Understanding Undertones

Beige Paint Colors

Since Beige is back in the spotlight, I thought I would review the undertones found in beige paint colors and why it’s critical to get the undertone right.

Beige has 5 different undertones:  Pink, Yellow, Green, Gold & Orange. 

The hard finishes in your home have undertones and those undertones determine the undertone of the paint color you should choose to create a harmonious look and feel.   If you have too many undertones in a space the result is chaotic, too few undertones cause a lack of interest and appeal, and the wrong undertone that relates to nothing is quick to leave you without a cohesive look and feel. 

So, how do you know what to do?  Hiring a professional who is trained to help you in this area is the best way to get pointed in the right direction. 

If you want to tackle undertones on your own, determining the undertones in the fixed finishes in your home is the first step.  What are fixed finishes?  Fixed finishes are the things that are challenging and costly to change: countertops, backsplash, cabinet color, stone & flooring.

The steps to determining undertones:

1.      Put a white piece of paper next to the fixed finish to determine the underlying color of the finish.

2.     Pull out your paint fan deck and compare colors to the fixed finish.  Stay away from the clean colors, you want to use the muddied neutrals in the fan deck for this step as most of the finishes in homes are muddied neutrals.  It is the rare occasion that you find a hot pink countertop.  This step will help point you in a direction for the wall color.

3.     Determine the number of undertones in your space, limit the number of undertones in your space to three, four at the most. 

4.     Not all undertones work together, pink beige is the most limiting of all the undertones.  If you have several undertones in your space and things do not feel cohesive it could be that you have an undertone that does not play well with the others. You might consider ripping this fixed element out and replacing it to create harmony in your home.

5.     It’s important to know that undertones are found in everything, rock, tile, concrete, fabric, and more.  Note each one, decide which ones should stay and which should go or be ignored.

6.     Always, Always, Always, choose paint last.  If you choose right, you will have harmony in your home.  If you choose wrong, the paint color you chose relates to nothing causing an underwhelming effect and something will always feel “off!”

7.     Paint is not magic.  Paint is the beautiful backdrop to the design.  If done well, you will notice the beautiful décor in your home and not the paint color.  Choose wrong and it will be all you see.

If you need help choosing paint colors give me a shout! 

Next month I will be breaking down the undertones in gray paint colors.  Until then, I hope you are inspired by your interior and creating memorable moments with friends and family.

Xoxo –

Melissa