Beige is a great choice for a kids’ bedroom. Bright colors stand out on a beige background, so they can be used to direct a child’s attention to a colorful toy box (“Put up your toys!”).
Beige walls and ceilings can direct a child’s eyes to a bed in a fantasy-themed frame or with a colorful bedspread (“Bedtime is fun!”), or to a corner of the room used for reading, playing with toys, or storytime.
Beige doesn’t have to be boring!
Beige is a calming color for active — and hyperactive children. But beige doesn’t have to be boring. Here are some ways kids’ bedrooms can look great with a beige background:
- Beige walls make posters, decals, and unconventionally shaped color or indoor toys stand out.
- Even when your landlord or building contractor left your kids’ bedrooms drowning in beige, it only takes one or two pieces of brightly upholstered furniture to break the monotony of beige walls, beige ceilings, beige carpet or flooring, and beige blinds and drapes.
- Cream-colored and beige walls make homemade artwork pop out.
- Colorful curtains make a bold statement against beige walls.
- Wall letters (that aren’t orange or blue or brown) stand out against a beige wall.
- Matching pillowcases and lampshades direct the eye away from beige walls.
- Removable fabric wall decals and colorful quilts stand out against a beige motif.
Choosing the right shade of beige can address common children’s health issues
Did you know that the colors you choose for painting your kids’ bedrooms can have an effect on their health?
Children who have vision problems, such as crossed eyes, nearsightedness, and amblyopia, among others, often see better when walls are painted beige, light pink, or pink. Textured walls lead to lower levels of eyestrain than flat paint.
Children who have behavioral issues are calmed by the use of accents of complementary colors, that is, red, yellow, and blue, on a beige background. The softer the red, yellow, or blue and the warmer the beige background, the greater the calming effect. It is important to remember that cheerful colors need to be used in small doses, so they don’t become overwhelming.
Accents on a beige background will look different when they are placed at different heights on a wall. It’s generally necessary to use a brighter shade of accent color the higher you go up the wall because there is less light at the ceiling (unless the kids’ bedroom has a skylight).
Light yellow turns to beige in dim light. The other primary colors, red and blue, retain their redness and blueness even in dim light. But our brains are hardwired to interpret a pale yellow surface in dim light as beige.
What Color is “Beige,” Exactly?
Most of us are familiar with the “contractor’s beige,” the inexpensive, mass-produced shade of beige used in new construction everywhere. But there many slight variations in beige for different design effects. Here are the shades of beige as artists and interior designers know them:
Buff is a pale yellow-brown color that is meant to be the same shade as buffed leather, leather than has been sanded to make its surface smoother.
Desert sand is a deep shade of beige. When AT&T had a monopoly on telecommunications, all rotary-dial telephones were made in the desert sand.
Cream is the color of cream from the milk of cows grazing on pastures, with hints of red and yellow from pigments in the plants the cows ate.
Drab, sand dune or mode beige is a very dark shade of beige.
Khaki is the familiar beige of khaki clothing.
Beige can be labeled biscuit, cream, ecru, mushroom, oatmeal, or sand. There are “whites” that double as beige, such as ivory, milk-white, off-white, opaline, and pearl.
Every shade of beige has a perfect application, but it is important always to let professionals mix your paint. Every shade of beige is made by mixing two or more colors, and too much or too little of some ingredient (or ingredients) can give you tan or taupe.
Twenty-Five Designer Shades of Beige Interior Paint for Kids’ Bedrooms
Paint companies are not limited to the traditional understanding of color. Major paint companies make beige paints with subtle variations that can make the perfect match with your decor.
Best Basic Beige: Sherwin-Williams Accessible Beige SW 7036
Source: Sherwin-Williams
Sherwin-Williams Accessible Beige SW 7036 is definitely not builder-grade beige. With a hint of taupe, this shade of beige is a great alternative to warm whites. In kids’ bedrooms, Sherwin-Williams Accessible Beige SW 7036 reflects just enough of the early-morning blue rays of sunlight to help kids wake up naturally when the sun rises.
Best “Greige:” Behr Burnished Clay PPU8-18
Source: Behr
Can’t decide whether to paint your kids’ room gray or beige? Try Behr Burnished Clay PPU8-18, a popular “greige” promoted by Martha Stewart. This shade of beige works with accents of sky blue, ocean, and muted purple. Behr notes that this shade has especially low levels of volatile organic compounds so your kids’ room will have better air quality.
Best Beige for Making a Small Kids’ Bedroom Feel Cozy: Behr Linen White 70 or Behr Navajo White 22
Source: Behr
Source: Behr
If you live in a cold climate or damp climate and don’t get a lot of sun, small bedrooms for the kids may feel more like closets that their principal living space. Two of the best shades of beige for small rooms that need brightening up are Behr Line White 70 and Behr Navajo White 22. (Don’t let the “white” in the name fool you.
Both of these shades are beige.) Both of these Behr brand paints contain the sunny yellow notes that lift the vibe of a small room.
Best Beige for Color Stability Day and Night: Benjamin Moore — Shaker Beige (HC-45)
Source: Benjamin Moore
Benjamin Moore Shaker Beige (HC-45) is the shade of beige for kids who need very stable surroundings day and night. Because Shaker Beige by Benjamin Moore has a careful balance of grey, green, and yellow, it looks the same in daylight and night light. This subtle stability can help children dealing with anxiety or ADHD.
Best Cool Beige: Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray SW 7029
Source: Sherwin-Williams
Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray SW 7029 is the shade of beige that helps children with vision problems maintain binocular vision. If your child has amblyopia or crossed eyes, painting the room in this shade provides subtle reinforcement for the treatment your child gets at the eye doctor. This shade of grey works well with blue or green complements.
Best Grounding Beige for a Nursery: Benjamin Moore Big Bend Beige AC-37
Source: Benjamin Moore
New parents often have an assortment of baby furniture they receive as gifts, baby furniture they purchase, and mobiles and toys that they bought on the spurt on the moment. The paint for the nursery needs to be a color that goes with everything. Benjamin Moore Big Bend Beige AC-37 is a beige that goes with anything and everything.
Walls and ceilings will look good no matter how much you change furniture, wall decorations, and toys.
Best Beige Complement to Dark Wood Floors: Benjamin Moore Stone House CC-120
Source: Benjamin Moore
Benjamin Moore Stone House (CC-120) is a shade of beige that parents choose when they want a nice complement to dark wood floors. It has hints of red and yellow that lift the mood of the room, but not too much. These tones are helpful for kids who have vision problems.
This shade of beige works well with white trim and can also be used in family rooms and basements.
Best Beige for Making a Small Room Seem Bigger: Behr Ashen Tan N220-2
Source: Behr
Designers and interior decorators refer to Behr Ashen Tan N220-2 as “greige,” but it’s more beige than gray. It reflects enough light to make a room feel larger, and it looks great with white trim, stonework, and a variety of woods for floors and furniture. It also works well for blending larger rooms that lead to smaller rooms to give them a “bigger” feel.
Best Beige for Making a Large Room Seem Smaller: Behr Stone Creek BXC-56
Source: Behr
If you need a neutral color for a cavernous kids’ bedroom, look at Behr Stone Creek BXC-56. You will need to compensate for its grayish tone with good lighting, but it will draw eyes away from the walls to the center of activities. This is the paint you want if it is going to take you several years to fill the room with furniture and toys.
Best Beige for a Kids’ Room with No Windows: Behr Rococo Beige HDC-NT-15
Source: Behr
Behr Rococo Beige HDC-NT-15 is a classic beige formulated before the era of “greige.” It doesn’t have a hint of gray. This is a shade of gray that works for basements and rooms without windows, reflecting just enough light to make a room feel cozy.
Best Beige with Just Enough Yellow: Behr Thickened Cream M290-1
Source: Behr
Behr Thickened Cream M290-1 is a shade of beige for people who love yellow but not too much yellow. It blends both bright colors and with browns without overwhelming either.
Best Beige for Kids Who Are Nearsighted: Sherwin Williams Kilim Beige SW 6106
Source: Sherwin-Williams
Tints in the paint you use for your kids’ rooms can have a huge effect on eyestrain, especially for children who are nearsighted and spend a lot of time on screens.
Sherwin Williams Kilim Beige SW 6106 has all the three of tints that refresh young eyes when they look up from their screens (which parents should encourage), yellow, orange, and a wink of pink. It’s more on the orange end of beiges than fully peachy.
Sherwin Williams Kilim Beige SW 6016 works in north-facing rooms and rooms without many windows, but it clashes with wooden furniture and furniture painted yellow.
Best Beige to Calm Down Light in an Overly Bright Room: Sherwin Williams Nomadic Desert SW 6107
Source: Sherwin-Williams
Sherwin Williams Nomadic Desert SW 6107 is a little darker than the average person associates with beige, but it is a great shade of beige with rooms that tend to get too much sunlight. It works in both north- and south-facing bedrooms. It works with most tones of wood except those that are too yellow.
This is not the shade of beige to use in a room with poor lighting.
Best Beige for Masculine Accents: Benjamin Moore Natural Linen CC-90
Source: Benjamin Moore
Benjamin Moor Natural Line CC-90 is a beige that will never turn pink once it’s put on the wall. If pink would clash with your boy’s bedroom design, this is the beige for you.
Best Neutral Beige: Sherwin-Williams Barcelona Beige SW 7530
Source: Sherwin-Williams
Sherwin-Williams Barcelona Beige SW 7530 is the paint you use in those settings for which neutral colors are a good thing. You don’t want your kids to calm down. You don’t want your kids to speed up. You want them to be themselves with a minimum of stimulation or calming.
This shade of beige does not have a hint of gray, but it does not pick up on red, yellow, or green, either.
Best Orange-y Beige: Benjamin Moore Shaker Beige HC-45
Source: Benjamin Moore
Benjamin Moore Shaker Beige HC-45 offers beige with an undertone of orange without red or yellow. It will “tone down” a collection of orange toys, orange team memorabilia, or orange decals. It can also “tone down” blue bedspreads, furniture, and wall art. It’s particularly warming when it’s used in a room that has white trim.
Best Rosy Beige: Benjamin Moore Georgetown Pink Beige HC-56
Source: Benjamin Moore
Benjamin Moore Georgetown Pink Beige HC-56 is advertised as a shade of beige that can be “dusty” without being “dowdy.” In bedrooms for kids who are prone to eyestrain, who spend too much time on computers or video games, or who have vision issues, the rosy tint to this shade of beige relaxes the eyes and extends good vision.
Best Beige That Is Almost a Tan: Benjamin Moore Grant Beige HC-83
Source: Benjamin Moore
There are times “tan” would work well for your kids’ bedroom except it is a little too dark for a north-facing bedroom or a bedroom without enough windows. Benjamin Moore Grant Beige HC-83 is almost tan but has a high reflectivity that keeps kids’ rooms for feeling dark and gloomy.
Source: Benjamin Moore
If this shade of beige is just a little too dark, then check out Benjamin Moore Manchester Tan HC-81. Manchester Tan can feel neutral or warm depending on the amounts of natural light in the room. Warning: Manchester Tan has green tones that come out in dimmer light.
Best Beige for Rooms for Kids Soon to Leave Home: Behr Aged Beige PPU7-09
Source: Behr
Behr Aged Beige PPU7-09 is the best beige for rooms of kids who will be leaving home soon. This shade of beige works with accents of many colors and will look good even if your son or daughter takes favorite decorations with them to their college dorm or their first apartment.
It’s a tone that doesn’t scream “Kids room!” that you won’t need to update when the time comes to convert your child’s rooms to other uses.
Best Beige for Rooms with Lots of Action Figures: Behr Wheat Bread 720C-3
Source: Behr
Looking for a shade of beige that makes a child’s collection of action figures the focus of attention? Try Behr Wheat Bread 720-C3. This tone will also be easy to coordinate with updated furniture when your child moves on to other interests.
Best Transitional Color from Warm Color to Taupe: Benjamin Moore Stone Hearth (CC-490)
Source: Benjamin Moore
Benjamin Moore Stone Hearth (CC-490) is a comfortable beige that can serve as a bridge between bright colors and grayish colors like taupe. Why would you want a transition between bright colors and grays in a kid’s bedroom?
Bright colors make objects seem closer. Darker colors make objects seem farther away. Bright colors capture kids’ attention. Darker colors offer relief.
You might brighter colors for play space and background of tan or gray behind a bed. Transitional colors like Benjamin Moore Stone Hearth help to make a gentle transition between playtime and bedtime.
Best Beige for People Who Can’t Decide Between Beige and White: Benjamin Moore Ashwood OC-47
Source: Benjamin Moore
Can’t decide whether to paint your kids’ bedroom in beige or in white? Benjamin Moore Ashwood OC-47 is more of a very light beige than an off white despite being in Benjamin Moore’s off white section. It’s a shade that may give you just a hint more depth than “ivory.”
Best Beige for North-Facing Rooms: Benjamin Moore Lenox Tan HC 44
Source: Benjamin Moore
With its rich golden tones, Benjamin Moore Lenox Tan HC 44 adds just enough light for north-facing kids’ bedrooms for year-round comfort. It may be a little too golden to match furniture made from wood with deep yellows.
Best Beige for South-Facing Rooms: Sherwin Williams Barcelona Beige SW 7530
Source: Sherwin-Williams
Is your children’s bedroom flooded with the sun in the summer? If it is, then Sherwin Williams Barcelona Beige SW 7530 is a great choice for reducing glare and helping your children avoid eyestrain when they play games and use computers in their room.
This shade of beige is free of golden tones that amplify sunlight, but it is still a bright, happy tone. But it’s not the best choice for a room on the north side of the house or for a room with inadequate lighting.
