Brown is a color that we’re very familiar with. It’s the color of the earth and of the tree trunks and we associate it with warmth and comfort.

Basically every home has shades of brown in its interior design, whether it’s a faint ivory on the walls, dark brown on the floors or beige on furniture. It’s actually hard to imagine a home without brown in its decor.

A lot of times we use this color without even realizing it. But what about intentionally adding brown to a space?

How would you do it?

Keep it simple with wood furniture

Sometimes the answer to this question is simple: wood furniture. An elegant dining table with a wooden top would be perfect for just about any dining room. You can pair it with matching chairs. A wooden floor would be too much in this case so try to keep it as simple and as neutral as possible. You can do that with an area rug or the floor itself.

Play with chocolate

A cool thing about decorating with brown is that you can take advantage of the fact that so many iconic things are brown, like chocolate. Doesn’t this sofa bed look delicious? Its design is not outstanding but the color suits it perfectly. It looks just like a chocolate tablet and it also appears to be super comfortable. The combination couldn’t be any better

Incorporate natural wood accents

If you like brown as a color and you want to use it in your interior decor you can take advantage of that and furnish the space with natural wood pieces like a sleek cabinet, a set of elegant dining chairs, a stylish coffee table or even something smaller like the frame of a mirror.

Make a statement with an accent wall

You also have the option of using wood in the form of large panels for a more dramatic and powerful impact on the overall decor of a room. For example, a wood-paneled accent wall can make a living room look super cozy and welcoming.

Use basic elements in your favor

Let’s not forget about basic things like shelving units and bookcases. These are almost always made of wood or plywood and brown is a color that suits them and since they’re so versatile, you can add them to any room of the house.

Take advantage of upholstered pieces

Brown is also a common color when it also comes to upholstered furniture. You can easily find a brown sofa, ottoman or armchair in pretty much any store so it shouldn’t be difficult to use this strategy when you’re furnishing or remodeling your place.

Pair brown with other colors that help it stand out

You can pair brown with a lot of different other colors to create all sorts of gorgeous combinations. A particularly great mix is the one between brown and blue. These two colors complement each other. One is warm and one is cool and they both reference elements from nature. It’s like the earth and the sky are brought together.

Use a variety of materials and finishes

Although wood is the material most commonly associated with the color brown, that’s not your only option. In fact, there are many other materials you can successfully use such as certain types or marble, stone, leather and obviously also fabric which comes in every color imaginable.

Emphasize the wood’s natural beauty

If you decide to put natural wood furniture in your home, you might as well make the most of it and emphasize this material’s natural beauty. For example, a live-edge table would definitely be a cool idea. It would also be great to have furniture with visible knots.

Leather upholstery is your friend

Leather-upholstered furniture is almost always brown. This sectional sofa features a nice tan color which makes it stand out and contrast with the rest of the colors and also with the materials which surround it.

Pair wood with stone for a classic effect

It’s clear by now that wood is one of the best materials to use if you want to add earthy and brown color accents to your interior design. A nice material to pair with wood is stone which can be incorporate into a variety of different features like a fireplace for example. This traditional living room by Professional Design Consultants is a very elegant example.

Put an emphasis on texture

Color and texture go hand in hand. That’s something to keep in mind whenever you’re decorating a room or looking for a way to add more depth to a particular design. With a color like brown you can play with some matte textures to give it an earthy feel and you can use a variety of different materials like wood, fabric or suede leather. Check out this warm and inviting living area by Design Directives for a little bit of inspiration.

Highlight the ceiling

It’s usually the walls and the floor that we focus our attention on when designing a space which definitely gives us plenty of options and opportunities for working with color, texture and so on. However, there’s also one more surface with lots of potential: the ceiling. If you want to add a special twist to your design, consider creating an interesting ceiling, like a coffered one for example.

Go with a simple and consistent color scheme

Keeping the colors consistent throughout a space helps the area look cohesive and also allows the color palette to stand out more. Take this stylish bedroom design by studio Rugo/ Raff for example. White and dark brown are the primary nuances used here and they help one another stand out. What’s also beautiful about this space is the fact that the colors are displayed on large surfaces which has a big impact on the overall aesthetic of the room.

Combine similar nuances

There’s plenty of ways to add diversity to a design and to create layers or to distinguish between different surfaces and elements without necessarily having to rely on multiple different colors. Using similar nuances of the same color like brown for instance can work wonders for a space like this stylish power room designed by studio House Amelia for that matter.

Mix in some other warm colors

Brown is a warm color and so are red, orange, yellow, beige or tan. With that in mind, this gives you plenty of options for creating a warm and inviting interior design. You can see a similar strategy being used in this cozy bedroom by B Fein Interiors.

Use neutral colors

Neutral colors such as beige or grey can be super useful when you want to make an accent color stand out or to create a soothing and versatile décor. Brown can also be considered a fairly neutral color so it would

Go with a timeless design

Brown is a really good option that can be used in classic and timeless designs like that of this stylish kitchen by studio KB Cabinets. It helps to also work with timeless materials like wood and marble to really solidify the design.