Most of us know by now that the “Brown Phase” of 1990’s interior design is (thankfully!) over. It lasted a good long while… through all of the ’90s and into the mid-2000s. White and gray are tied for the “new neutral,” and bright colors are back in a big way. No more bronzes, golds, and jewel tones—now it’s all light and fresh, with pops of color like cheerful green, intense blue, or red and orange.
This post by color trend expert Maria Killam discusses how brown tones have evolved in modern design and how to use them effectively. (Note: both my post here and Maria’s above were first written in 2017, but she has since updated hers in 2022. Fascinating to see the evolution of color trends. Now back to my original 2017 post…)
The brown interior design phase may be over, but its remnants still linger in many homes—especially in outdated cabinets. Refreshing those dark, heavy finishes with crisp whites, soft grays, or bold colors can instantly modernize your space, turning a tired, dated look into something bright and stylish.
What if your home was built during the Brown Phase?
In that case, your walls and ceilings are probably tan, and your cabinets are dark stained oak. Your only hope is to tackle the biggest surface areas first, and paint all your walls and ceilings. Nothing else you do will have as much impact. Don’t even think about a new sofa or rug til you’ve painted those walls!
But for those of you just now building, or buying your first home, I’d like to keep you from falling into the dreaded Brown Phase by accident.
How people end up in the Brown Phase without meaning to
It starts harmlessly enough.
An eager family moves into their new home. Within a week they’re surrounded by BROWN.
First, the Brown Leather Sofa. It’s their biggest item, bought ago ago but still “in great shape” or “easy to clean”, so one of the spouses refuses to give it up.
Add: brown hardwood floors, which really are always classic (unless they’re extremely glossy or dark), so no problem there.
Then add brown or tan walls. Maybe you’re afraid of the starkness of white, and tried to get a warmer color, but now you’ve got tan or dark beige walls everywhere.
+ Brown-and-Tan Area Rugs (the ones most commonly found, especially at low-to-medium price points… don’t get me started)
+ Dark Brown Wood Furniture (Grandma’s dining room set)
+ Brown (“bronze”) accessories – there’s still all that oil-rubbed bronze in the showrooms!
+ Brown Granite Counters – WAY too busy, way too orange-y, way too outdated. Sadly, it’s still the cheapest granite, so often it’s what new homeowners end up with.
+ Brown (stained wood) Cabinets, or maybe (just as bad) those stained cabinets look orange.
+ No Plans for Anything Else
= No Color, No Balance… just uniform, unmodulated brown all over. I see this everywhere!
It’s a rookie mistake.
How to avoid the Brown Phase
Thankfully people are no longer mindlessly selecting tan walls and busy brown granite for their homes. But they’re often bringing their brown phase design baggage with them. A monochromatic brown interior design scheme based on brown can work, if that’s what you really want. BUT you must plan it out carefully. Incorporate a full range of values, and alleviate the heaviness of brown with plenty of creams and beiges (and keep your browns on the “cool”, rather than “warm”, or reddish, side).
Add a variety of rich textures (no more than one leather piece in a room, please!). Use strategic, intentional use of color to liven it up (everyday clutter doesn’t count). If your new home is still in the construction phase, go in with your eyes open on this one.
UPDATE – the return of earth tones in 2025
There’s more to escaping the brown phase than just selectively decluttering. We recently wrote about how to achieve “modern Tuscan” interior design, with a “then and now” look at how the older 1990’s Tuscan phase compares to now. Take a look, and save yourself from making some of the same mistakes of the past!
