Beige, Tan and Creme - oh my!

14 years ago

Help! We selected our living room sofas and chair - and they are currently on hold, awaiting our fabric choices. I want to keep the body fabrics as neutral as possible, so I can update over time with new pillows and curtains.

We selected a traditional style camelback with rolled arms, turned feet - no skirt. Right now, I have my 15 year old sofa and loveseat slipcovered with an off-white twill. I like it, but it does take a beating. I'm concerned if I go with the same type fabric, I'll be happy, until the first stain. I can't simply throw them in the wash either, since it will be upholstered, not slipcovered. My other neutral options are beige with a gray undertone, or tan with gold undertones. Beyond pure gray, the true neutral options start to wain at that point. I was hoping there was more of a camel colored tan in their collection, but the only tan has quite a bit of gold tone in it.

Do gold or grey undertones make it fairly limited to coordinate color with? should I stick with the natural twill?

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Comments (5)

tinam61
14 years ago
I actually use a goldish tan as a neutral in our home. I have found it to work well with alot of colors. I love a creme color upholstery, but for a sofa used often, I know it would not work in our home.

Really, a goldish/tan works with most colors. I have blues and reds with it in the main living parts of the house, black and red with it in my hubby's study/office, off white slips in my sunroom with a floral print (pillows) and the gold/tan as an accent color (pillows, chair, candles) and use aqua and ivory with it in the master bedroom and bath. We've used a paint that is a very pale goldish shade, not yellow at all but reminds me of the glow of candles, very cozy.

tina
msrose
14 years ago
kismet - I have the same dilemma. I've fallen in love with the off white sofas I see in the magazines, but I know it wouldn't be realistic to have one in my house.

tina - Do you have a picture of yours? I'd love to see the color.

Laurie
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loribee
14 years ago
"The tan has quite a bit of gold tone in it..."
I agree with Tina- go with the tan/gold, you can do anything with it and it will hold up better.
kismet08
Original Author
14 years ago
One other thing I noticed, the 100% cotton twill is listed as a dry clean only fabric (no water clean up for stains), same as the two polyester ones in the tan and beige. I thought that was odd. I think we will add the protection plan with surface treatment no matter which one we get to help prevent stains, but it did get me thinking about durability.

Will a polyester or poly blend material hold up better long term than a 100% cotton?? I was leaning toward the twill for color and softness, but it the fibers break down faster, I might be back to slipcovers before I know it.
mrsmarv
14 years ago
I also agree with the tan/gold thoughts of the above posters. Our living room walls (and most of the public downstairs rooms) are painted in Beeswax, which is a tan/gold/ochre color. Anything and everything seems to go nicely with the color. Last year we purchased a Clayton Marcus sectional in a deep smoky blue and I have to say, the colors work so well in the space. We have white trim, cream and black furniture pieces, and a myriad of earthy colors as accents in our rug, WT and accessories.

Tan/gold is a great neutral and goes with both warm and cool complimentary colors.