8 Ideas for Decorating With Earth Tones
Earth tones: They're grounded, elevated, and timeless.
An earth-tone palette makes any room a bit more elevated while still giving it that lived-in and relaxed feeling. The colors are soothing and easy to mix and match, which is why decorating with earth tones is great for any room in your home. Keep reading below for a few of our favorite earth-tone interior design ideas.
How to Decorate With Earth Tones
1. Earth-Tone Palette: Defined
Before browsing our favorite earth-tone interior design, let's take a minute to go over what an earth-tone color palette looks like. We define these shades as the colors of the outdoors – colors you might pass by on a walk outside: chocolate brown tree bark, green moss, or taupe sand. You can think of earth colors as Mother Nature's palette.
Decorating with earth tones is freeing, because the colors range from warm hues (terracotta and burnt orange) to cool tones (olive green and espresso) all the way to neutrals (wheat and caramel).
2. Ground Yourself
Similarly to decorating with any color palette, when you're decorating with earth tones it's important to create a great base before adding in accents. Choose a warm color palette of chocolatey brown suede, burnt sienna, caramel leather, or wheat-colored for a linen sofa to set the right foundation. Creamy white accent chairs in ivory and oatmeal can be a versatile, neutral base for earth tones, too, but shy away from cool-toned whites like egret and alabaster. As the seasons change, swap out accent pieces to keep the earthy tones in line with the time of year. Consider burnt orange or yellow ochre for autumn or moss green for spring.
For large pieces within an earth-tone palette, like your bedding or area rug, it's important to choose muted versions of earthy colors. High-gloss, saturated, and shiny pieces can feel overdone when it comes to earth tones. For instance, bright colors like emerald green and strawberry red won't feel like true earth tones. You want the atmosphere to reflect nature and feel lived in. Choose shades like olive and amber instead.
Since you'll be decorating with the flatter, muted versions of green, brown, orange, and other earth tones, make sure the room has a lot of natural light. Because earth tones are matte and not reflective, the light will not naturally bounce off these shades. Keep window treatments minimal to let in as much natural light as you can. Consider wood, stone, and iron light fixtures to add more earthy and nature-inspired elements into the rooms.
Use the walls to add another layer of earthiness by hanging up artwork that's been inspired by the outdoors. Mountain ranges, coastal scenes, skylines, and florals are a few of our favorites. Choose pieces within an earth-tone palette to make this work effectively. If you want to make a gallery wall pop, take it a bit further and add patterned wallpaper. Pick out a wallpaper like the one featured above which has a textured, sandy look.
Use textured pieces to add another natural element to the earth tones. Organic accessories like woven baskets, cement planters, or a burlap table runner are great for layering over matte earth tones. These textured items can organically create visual interest and, as a bonus, help you store clutter and keep surfaces clean.
Decorating with earth tones does not have to be limited to the colors you choose to design with. Add in earthy elements that complement your palette and bring the outside in. Consider earthenware vases or candle holders – their beautiful gray and clay colors and natural aesthetic will add a layer of outdoorsiness. A ceramic or stone bowl on the countertop pulls double duty as a catchall for keys and mail while fitting in seamlessly with other earth tones. Wood accent pieces can also add an element of nature while infusing a little rustic style.
While shiny accents are not necessarily something that comes to mind when we look at earth-tone interior design, that shouldn't deter you from using glassware as a decorative detail. Opt for forest-inspired colors such as the greens and browns pictured above. Glass vases are great for displaying botanicals or using smooth stones as a filler – they're reminiscent of river rocks. Use decorative glass to create a vignette on an entryway console table or display everyday glassware in earth tones on the open shelves in a kitchen.
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