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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Every era has its own design aesthetic. In the 1970s, interiors followed fashion, embracing a riot of colour and pattern, from orange and yellow kitchen cabinetry to bold geometric and floral fabrics in deep purple, magenta and lime green.<\/p>\n For those of us who lived through them, the \u201980s were equally memorable, with big shoulders, bigger earrings and layers of pastel shirts and pushed-up jacket sleeves translating into dollops of pale pinks, peach and mint green interiors teamed with soft grey, or shiny splashes of electric blue, black and red contrasted with polished chrome or brass.<\/p>\n Love it or hate it, they were bold statements where the personality of the home owners came shining through.<\/p>\n But what will interior design in the 2020s be remembered for? Quite possibly, it\u2019s beige.<\/p>\n Related Article Sarah Marriott, director of SJS Interior Design, says whether it\u2019s quiet luxury<\/a> or Byron Bay boho, social media accounts are flooded with interiors in shades of cream and caramel \u2013 and not much else.<\/p>\n \u201cThe viral trends for a beige and white land of cream-on-cream, it\u2019s what influencers are showing, especially in Byron [Bay],\u201d she says.<\/p>\n And home owners are homing in on what they see as a fail-safe palette.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s natural for clients to see that as what is trending. Even Temu and fast furniture \u2018click and deliver\u2019 options, it\u2019s all cream and boucle.\u201d<\/p>\n Interior designer and stylist Jono Fleming agrees that the warm greys of the past few years have given way to a palette that starts with warm whites and ends with chocolate brown. He says while it\u2019s a harmonious look, it also risked being lifeless.<\/p>\n He recently lamented the lack of chroma in an Instagram post, referring to brown as beige \u201cwith better PR\u201d.<\/p>\n Finding your own styleRelated Article Fleming regularly visits clients\u2019 homes to offer advice on ways to bring their personality into a space. While beige seems the stylish option to some, he says that doesn\u2019t mean it creates the sense of sanctuary or connection that many crave.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter doing 80 consults [last year] and going into people\u2019s homes, those who have gone with beige will say, \u2018it still doesn\u2019t look like me\u2019,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n He argues that there\u2019s nothing intrinsically wrong with a warm white and beige palette but on its own it can leave rooms lacking.<\/p>\n \u201cBeige is really a safety net for people who don\u2019t have the design skills to put colour in. They say: \u2018Beige is what I like and it\u2019s my taste because you cannot go wrong. It blends together and it all looks cohesive.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a position backed up by paint sales. Lauren Treloar, colour and design manager at Dulux, says their range of interior whites are still their most sought-after colours.<\/p>\n \u201cWhites are our most popular colours but we are seeing continued preference for warm, comforting colours like whites and neutrals,\u201d she says. \u201cThere is the quiet luxury trend which is still very popular. People are really favouring understated sophistication over flashier, louder design.\u201d<\/p>\n The resale factor<\/p>\n Matthew Carvalho, Sydney-based real estate agent for Ray White, says home owners who deny the power of beige may also pay dearly come sale time.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cNo one has a problem with white,\u201d he says. \u201cSometimes I go into houses, particularly old period homes, and they have mustard or dark red on the walls.<\/p>\n \u201cIt might have looked great back in the day, with the heavy timber on the door frame, but some of those darker colours can be quite polarising for a buyer, particularly if it has been done some time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Carvalho suggests whatever you spend on painting your property warm white prior to selling will pay you back tenfold at auction.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSo a $10,000 paint job adds $100,000 to the price,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n If you do plan to go with colourful interiors before selling, Carvalho says expert design advice is worthwhile to ensure the palette doesn\u2019t put buyers off.<\/p>\n \u201cI would not paint it a colour unless you had good advice from a design professional,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Beyond neutralRelated Article Marriott says some clients are fearful of stepping outside the warm white palette because they struggle to imagine how it will look, and think it will be harder than living with a neutral colour.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people think colour will date<\/a> but it doesn\u2019t date at all,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you really hate it you can paint it again. We can put [room schemes] into AI or we do 3D designs and sketches \u2013 it\u2019s quick and easy process now.\u201d<\/p>\n While Instagram posts might show a picture-perfect home, she says the \u201ccut-and-paste\u201d approach to styling can fall flat.<\/p>\n \u201cThe perfect homes influencers are showing, they\u2019re not real life,\u201d she says. \u201cBoho is fine if you are in the Byron hinterland but often the house tells you its style.\u201d<\/p>\n Fleming suspects some of the trepidation about stepping outside the cream and caramel palette is underlined by concerns about resale.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course real estate agents will say that is not the best approach \u2013 adding too many personal touches to a renovation \u2013 and \u2018you have to go neutral to sell\u2019 is the vibe,\u201d he says. \u201cFrom a design perspective, everything is going to date anyway. Eventually, whatever the plain white wave that is in today, in five to 10 years, probably even five years, it is going to date.\u201d<\/p>\n Even if you would rather keep your walls white, he says you can create a sense of warmth and connection by adding personal touches such as something from your travels, a multicoloured rug or an artwork you love, which can help provide the palette for the rest of the room.<\/p>\n While beige will be with us for some time yet, it is not static. Fleming says the emerging style is less about Instagram-worthy quiet luxury and more idiosyncratic.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are sourcing furniture on Facebook Marketplace and vintage stores to add personality \u2013 it\u2019s become a trend which is an \u2018anti-trend\u2019 trend. Beige is going to evolve.\u201d<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Warm](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/c7b267214d52558a869376300b1b08c2a8736a78.jpeg\")
Warm neutrals, from warm whites to coffee and caramel colours, are trending on social media platforms.Three Birds Renovations\/Dulux<\/p>\n![\"Fortune](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/77b1a42ba3b9b7c74558859feeb98fb2f58e3256.jpeg\")
<\/a>Under the influence<\/p>\n![\"Love](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f69d29dc94046bc6ae349a01dbf4a05943d9c7c1.jpeg\")
Love neutral walls? No worries, but you can spice it up with a piece of abstract art and velvet chairs in claret red.Tom Ferguson\/SJS Interior Design<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/c401516a100ac1a7baad20add8a4ae5c4ab78e81.jpeg\")
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A strong colour such as Dulux Misty Grape can create a sense of sanctuary in a way white can\u2019t match. And if you don\u2019t like it, you can paint over. Styling: Bree Banfield\/Photographer: Lisa Cohen <\/p>\n![\"You](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774082955_564_d5da5bb4a5583e46cb72a3f1658eef56a28f8181.jpeg\")
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