Paint colors for your home, inside and out
Boho style · colors from 4 paintings
Boho colors are earthy and warm: clay brown, gold, brass, blush and sand, with one near-black for depth. Each of the six colors below was measured from a painting.
Quick answer
Paint the walls blush #D7B2A3, use sand #B9AC94 for the main furniture, brass #957B4C for wood, gold #CBB273 for the bold piece and clay brown #7F5543 for textiles.
A deep red-orange brown at LRV 11, from Degas's Woman Combing Her Hair. Use it for rugs, a leather chair or a rich accent wall.
From Woman Combing Her Hair, Edgar Degas
A light-to-mid yellow at LRV 46, from Degas's Woman Combing Her Hair. It suits a painted door, a cabinet or a single bold piece.
From Woman Combing Her Hair, Edgar Degas
A mid-tone yellow-brown at LRV 21, from the same Degas painting. It echoes cane, rattan and warm wood.
From Woman Combing Her Hair, Edgar Degas
A light red-orange at LRV 49, from Monet's Étretat: The Beach and the Falaise d'Amont. This is the wall color, soft enough for a whole room.
From Étretat: The Beach and the Falaise d'Amont, Claude Monet
A light neutral at LRV 42 with a warm undertone, from Heade's York Harbor, Coast of Maine. Use it for a sofa, curtains or a calm wall.
From York Harbor, Coast of Maine, Martin Johnson Heade
A very dark brown at LRV 3, from Courbet's The Deer. No close commercial paint match was found, so use it as a guide for dark wood or iron.
From The Deer, Gustave Courbet
The same paint reads differently in cool north light, warm south sun and under evening lamps. Find the column closest to your room.
| Color | Neutral daylight | North light | South light | Evening lamps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soft Gold | ||||
| Blush Clay | ||||
| Warm Sand |
Pick which color goes on the walls, the big furniture and the bold piece. Floors, shadows and trim follow your choice.
The framed picture on the wall is Woman Combing Her Hair.
This palette has three groups. The warm earth colors are clay brown #7F5543, aged brass #957B4C and soft gold #CBB273. The soft colors are blush clay #D7B2A3 and warm sand #B9AC94. The dark one is walnut #372C1F.
All six colors have a warm undertone, yellow or red-orange, which is why they feel good together. None has a blue or green cast.
Choose the wall first. Blush clay at LRV 49 is warm enough to feel cozy and light enough for most rooms. Warm sand at LRV 42 is more neutral and suits people who want boho in the furnishings rather than on the wall.
Then add the deeper colors in smaller amounts, so they feel like layers rather than a heavy block.
Keep the trim and ceiling warm white or cream so they do not feel cold against the blush and sand. A bright blue-white will clash.
Wood floors in a mid brown suit this palette, and aged brass #957B4C is close to the color of many woven and cane pieces. A jute or sisal rug in the sand tone adds texture without adding a new color.
Use clay brown in textiles, such as a throw, cushions or a rug border. Use soft gold for one bold piece, such as a painted chair or a frame. The dark walnut works best on small pieces like a mirror frame or a lamp base.
Greenery is the one color outside the palette that always works, and plants fit the warm tones well.
In north light, the blush clay can turn muted and slightly gray. Warm sand will look cooler too. If the room is cool, lean toward the blush for its red-orange undertone.
In strong south light, both walls look lighter, and the blush can look closer to peach. Soft gold looks brighter in the sun and darker in the evening.
Under warm evening bulbs, the whole palette looks richer. The clay brown and brass deepen, and the sand takes on a golden tone.
Because the palette is warm, it is forgiving. Avoid using cool white bulbs, which make the blush look dull. A warm bulb of about 2700K brings out the colors as they appear in the paintings.
Paint a sample at least two feet wide, or use a large painted board you can move around. Put it on your main wall and check it in the morning, at midday and in the evening.
Hold your fabrics, rug and wood furniture beside it. A boho room often has many textures, so the paint has to work with them. Blush that looks right alone can look pink next to a red-toned wood.
Test the gold and brass on a small surface first, such as a chair or a shelf, because both can look stronger when seen in large amounts.
Give the samples a few days. Look once on a gray day and once on a bright one.
Warm earthy colors: clay brown, gold, brass, blush and sand. The palette on this page also includes a near-black walnut for depth.
Blush clay #D7B2A3 at LRV 49 is warm and light. Warm sand #B9AC94 at LRV 42 is a more neutral choice.
Yes. Use a warm white and bring the palette in through textiles, wood and one painted piece.
The six colors on this page come from different paintings, so they are matched by their warm undertones. Add plants and natural fibers.
Each color lists its closest measured match, such as Sherwin-Williams SW 6331 Smoky Salmon for the blush. Test the paint in your own room.
A card with every color on this page, its LRV and the paintings it comes from. Pin it, or take it to the paint store.
Painting images: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, public domain (CC0). Colors measured by Light & Pigment. Paint names belong to their brands and matches are approximate. Colors look different on screen than on a wall, so always test a sample.
