Color deep dive: BROWN

There's a reason this color is predominant for residential interiors

Psychology

Brown is a pervasive color, and it is foundational across the spectrum of colors. True to form, this color makes most people feel warm, comfortable, and peaceful, due to its direct elemental connection in nature. Many feel brown to be a good base when coupling with a pop of other, brighter colors. Brown does not usually apply well as a singular color in design as it lacks a burst or brightness of emotion often sought with design. Brown can prompt feelings of contemplation or subconscious contentment, but so too in some can draw toward lackluster emotion or leave some wanting (something more). It is for this reason brown doesn't stand well alone. But as a building block of color, or used in a direct elemental form (wood furniture or wood accents), brown is the subtle authenticity all can appreciate. It is appreciated because it is in its truest form: a tree for a tree. Also for many, the natural color of brown coffee has ingrained feelings of wakefulness, alertness, necessity, or even cravings (so too, chocolate). Because coffee has been ubiquitous in humanity for so long, now many people associate brown with coffee.

Everyday reference

The name Earth corresponds to the word "earth," which means soil, or dirt. Around the world, humans are aware of dirt due to vast farmlands and agricultural areas, where dirt is not only pervasive, but an integral ingredient in their daily life and careers. For the sporting or hiking person, hills and mountains hold dirt trails and brown-barked trees. Those who move among them, naturally correspond the brown they see on trees with strength, longevity, and tenacity (holding on through decades, and amidst storms). It is natural to bring brown colors into people's homes and sometimes into wardrobes due to their love for the natural world, and the feeling they get in the mountains they can replicate to a degree at home, simply with the color. Color holds powerful associations in our mind, sometimes embedded from a vivid color dream, sometimes from a past memory, sometimes from a cloudy day, or a warm, golden-rayed sunny one. For the chocolatier, brown is their livelihood, and for the coffee-drinker, it's a bean on their shelf. Many people who live in urban centers usually associate brown with something "dirty," but, when considered, that may be the most basic association of all (Earth).

Urban Floor Eng. Hardwood / L'Artiste / Lorrain

Flooring

Perhaps there is no more popular color for interior flooring than this. Most hardwoods are brown, and some of the deepest and richest hardwood or hard-surface flooring products are in the brown color family. It is natural. People love having wood or wood accents in their living quarters for so many reasons and hardwood continues to be very popular decade-to-decade. Most flooring is fashion, in that styles change on a regular basis, which can be a good thing too as most like fashion, but hardwood has staying power. Hardwood floors are also an added value investment to your home. Many cork floors also come in variations of brown, and some carpets come in a very beautiful brown or light brown. Cork flooring will add ergonomic comfort to your everyday life. Carpet is the soft choice when keeping little ones safe from tumbles.