Great Paint Colors for Home Staging or Selling Your House: Taupe!

taupe paint colors

Last Monday, Sherwin-Williams revealed its 2017 Color of the Year, and as a home stager, I am 100% behind their paint color choice:  Poised Taupe!

Wait, what? Taupe…really?

“Neutrals are shifting,” Sue Wadden, the director of color marketing for Sherwin-Williams, told the Today Show. “For five years everybody’s talking about gray ― well, they’re warming up. It’s like gray and brown had a baby, and it became taupe.”

Taupe gets a lot of criticism for being a boring, safe choice, but when styled right it can add a lot of interest. Taupe is a great background for pops of color and bold prints. It also adds a little more interest than a cold gray or plain beige.

What I love about a good taupe paint color is its versatility — it’s the perfect blend of gray and brown, warm and cool, light and dark. Having a color like that in your arsenal can be incredibly powerful if you’re preparing your home for sale. For home sellers who want to give a more modern feel to a home full of wood accents and brown-toned tile and stone, taupe paint can be an effective and inexpensive way to create a more modern feel that still complements the more permanent elements of the house.

Our Favorites

Some of my personal favorite taupe paint colors for home sellers are Sherwin-Williams Accessible Beige, Balanced Beige, and Tony Taupe (I’ve even used these in my own home). This entire color thread is soft and subtle, the perfect neutral to complement a wide array of both cool and warm colors.

Taupe and other neutral paint colors aren’t really that exciting, but for a home that’s on the market, these colors usually present an ideal view of your home in terms of size, shape, and mood. They also allow buyers to envision themselves and their belongings in the home without being swayed by your personal design style.

Do you have a favorite shade of taupe? (*Yes, I realize that question sounds a little bizarre if you’re not into that sort of thing, but if you’ve ever picked out what you thought was a “neutral” only to find it had a weird pink or yellow undertone, you’ll know what I’m talking about) What’s your favorite neutral?

Need Help Choosing the Right Taupe (or an Entirely Different Color)?

Need help finding the right paint color? Order a Virtual Color Consultation Report from the color professionals at Three Bears Home Staging to get a custom, curated palette and guidance for your next painting project.

one room paint color report

One Room Paint Color Report | Virtual

Need help choosing the best paint colors for your room? Then this is the (virtual) service for you! Based on your questionnaire responses and uploaded photos, we’ll create a personalized digital Paint Color Report just for you. We’ll also send you paint swatches! Click below to learn how it works or to get started!


exterior paint color

Exterior Paint Color Report | Virtual

Ready to give your home exterior a fresh new look, but feeling overwhelmed with the decision? Get a little virtual help from the color experts at Three Bears Home Staging! Based on your questionnaire responses and uploaded photos, we’ll create a personalized digital Paint Color Report just for your home’s exterior. We’ll also send you paint swatches! Read below to learn how it works…


About Vannessa Rhoades
About Vannessa Rhoades

Vannessa Rhoades is the author of Just Right! Easy DIY Home Staging and the founder of the award-winning firm, Three Bears Home Staging®. She specializes in providing positive and empowering consultations to help homeowners sell more quickly and for more money. Vannessa has staged and consulted on hundreds of properties, both in person throughout the Houston metro area and virtually across the country.


Published by Vannessa Rhoades, Three Bears Home Staging

Vannessa Rhoades is the author of "Just Right! Easy DIY Home Staging" and the founder of the award-winning firm, Three Bears Home Staging®. She specializes in providing positive and empowering consultations to help homeowners sell more quickly and for more money. Vannessa has staged and consulted on hundreds of properties, both in person throughout the Houston metro area and virtually across the country.

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