If the influx of influencers chirping about their relaxing, neutral pleasures is anything to go by, beige is trying to make its way into the style stakes.
Color expert Pantone has named Mocha Mousse its Color of the Year 2025, a shade that, despite the tasty nickname, is essentially cardboard box brown. And fashion magazines seem to talk about furtive wealth again; in other words, lots of pale, expensive things.
Except I would say beige isn’t really a color at all.
We can debate the fine lines between cappuccino and taupe, pale tan and beige, but to me it’s all bland. It’s the new no-choice color for those who are too afraid to choose a real color. It is a statement about deliberately not making a statement.
Maybe that’s why some people say beige is relaxing. Its very neutrality does not distract or attract attention.
And I totally sympathize with the desire to be surrounded by calm. The world has become increasingly hectic and crazy, and home should and can be a respite from all that outside noise. Who hasn’t had a moment when they wanted to photograph all their things, paint the entire house white and start over? It’s a natural response to madness.
But I will never do it because it would be truly crazy.
For me, going beige is simply a way to calm down and get away from the outside world.
Color expert Pantone has named Mocha Mousse its 2025 color of the year

Michelle Ogundehin writes that whatever you call it, mocha mousse is essentially brown as a cardboard box.
So while boring beige may seem relaxing at first, it’s actually not the best way to relax or calm the soul.
On the other hand, it has been scientifically proven that shades of green are relaxing not only for the eyes, but also for the nervous system. That’s why it’s so good for you to take a walk in nature, through a forest or a country park.
Add shades of green to your life and you will charge it with positivity; add beige and you do nothing.
After all, can you think of anything inspiring in the natural world that’s beige?
A desert? It really says it all.
Even an all-white dress would be better. White creates a blank canvas that could at least be used as a backdrop for some amazing artwork or colorful furniture.
Gray is just so exhausting that I won’t even go there. But beige, caught between the two, has neither the potential to be a creative springboard nor boring practicality in its field.
The return of beige is linked to our modern obsession with “calm luxury.” It began in fashion, when beige cashmere and cream silk became the hallmark of stealth wealth.

Michelle writes: “For me, wearing beige is simply a way to calm down and get away from the outside world.”
It is not in vain that Burberry trench coats are based on cookies. After all, if you have the money to buy something so impractical (no masking of food spills or other stains here), you clearly have the money to throw it away. Furthermore, beige is so sober and calm that wearing it protects you from any accusation of flaunting your wealth.
For this reason, beige has probably always had connotations of elegant excess.
But is this true at home? Especially if it is used everywhere? I don’t think so.
It’s not sophisticated, it’s soporific. It’s not timeless, it’s overtly traditional. It is not neutral, it is nullifying. When everything is limited to a single narrow strip of the color chart, everything goes wrong.
I’m usually a fan of “drenched color,” where a single shade covers all surfaces, from walls to ceiling. But it’s implied that you’re using a shade with a lot of pigment. Something rich, enveloping, warm and wonderful. These are not words I would associate with beige.
A “soak” like this tends to be limited to one room, perhaps a den or den, so the impact is in the surprise.
And therein lies my point: a home is energized through contrast, mixing and playing with varied finishes, textures, influences and tones. This can be introduced on the walls with print or paint, or through hardware and furniture, details or accessories.
But there must be contrast, otherwise the eye has nothing to entertain or find pleasure with. I’ll say it again, beige is on white.

She writes: “You can dress it up with fancy names like Slipper Satin or Old White (yes, I’m looking at you Farrow & Ball), but beige is just the latest version of that homeowners’ default staple Magnolia, or those hideous whites.” -with a touch of apricot, popular in the early 1990s
You can dress it up with fancy names like Slipper Satin or Old White (yes, I’m looking at you Farrow & Ball), but beige is just the latest version of that homeowners’ default staple Magnolia, or those hideous whites with a deep-tinted shade. apricot, popular in the early 1990s.
An exception to the rule includes wool in its natural form, sheepskins, and thick-ribbed fisherman’s sweaters; They all look great in neutral colors because that’s the color they should be. (Fun fact, the word beige comes from the old French word ‘bege’, meaning the color of undyed wool.)
Likewise, Flokati, those Greek shaggy wool rugs, or travertine, the naturally pitted stone with which much of Italy is dressed. Changing or dyeing any of these would be sacrilege. And at home they can be wonderful.
But opt for beige and you will not create a calm atmosphere, but a calming one.