I’m not an interior designer. I’m not a fashion designer. Essentially, I have no experience to back any of what I’m about to say up.
But I am a human who wears clothes and decorates my house. I also believe that life should be as colorful and interesting as possible, and I’m here to give you permission to do just that! (Especially if you’re a white woman…)
There’s this strange nagging I have as a white woman: that if I’m not following boring home decor trends that I’m somehow not doing my job… that I’m dishonoring my white women ancestors who lived utilitarian lives in the kitchens of their homes, with a baby on their hip, deep in the patriarchal past.
One of those such trends is the Nordic minimalist decor trend that began in 2008: beige fabrics, hard wood, blank walls. This has been echoed in recent fashion trends of muted tones and lots of neutrals of the “clean girl aesthetic” and “old luxury”.
Don’t get me wrong, none of those things is bad on its own. But boiled down to its thickest, sweetest reduction, it’s incredibly overwhelming and damn near unpalatable.
So come with me on a journey of color, texture, and interest as I explore something I have absolutely no business talking about: saying no to beige design and fashion and how to embrace color in your home decorating and personal style!
*Disclaimer: I am human. I write from the heart and from experience: not to suit any algorithm or perfectly curated feed. I have chosen to continue to write a blog in the days of Reddit and Substack because it means that I OWN my articles and ability to finance my writing. I am in the process of removing all affiliate links from my site and minimizing ads so that you may focus on the article itself. Enjoy!
Where did beige popularity come from?
Google’s AI function tells me that the reason beige is so popular is because of its timelessness, sense of calm, and soothing nature. (I can’t help but wonder if this in itself is a regurgitated answer steeped in white supremacy.)
Basically, at the time of the Great Recession of 2008, beige became a way to resell your home when no one was buying. It stems from a Scandinavian style that utilized a lot of natural, raw materials like wood and linen, and minimal decoration or color.
But it seems that this beige design has permeated all different facets of modern culture.
Saying No to Beige Fashion Trends
I wanted to discuss beige fashion first, because I’ve recently been watching a lot of the Knitting Cult Lady on YouTube.
According to her expertise, one of the things that a cult will try to control is the appearance of cult members, because cult members should absolutely not stand out.
This creates a kind of homogeneity of appearance. The trendy “clean girl aesthetic,” which I’ll talk about in a separate blog post, is giving serious cult vibes to me. Nothing stands out, everything is beige and homogenous. (It’s also showing the rise of white Christian nationalism and white supremacy again.)
Rejecting neutrals, beige, white, muted blues, browns… to me, this feels like rebellion against the “cult” of the current US administration.
Saying No to Beige Design and Home Decor
Home decor trends have been on a beige kick for a long time, basically since 2008. I found Nicole Rudolph’s video about the history of colorful home decor (and what happened to it) incredibly enlightening and interesting.
Beige has been “in” since about 2008, and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere. But I have concerns about keeping the whites and beiges in my home looking clean, and does it matter if your home is on trend if it’s cluttered and messy anyway?
I’m a mom, so keeping my home neat and dirt free is impossible unless I spent my entire day cleaning.
Cultural Appropriation Concerns?
I do want to bring up cultural appropriation here, because I think it’s important and valid. As a white woman, I feel that I’m expected to follow the boring trends, and it can feel risky to embrace bolder colors and patterns for fear that I am taking someone else’s culture without my knowledge.
Let’s be honest, capitalism is directly linked with white supremacy, and companies take things from other cultures they think will be trendy and sell them as “new styles” or market them to white, middle class Americans.
If you’re more liberal-minded like I am, embracing color and pattern can be worrisome because we don’t want to appropriate someone else’s culture. (I’m especially attuned to this, since I adopted a “boho” style long ago, to learn that it was incredibly problematic.)
I found this video by Dr. Marina Khan to be a fantastic guide to help you determine if it’s cultural appropriation or appreciation.
Basically, if you know where your styles come from, you respect and appreciate that culture, and preferably you purchased them from sellers who are a part of that culture, it’s not cultural appropriation. Just be informed and respectful!
If you learn after purchasing something that it is culturally appropriated, you stay open minded and don’t get defensive. Your knowledge about the topic is more important so that you can make better, more well-informed decisions in the future.
White Women: I Hereby Give You Permission to Use Color!
White women, join me in saying no to beige and embracing more color in your home and fashion! It’s time we took back our sovereignty and embraced our own styles instead of being a slave to the capitalist system!
6 Ways to Embrace Color In Your Personal Style and Home
If you’re looking for inspiration for how to move away from beige or how to embrace color in your decorating or personal style, then here are a few tips I found helpful as I started to purge all the beige in my life. (Or at least some of it.)
1. Start small
If you want to add more color to your home or style, you don’t have to do it all at once. Start by adding some pops of color in your accessories, like a red purse or bold purple necklace.
You don’t need to paint your living room bright yellow. Just include some color in your wall art or shelf decor.
Starting small gives you the ability to see what you like and move forward from there.
2. Find a piece that you just LOVE!
Have you ever gone through a store and found something that just sparks joy in you, but you realize that it doesn’t go with anything you already own? Maybe it’s too bold, or just not in your usual color palate.
I’m going to challenge you to get that item anyway and find a way to incorporate into your home or personal style. This might help to move you out of the box of beige and into a more inclusive color palate.
3. Use solid color and texture
To be honest, although I’m working really hard to incorporate more color into my style, one thing I struggle with is bold, colorful prints and patterns.
So I’m beginning with solid colors and textures. Even a solid red top seems less daunting than a full huge floral print like the one above! You can also play around with different textures rather than solid colors!
4. Stick to one or two bold colors
If I’m being totally honest, most of my wardrobe is very neutral. I don’t think I look good in neons, chartreuse, or mustard, or bright purple.
But one color I love to wear is red. So that’s the bold color I’ve vowed to add to my wardrobe this year. If you’re looking to add more color, you don’t have to add ALL colors. You don’t have to wear a rainbow every day. (Unless you want to, which I fully support!)
Keep it streamlined for simplicity and to know that everything you’re styling goes with everything else. And in case you’re interested in the color red, in this article, I talk about using red to express your femininity!
5. Find the patterns you like or dislike
As you continue to say no to beige and embrace color in your life, consider patterns. I’m a floral print girlie, but I’m not much for animal skin prints. You might really love polka dots but despise stripes.
Narrowing down the patterns you like or dislike can help you decide how to incorporate more color into your wardrobe or home style.
6. Incorporate items from your favorite counter culture
In a future article, I’m going to be talking about how counter culture is dead… basically. But if you were a punk in your adolescence, or you really enjoy hippie culture (which can potentially be linked to cultural appropriation… see above), then consider embracing some of those styles as well.
While goth and emo style might be predominantly black in nature and not super colorful, there is also a lot of texture and darkness in those styles. And hippie or hipster culture often features tie dye or plaid, which can help bring some visual interest into your style as well.
Conclusion
It is feminine to use color in your home decor. It is inclusive to embrace color in your decorating. You should not fear being “out of the loop” or that you’re not “keeping up with the Joneses” by rejecting beige in your decor and personal style.
Saying no to beige means that you’re bringing more art, humanity, and interest into your life and home, and it means rejecting the path that fascism and the cult of America has laid out for us.
I’m choosing to embrace color in my life! I’m saying no to beige!
