can be dyed nearly any colour of the rainbow, but we often do see it as a mellow brown even in contemporary times. It is timeless. A comfortable family room with an easy care sectional sofa or cozy armchair in a warm brown can be a thing of comfort and beauty for many years. In combination with zesty accent colours such as turquoise, purple, and gold, or the strong lines of a large abstract artwork, the room design is anything but boring.Speaking of the natural world in interior design, animal print motifs have always been an element of classic interior design. When used in moderation, they are still fabulous, and they are quite often in brown tones.Brown and blue love to spend time together. They always have. They balance each other with warmth and coolness. Brown even works well with softer colour shades, and allows them to present a more sophisticated demeanor than they would standing alone. Brown used with taupe and soft gold is another winning partnership. Yellow lends light to any room design, and when tempered with the mellowness of brown, it is softened and very easy to live with. For some time, green had fallen out of favour. It’s back in a big way and works well with brown, especially when accompanied by pale blue or grey. The freshness and energy of green lends vibrancy while the pale blue or grey calms the palette. Brown brings strength and grounding to the overall room design. There is often an undertone of purple in brown. As a result, it can look wonderful combined with purple. Rich wood furnishings with luxurious purple fabrics can be exciting and mellow at the same time. Dare we say that brown itself, looks wonderful with brown. A mix of light and dark shades of this wonderful colour can work to create a room that you will not tire of for a long time. The balance of light and dark is the key to success. Many of our clients like high contrast colour combinations. Brown combined with fresh, invigorating white has zing as well as sophistication.Since 1993 Mulberry Interiors, interior design consultants have been assisting clients in Oakville, Mississauga, Burlington, Brampton, Milton, Georgetown, Etobicoke, western Toronto, and Vaughan. We specialize in residential interior design and decorating and are at our most creative when we use colour as our theme. We offer a full range of interior design services such as choosing paint colours, space planning, furniture sourcing, custom draperies and soft furnishings, flooring selection and accessories.