6 Brown Color Scheme Ideas
A brown color scheme is a bit trickier than most people think - wood stains and brown paint colors can make or break an entire room color scheme.
Brown is such a complex color that it doesn't even appear on the color wheel chart. (What colors make brown? Check out this free e-book to see what colors go into different shades of brown.)
More great color combinations here!
Chocolate Fudge
Maroon + dark chocolate + white + warm grey + fudge
↑ Brown is a natural color. We're so used to seeing it around us (in wooden furniture, paneling, flooring) that it doesn't register as a 'real' color most of the time. Here's an earth tone color scheme with different shades of brown, from a reddish hue (maroon) to a yellowish fudge brown. (Click here to learn more about decorating with neutral color palettes!)
Best wall colors: Neutrals (e.g. milky white, warm grey).
Best wood stains: Dark hardwoods, with or without a reddish bias.
Chestnut Season
Midnight blue + neutral grey + deep inky blue + cotto red + burnt sienna + light grey
↑ A brown color scheme with warm orange-red hues is a perfect match for blue - this brown and blue color scheme is basically a blue/orange complementary palette. Blue hues (as well as neutrals) make great partners for reddish brown (paint) colors like Venetian red, red ocher or even cinnamon,.
Best wall colors: Neutral white/grey, pale misty blue, pale terracotta.
Best wood stains: Deep chestnut brown, antique cherry.
Wedgwood, Roses & Chocolate
Dark raspberry + pewter + whipped cream + milk chocolate
+ pale pink + Wedgwood blue
↑ An 'English cottage' color scheme for year-round summer! 'Milk chocolate' is a fairly warm, lighter shade of brown, so it's important to balance this brown color scheme with cool hues and tints: cool red, cool pink, and a clean innocent blue.
English country color schemes look sweet with fabrics in floral prints, solids, checks & stripes in gentle ice-cream colors. (You could add greenery, display some real pewter if you have it, or maybe even your very own Wedgwood collection :-)
Best wall colors: milky white, light silver grey, rose pink.
Best wood stains: Rustic pine, antique mahogany.
Teal & Cool Brown
Teal + brassy brown + cool grey + white + blackened Venetian red
↑ Essentially, this is a dirtied-down 3-primary color scheme (blue, yellow, red). There is so much black and brown in the yellow and red that they now 'read' as brown (paint) colors.
Best wall colors: Cream, cool grey.
Best wood stain: Heritage oak.
Brick Lane
Cotto + brick + deep 'bruised' purple + greenish bronze + cool pink
↑ Like cinnamon, brick red is a warm and earthy tone of either red, orange, or brown (depending on how you look at it). If you add a green-hued (cold) shade of bronze, cool pink and deep bluish purple - none of them saturate colors - you get this contemporary, low-key but hip (and fairly brown) color scheme.
Best wall colors: Putty, pale terracotta, pale grayed pink.
Best wood stain: Dark walnut.
Coffee, Strawberries & Cream
Espresso + café au lait + pistachio + whipped cream + strawberry reds
↑ Every year in June, cafés and street vendors all over London start selling English strawberries and cream. That's when we know the Wimbledon championships are afoot! In fact, I think coffee, strawberry and cream are our secret 'Wimbledon colors'. The color scheme above is a red-green complementary with added shades of brown. It's easy to create & always works!
Best wall colors: Milky white, palest pistachio, very light tan or écru.
Best wood stains: Dark hardwoods.
(P.S.: You'll find that strawberry and raspberry hues are very popular in French interiors, too.)
More Brown Color Scheme Ideas Here: Click a pic!
More Information About Using Color:
And here's some additional color inspiration - waaay beyond brown color scheme ideas:
- There is no brown color wheel, but the color wheel chart can help you understand how different shades of brown hang together.
- You can compose a brown color scheme entirely of warm and cool shades of brwon.
- For more brown color scheme ideas, get inspired by Tuscan colors and the lovely earth tone color scheme ideas in Tuscan art prints.
- In many respects, a brown color scheme is just like any other color combination: Get the basics right with Interior Design Colors 101 and Choosing Paint Color 101!
- Neutral Color Schemes - The
Book:
What colors make brown? How do you use neutral color palettes in your home? Understand what makes neutral color combinations look their best, and what happens when you inject 'real' color into neutral color schemes. It's FREE!!
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