I recently received an email from a Gentleman with a dilemma. He has pinky beige tile through his entire house but removing the tile is not an option. What’s a man to do?
First of all, don’t panic. A good Designer always has plan B and the best Designer has plan C and D just incase B doesn’t work out.
Here is the letter:
Please please I’m desperate for you help. I’ve been cursed with the dreaded pinky beige tile throughout the home I purchased last year in West Palm Beach, FL.I am trying to make a man cave for myself but have this obstacle to overcome. I can’t afford new tile at this time so my only option is paint.I love the combination in this photo: http://www.houzz.com/projects/130448/Pinky-Beige the beige is so creamy and warm. Could you please share with me the color and the manufacturer? I’m hoping it will help downplay the pink some. I thought the right shade of blue might do but to me it just brings out the pink more.It’s a 1 level villa town-home, and I have bright cherry cabinets in the kitchen with black granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances and mostly nickel fixtures (fan, chandelier etc.) and my sofa and chair with ottoman are sort of a burnt chestnut.Despite the risk of my house looking like a giant band aid, I really like the color in the photo above.Do you think there might be a better option?? My walls are painted in multiple colors and I just can;t take it anymore – please can you give your opinion and the color in the picture. I though to go lighter but I think it will get washer out. I love sophisticated color.
First of all, don’t panic. Is it a pain to work with pinky beige? Yes but sometimes you have to work with it instead of against it.
I wish I had photos but I don’t. I think he panicked and had a family member help him with his color choice instead of me walking him through this. He was on a tight budge and timeline so I guess he did the best he could.
If you look at the photo he has in the link, that is actually my dining room. Is it a pinky beige? Yes but there’s more to working with pinky beige tile than just slapping on more pinky beige paint on your walls.
Having a pink undertone for a Man Cave is probably the worst scenario but it’s can be done. I would have suggested this client to use dark brown, burgundy and black as accent colors. More importantly I would have suggested using a light to medium tone gray that has a hefty pink undertone to tie everything in.
Sherwin Williams has a ton of these hues that would work for him like Intuitive SW6017. This color would look great with dark brown – see the rest of the colors on the strip? See the dark brown? Adding brushed nickel accents and cherry wood furniture would have completed the look.
Decorating by Donna • Intuitive Color Expert 
We had the dreaded pinky beige floor tiles throughout the first floor also, with open concept kitchen, bright cherry cabinets and black granite countertop. I don’t like living with pink, so we tried color after color until we found one that maximizes the GOLD and minimizes the pink. We went with an Olympic color called “Glazed Pear” even though we used a better quality paint. We get a lot of compliments on the “warm white” appearance. For our just-finished “man cave” we are going with a Behr color called “Baked Scone” which is a little darker but still more of a gold/transparent apricot which minimizes the pink and looks less drab than beige. Good luck!
I’m glad it worked out well for you! I would have worked WITH the pink undertones and brought in mahogany, chocolates and grays to work with the pinks. I know from experience that pink undertones and yellow undertones are a no-no together. The yellow or gold tones just make the pinks look pinker. I’m super happy it worked for you though! There’s always an exception to the rule 🙂