Brown paint colors
Top picks for brown
6 editor's picksEditor's picks + the named brown every designer roundup features. Each card links to a single-color reference or full brand guide.
More brown shades
14 variantsDrill into shade variants — modifier-specific bands (light, deep, muted) and named in-between shades each link to their own hub with cross-brand matches.
Brown at every US brand
9 brands · 5 picks each5 picks per brand spread across the LRV range, drawn from each brand's full brown lineup. Tap any swatch for its single-color spec; tap the brand title for the brand's complete deck.
Benjamin Moore
Behr
Valspar
PPG / Glidden
Sherwin-Williams
Dunn-Edwards
Magnolia Home
Farrow & Ball
Top Kompozit brown
86 in deckKompozit's deck has 86 colors that match the brown band. The 5 below are spread across the LRV range — pick a darkness, hit Amazon for the can.
Brown in real rooms
5 roomsCurated picks per room with cross-brand matches at every major US brand.
About brown
Brown is in. Pantone naming Mocha Mousse the 2025 Color of the Year confirmed what designers had been spec'ing for two years already — a return to warm, grounded earth tones after a decade of cool greys. The family runs from milky lattes (light, near-cream) through mid-tone taupes and mochas to deep espresso and cocoa at the saturated end.
Browns work best where greys feel sterile and beiges feel dated — the warm grounding tone that pairs with brass, walnut, terracotta, and soft creams. Watch the undertone closely: red-leaning browns read cozy and cocoa-warm; yellow-leaning browns shift toward khaki; and grey-browns sit closer to the greige family. The picks below cover all three angles.
Brown paint — frequently asked questions
Is brown paint coming back?+
Yes — Pantone's 2025 Color of the Year (Mocha Mousse) is the headline, but the shift started two years earlier. Warm browns, mochas, and espressos have been replacing cool grays as the default warm-neutral pick since 2023, particularly in kitchens, dining rooms, and dens. The trend is grounded, low-saturation earth tones, not the orange-leaning browns of the 1970s.
What is Mocha Mousse paint and what does it look like?+
Mocha Mousse is Pantone's 2025 Color of the Year — a warm milk-chocolate brown with a slight pink-grey undertone (hex around #A47864, LRV 23). Every major US paint brand has at least one close match in their deck. Benjamin Moore Smokey Taupe, Sherwin-Williams Latte, and Magnolia's Old World all sit close to Pantone's spec.
Brown vs taupe vs greige — where is the boundary?+
Brown is saturated and warm with clear yellow-red undertones (LRV under 50). Taupe is the warm-grey-brown bridge — less saturated, mid-LRV. Greige is on the lighter, more grey-dominant end (lives in the Neutral family on this site). Boundary call: if it reads as "warm" first, it's brown or taupe; if it reads as "quiet neutral" first, it's greige.
What is the best brown for a kitchen?+
A mid-LRV warm brown for cabinetry (Mocha Mousse, Smokey Taupe, Hill Country) paired with creamy white walls — or the reverse, warm brown walls with painted-white cabinets. Avoid dark espresso brown on lower cabinetry in small kitchens; it absorbs too much light. For an island, deep espresso (Coffee, Cocoa) works as a statement against light counters.