Taupe Paint
Taupe blends grey and brown, usually with a soft warmth that greige lacks. It makes an enveloping backdrop for dark timber, brass and warm off-white fabrics, and sits naturally in Victorian homes built around earthy tones. Every shade is available as a 60ml sample, so you can see how its brown undertone behaves in your own daylight.
Taupe takes its name from the French word for mole, and it is exactly that soft grey-brown. It isn't greige: greige mixes grey with beige, while taupe mixes grey with brown, so it reads deeper and warmer. Because that brown undertone shifts with daylight, experts suggest thinking about which way your room faces first: paler, warmer taupes for cooler rooms, and deeper taupes where warm sun can carry them.
At a glance
- Character
- Grey and brown, softly warm. Taupe blends grey and brown. It sits deeper and warmer than greige, which mixes grey with beige.
- Best rooms
- Living rooms, bedrooms and period homes. A cocooning backdrop for living rooms and bedrooms, and a natural fit in Victorian homes designed around earthy tones.
- North light
- Choose paler, warmer taupes. North light is cool and indirect. Taupes with a strong grey undertone can look cold, so choose a paler, warmer one.
- South light
- Deeper taupes come alive. Bright, warm southern light can carry deeper taupes without them feeling heavy.
- East light
- Keep it paler. East light can exaggerate taupe's brown undertone, so paler taupes usually sit better. Check again in the cooler afternoon.
- West light
- Grey mornings, glowing evenings. Cool, flat mornings show more grey. Warm, golden evening sun brings the brown warmth forward, and can carry deeper taupes.
- Pairs with
- Dark wood, brass and warm whites. Walnut and other dark timbers, brass accents and warm off-white fabrics. Use a warm white, not brilliant white, on ceilings and skirting.
- Sample tip
- Check it morning and evening. Taupe shifts with the light. Look at your sample in the morning and the evening, beside your floor and woodwork.
Tap any tile to read more.
Pale taupes
Soft grey-browns that keep a room light.
Best in north-, east- and west-facing rooms
The gentlest way into taupe: warm and welcoming without any heaviness. They suit bedrooms and living rooms where you want softness rather than contrast.
Best in north-, east- and west-facing rooms for Gerritt™, Maltster™, Wynnie™ and Brinners™. Their red, orange and purple undertones keep cooler daylight from turning them grey, which is exactly the paler, warmer taupe experts suggest for those rooms.
Classic mid taupes
True grey-brown taupe for cosy, layered rooms.
Best in north-, south-, east- and west-facing rooms
The taupe most people picture: a balanced grey-brown that wraps a room in warmth. Layer it with dark timber, brass and warm off-white fabrics for a quietly luxurious look.
All five suit east- and west-facing rooms. Pipistrelle™, Gruit™, Laxton™ and Twitchell™ are also warm enough to hold their colour in north-facing rooms. Minster™, with its green undertone, also suits south-facing rooms, where warm sun balances it.
Deep taupes and mole browns
Rich, enveloping depth for snugs and dining rooms.
Best in north-, south-, east- and west-facing rooms
Deep and cocooning. These taupes have real weight: lovely in a snug, a dining room or on joinery, with a warm white on the ceiling and skirting to keep them soft.
Best in north-facing rooms for Riverbed™, whose brown undertone stays earthy in cool, indirect light, and for Whimgin™, which also suits east- and west-facing rooms. Riverbed™ also suits south-facing rooms, and Medlar™, a green-leaning mole, is best in south-, east- and west-facing rooms.
Taupe pairings that work
Pair taupe with dark wood, brass and warm whites.
Following the approach experts recommend, keep woodwork and ceilings a warm white rather than brilliant white: Twitchell™ walls with Mansfield White™ woodwork; Maltster™ walls with a Tulle™ ceiling; or a light-to-dark scheme of Pipistrelle™ and Twitchell™ deepening into Arvicola™ brown, with walnut and brass.
Sample it the way we would
Step 1
Paint your peel-and-sticks
Each £5.99 sample comes with three paintable peel-and-sticks. Give them two coats and let them dry fully.
Step 2
Stick them around the room
Put them on two or three walls, including the wall opposite the window, at eye level and lower down.
Step 3
Live with them for a day or two
Look in the morning, the afternoon and under your evening lamps. Move them around until you are sure.
Your questions, answered
What colour is taupe?
A blend of grey and brown, usually with a soft warmth. The name comes from the French word for mole.
Is taupe the same as greige?
No. Greige mixes grey with beige; taupe mixes grey with brown, so it reads deeper and warmer.
Greige & mushroom paintDoes taupe work in a north-facing room?
Yes, if it is warm enough. Taupes with a strong grey undertone can look cold in north light, so choose a paler, warmer taupe or a deep red-brown one.
Colours for north-facing roomsWhat colours go with taupe?
Dark timbers such as walnut, brass accents and warm off-white fabrics. Keep ceilings and skirting a warm white rather than brilliant white.