Are Beige & Tan The Same Colors?

What’s the difference between beige & tan?

When it comes to the paint color world, it’s the ole potato potahto; what you call greige, I call taupe, what you call beige, I call tan. But is there REALLY A DIFFERENCE between beige and tan paint colors?

Yes…and no. Does that answer your question? MY WORK HERE IS DONE!

Seriously, though, beige and tan can absolutely be the same thing, it just comes down to how YOU PERSONALLY categorize them. And how does one categorize them?

BY UNDERTONE. 

If you need a refresher on undertones and what they are/how to find them, I recommend you check this blog post out, as it’ll make the following info make much more sense.

What do YOU call the above colour – beige or tan?

But before we dive deep, let’s have a little chat…

NEVER JUDGE A PAINT COLOR BY ITS NAME 

If I judged/chose paint colours by their name, I would have my walls painted Red Red Wine and Natcho Cheese with a bit of Disco Nap thrown in once I’ve indulged in the other two.

What I’m trying to say in my own special Ginger-infused way is that just because a color SAYS a certain thing doesn’t mean it is. For example…

• BALLET WHITE – not white and, in fact, it’s many LRV points away from it
• NATURAL CREAM – not cream
• BENNINGTON GRAY – it’s a tan, not a gray
• PURE WHITE – definitely NOT a pure white

And sure, sometimes a color has a certain colour’s name in it, and it IS that colour – just don’t count on it.

How about these walls- beige or tan? Sherwin Williams Natural Linen (beige)

Why do I say this?

Because you’re going to come across colours like Grant Beige, Manchester Tan, and Bleeker Beige, and could ASSUME certain things based on their name. Just don’t. End of story.

Now let’s get back on track, starting with one of the previous photos where I asked you whether you thought the paint color was beige or tan…

Benjamin Moore Grant Beige

• CAMP 1: If you sit in one camp, you might call it beige OR tan with no difference between the two terms. Beige is tan, tan is beige.
• CAMP 2: If you’re in the other camp, it’s a TAN paint color, not a beige.

What the above paragraph shows is that there are TWO DIFFERENT WAYS to classify these types of warm neutrals.

And the cool thing is that there’s no wrong way to do it, in other words – YOU DO YOU, BOO! It comes down to which classification is easier for you.

So, let’s take a closer look at the two camps and see which one you want to roast your weenie at…

BEIGES & TANS ARE THE SAME TYPES OF COLORS

If this sounds familiar, it means that you call any warm neutral (with the following undertones) beige or tan with no definition between the two color names.

Instead, you prefer to classify any beige paint color (or tan, whichever name you prefer) by its undertones.

Sherwin Williams Natural Tan

THE 6 POSSIBLE UNDERTONES OF BEIGE-TAN

The first color name is the dominant one; the one you notice the most.

• ORANGE
• ORANGE-PINK
• ORANGE-YELLOW (a bit of green shows up sometimes as well)
• YELLOW
• YELLOW-GREEN
• YELLOW-ORANGE

Again, in this camp, we’ve decided that the words beige OR tan encompass all of the above combos – cool beans?

Why does the paint color in this next bathroom work so well?

Sherwin Williams Moderate White

It has the same orange-pink undertones as the tile – these homeowners LISTENED to what their home (and a crazy little Ginger) were telling them.

Now, let’s pull up a stump at the next camp…

BEIGE & TAN PAINT COLORS ARE DIFFERENT COLORS

Others (ahem) believe that beige and tan are different types of warm neutrals, defined by their undertones (this is my club, and if you join, we talk about paint colors, wine, and Ryan Reynolds ALL DAY LONG and work in our underwear).

Benjamin Moore Manchester Tan is one of the more popular tan paint colors.

Why did I choose this method?

• It’s easier to explain and clarify to my clients/readers
• Once we pinpoint the ONE main undertone (which qualifies it as ‘beige or tan’), there are fewer undertone combinations to choose from, keeping things simple

Sherwin Williams Latte is a beige paint colour, Urban Putty is a tan

SO, IN KYLIE’S WORLD, WHAT’S A ‘BEIGE’* PAINT COLOR?

*can refer to paint colors, tiles, countertops, carpet, and furnishings

Beige has an ORANGE undertone, and it’s the main undertone.

If you don’t have an orange undertone, you don’t have a beige.

Because this carpet has an orange-pink undertone, it pairs well with orange-pink walls! Sherwin Williams River’s Edge.

And I totally understand that it can be completely mind-blowing that undertones have undertones (insert wine here). However, once you understand the options, it’s easier to wrap the ole noggin’ around.

BEIGE UNDERTONES

• ORANGE-YELLOW – orange is the dominant undertone, and yellow is more subtle (green shows up once in a while)
• ORANGE-PINK – orange is the dominant undertone and pink is more subtle (definitely the most common as it relates to interior finishes, ie, tile, carpet)

In the photo above, I want you to notice the BEIGE tiles.

1. How do we know these tiles are beige and not tan? They have an orange undertone.

2. Is the orange undertone an orange-pink or orange-yellow? Orange-pink.

3. How would we know the undertone is orange-pink? You’ll find out shortly.

And I’m sure you’re wondering which wall color we chose for the above bathroom. Because we also had a tricky floor tile to accommodate as well (not shown), we couldn’t hop on the beige train. Instead, we went with the flexibility of Sherwin Williams Egret White.

How to Update a Beige Home (early 2000s)

IN KYLIE’S WORLD, WHAT’S A ‘TAN’* PAINT COLOR?

*can also refer to tiles, countertops, carpet, and furnishings

Tan paint colours have a YELLOW undertone as the main undertone.

If you don’t have a yellow undertone, you don’t have a tan.

Sherwin Williams Wool Skein is a tan paint color that winks at greige

Again, just as with beige paint colours, that yellow undertone has a few different personalities…

TAN UNDERTONES

• YELLOW-GREEN – yellow is more dominant than green (definitely the most common)
• YELLOW-ORANGE – yellow is more dominant than orange (if it were the other way around, it would be a BEIGE)

If you get to the point that the GREEN is more dominant than the yellow, you don’t have tan anymore, you likely have green or greige paint color.

Just remember, if you have a ‘warm neutral’ surface in your home, whether it be a countertop, tile, or carpet, CHANCES ARE, it has an orange (orange-pink) undertone – yellow is not as common.

I know that all went a little deeper than normal (that’s what she said), but once you understand what you’re dealing with, it’s easier to decorate accordingly!

Sherwin Williams Canvas Tan is as its name suggests – it’s tan. However, you’ve learned that a name is no way to judge a color.

Using this train of thought, if your paint colour (or surface) has a yellow undertone, it’s a tan. If your paint colour (or surface) has an orange undertone, it’s a beige. From there, you figure out which secondary undertone it swings into, and Bob’s your uncle.

Sherwin Williams Kilim Beige

Remember, you do you. I’m not here to tell you how to classify things; I’m here to teach you about the UNDERTONES of these particular neutrals, and what you call them is up to you.

BUT HOW DO YOU FIGURE OUT A PAINT COLOR’S UNDERTONES?

Great question…

COMPARE COMPARE COMPARE

In this next image, look at the 3rd and 4th samples down…

• Which one seems more peachy (orange)?
• Which one looks a bit more yellow COMPARED to the other?

There, you did it, you compared colors and found undertones! 

Even if you think you know what you’re looking at, COMPARISON is the key to choosing any paint color or defining the main colors of any surface.

It would be impossible for me to stress this enough. Even if you have picked a paint colour you love, take the time to compare it to other SIMILAR colours to see if it will settle the way you THINK it will (read more HERE).

Lastly…

DO BEIGE & TAN GO TOGETHER?

HECK NO. Pairing beige and tan paint colors or finishes is a bad idea.

Why?

Again, it’s all in the undertones. When coordinating interior finishes with paint colors, the undertones need to jibe. If you partner beige and tan, they’ll fight each other and clash.

READ MORE

The Best Beige & Tan Paint Colors

The Best WHOLE HOME Warm Neutral Paint Colours

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