What is the Most Popular Exterior Color for a House? / by keith messick

Beige

Walk or drive down any residential street. Look at the color of the houses. What do you see?

More than likely it will be beige.

Scientific Color Study

No, not really. From my completely unscientific study, I would estimate that, at least 3 out of 4 houses are beige. Maybe even 4 out of 5. That is a very large percentage. That’s like saying almost all the houses are beige. That’s a lot.

Why Beige

Why do we have such an attraction to beige? What is it that makes us love beige?

  • Beige is the color you would get if you mixed many lighter colors together. Is picking a color to difficult? Do we settle for beige because we cannot make a decision?

  • Beige is a neutral (without color) color. It tends to blend into everything else. Do we pick beige so as to not offend others?

  • Beige is a somewhat earthy color. Does it hold some sort of worldly rapport? Does it mentally ground us. Is it relaxing? Soothing?

  • You might think that the cost of beige paint is much, much less than other colors. The last time I checked, the cost of beige paint was the same as any other color.

I really don’t understand the appeal.

Why beige?