Styled: Fable

I’ve been super keen to work with some of Aalto Paint’s ‘new neutrals’ – beiges, taupes and soft sand tones. These colours have definitely seen a revival recently – they’re super nice to use because they offer the fresh clean feel of a white, but give a softer, more organic look.

Taupe tones marry best with natural textures – wood (from light to dark), woven materials, linen, ceramics… and form a pretty palette when used with other neutrals (from oatmeal and eggshell to darker taupes and cloud greys), with some muted brights (think rust red, olive green, powdery pink, and rich golden tones…)

If you’re thinking of a contemporary beige for a room, take note of what undertone your shortlisted colours each have. Choose your final shade by considering the other colours and materials you want to use in the room – and making sure these don’t clash with the undertone.

I settled on a delicious creamy taupe that has the subtlest hint of pink in it, Aalto Fble but in the running were Starch (a very balanced neutral with a hint of grey), Scrubbed Pine (beautiful powdery taupe from Aalto’s 2018 collection), Illusion 1/2 (a lighter sand colour) and Quest (deeper, with a red undertone). There’s also 10+ more colours in the taupe spectrum to choose from, #sorrynotsorry.

These tones are a great choice for a nursery because they’re gender neutral, they give a warm and cosy feel, and being, well, neutral, they’ll work well with other looks when you update the room as baby gets older. We chose blush accents here (did you spot that the armchair has a blush pink leather seat?) because Fable has a subtlest hint of pink in it, but you could easily replace the blush with more golds and mustards, and soft grey, to make the look even more gender neutral, or swap blush for olives and deep greens.

Alana Broadhead, The New