Warmer neutrals grab the spotlight as bold accents return

by Judy Stringer

If painting is on your to-do list, you’re not alone. According to an August 2023 study by All Star Home, nearly half of all American homeowners surveyed wish a room in their home was a different color.

And, not surprisingly, a majority of them selected shades of white, grays and beiges as their go-to paint colors.

“Neutrals have really been a favorite for some time now,” said Kristopher Toth, owner of Brooklyn Heights-based Toth Painting Solutions. “People want to brighten up their interior spaces with a lighter color.”

While grays dominated the neutral palate in years past, Toth said that his clients today are opting for taupe hues and other warmer neutrals.

“We are seeing a lot of soft, creamy whites, for instance, and the grays are these gray and beige mixtures commonly called ‘greige,’” he said. “It’s a move, I think, away from cooler neutrals and toward warmer ones.”

Toth said colors like Alabaster, Greek Villa, Roman Column and Agreeable Gray – all made by Sherwin Williams – are popular wall-color picks among his clients. The common thread is brown undertones that make a room feel cozier.

“When we are seeing some bolder color choices, it’s mostly in an accent wall,” he explained. “We weren’t doing many accent walls for a while but now that is kind of coming back. There we are seeing a lot of blues, greens and especially blue-green blends.”

Blues and greens are also making a splash onto cabinetry as homeowners move away from monochromic schemes in their favorite living spaces. Rather than an all-white kitchen, for example, they might choose a soft white or taupe wall backdrop against deep green or navy cabinets.

Toth believes some of this transition into more colorful color schemes reflects a continued reality among people that they are “staying in their homes for a while so they might as well do something they like.”

“I think they’re just getting a little tired of the whites and want to do something a little different, a little more fun, instead of thinking about what’s going to sell,” he said. ∞