Khaki and brown house paint: warmth with taste

What colour is khaki, and why do Thais picture two different colours?

Say khaki, and some people picture the yellowish brown of a Thai civil servant's uniform, while others picture the army green of a soldier's uniform. Neither is wrong, because khaki is a family of muted, unsaturated earth colours sitting between brown, green and grey.

On a wall at home, a brown khaki has the warmth of a safari shirt worn on holiday, while a green khaki like Horse Poop has the calm of garden trees in the evening. If you lean towards green, try Siam Olive in Mineral Finish, whose texture adds even more depth.

Brown paint for your home, from light to dark

Brown is like coffee: brew it weak or strong as you like, and each strength has a very different mood.

• Sandy light brown: Sand Dust, Linen, Coconut Sugar. Paint a whole room; easy on the eye and goes with any furniture
• Caramel mid-brown: Caramel and Toasted Rice. Suits a living room where you want obvious warmth
• Coffee dark brown: Coffee Bean and Chocolate. Paint the feature wall behind the sofa or the bed for quiet luxury
• Textured brown: Tamarind, Milo and Phu Kha Coffee in Mineral Finish, for the look of a hand-made earth wall

How to use khaki and brown without making a room feel heavy

The number one fear for anyone who wants to use brown is that the room will be as dark as a cave. The answer is light and proportion. A room with good natural light can take dark brown with ease, but in a room with few windows, paint the whole room a light brown and keep the dark colour to just one wall.

Another tip is to paint the ceiling in a warm white such as Ivory or Popcorn, so the room still feels tall and airy. For curtains, use light or off-white linen, which helps the afternoon sun spread softly across the walls.

Brown loves natural materials. Add wood, rattan, leather and ceramics, and the room looks more like a mountain resort than a storeroom.

What colours go with khaki and brown?

The safest partners are warm whites and creams, such as Ivory, Coconut Ice Cream or Oatmeal: clean without feeling cold. For freshness, pair them with a muted green such as Tea Leaf or Pine Forest for the look of a house in a garden.

If you follow fashion, try brown with a light blue such as Mist, like a blue shirt with chinos: classic without trying. And if you're a little bolder, dark brown with a brick orange like Thai Tea has the warmth of a contemporary Thai restaurant.

Try before you decide

Brown changes a great deal with the light. Under warm white lighting it looks more orange; under white lighting it looks greyer. Order 100ml sample bottles at ฿75 and compare two or three shades on the real wall first. Paint large patches and look at them throughout the day.

Voqe Wall Paint is 100% pure acrylic with little odour, for interior and exterior use, in 75 shades. Mineral Finish comes in 38 shades. To see them for real, visit Voqe Studio (Bang Phli), or send a photo of your room to LINE @dynohomes for help choosing.