Haifa Varju

Clay is the New Grey

Clay is the New Grey

Change.

It’s a funny thing. It often sneaks up on you … Slowly. Steadily.

Don’t agree with me? Have you ever heard the phrase, "the days are long but the years are short"?


If you want a living, breathing example of change sneaking up on you, look at your child(ren).

Or to a much lesser extent, look at design trends. Just as you think you have put your finishing touches to your home, something changes.

As a general rule, design trends come and go every ten years, especially colour. Grey - and its many shades - has been the dominant interior design trend of the past decade. But it is making room for a softer, warmer friend. 

Everyone will have a different name for this colour, and the feeling it creates. However, beige is the broader name for a colour that connects us with nature. It comes in many shades and hues thanks to the inspiration nature gives us.

Nature helps us feel happy, warm, and calm so bringing it into our homes naturally adds these things and more.

Beige is making a comeback.

You’ll find this colour in anything natural and sustainable - reuse, relove and recycle is a phrase I love to use - especially as people try to bring the outside inside. 

At Toddlekind we call it Clay,” says Samantha Brückner, Toddlekind's founder and lover of beautiful interiors.

Beige is not a synonym for boring.

Samantha adds, “Clay is a staple in Toddlekind’s colour palette, and we were the first to put it out there on flooring. It is our most popular colour choice with our customers, so I am not surprised to see it being used more predominately in home interiors.

When I was developing Toddlekind's colour palette, I consulted with a major designer in the kid's interior industry who advised me not to run with “beige”. I ignored that advice, and today, Clay is our best seller. It trumps all other colours.

It is a light, warm, and neutral beige tone which is calming, and adds an understated style to your home.

 

In 2023 experts agree ... 

Dulux recently announced its 2023 Colour of the Year – a warm, neutral hue that they call Wild Wonder. 

Over the last 20 years, Dulux’s colour experts have been using global insights to create a Colour of the Year that matches the "mood of the moment". They say their Wild Wonder shade is a positive, glowing tone, inspired by the natural world.*

Dulux was inspired “by the warm tones of harvested crops with an upbeat glow which connects us with the cycles of life, by creating a sense of energy and positivity”.**

 

What can the colour Clay bring to your home? Let's take a look

In your nursery, Clay provides balance and calm. It offers a beautiful, neutral base (or backdrop) and, warmth - just like a hug.

Layer a Prettier Puzzle Playmat in Clay, with one of our organic cotton mats, to add a secondary colour to the space. You can mix light and dark colours to your floor space to make a feature of it. Other colours that complement Clay are Sandcastle or Tan

Rattan furniture and decor pieces, natural wooden toys, and natural organic fabrics.

Adding Clay to your bedroom will offer a welcoming and comforting feeling, making you happy, and relaxed.

Clay’s versatility means you can bring the colour into your play (or family) room. It connects us with nature. Nature creates happy, warm, and calm feelings so bringing it into your home adds these things and more. 

Whether you have a country cottage, a city dwelling, or a home in the suburbs, Clay will feel right at home.

When you add Clay colours, and tones to your living room it feels refined, and sophisticated. This is one of the many reasons the Clay Prettier Play mats are so popular as they offer a sophisticated rug-like flooring option to keep your baby safe, and your floor beautiful.

     

 

Tips when Decorating with Clay
  • Don’t overdo it. You don’t want a room full of only clay, natural tones.  

 

  • Mix light and dark colours from the beige spectrum; avoid mid-tones.


  • Use Clay as your base colour, and then add to it with accents and standout colours.

    Support it with a secondary colour palette that gently draws your eye around the room. Colours like Moss, Anchor or Seashell layer beautifully with Clay.


  • Have fun with the neutral and add feature wallpaper, furnishings, and accessories that avoid the mid-tones but complement each other with a mixed spectrum and textures.
        
 Clay is available in the following ranges:
Prettier Puzzle Playmat: Earth and Nordic 
Splat mat: Nude and Jungle

 


  

 

 

Images in order of appearance: 

1. Bedroom: @susana.alheli / TK product image  |  2/3. Heart balloons & Playroom: @edemasellis  |  4. Playroom: @lauren.wilcox  | 5. Living room: @JoeyKendalBrown

 

Sources: 

** https://www.dulux.co.uk/en/dulux-colour-of-the-year-2023

*** https://www.dulux.co.uk/en/colour-inspiration/feel-the-magic-of-nature-with-colour-of-the-year-2023

 

Back to blog

Discover More

VIEW ALL POSTS

The space where parents - and their little ones - spend most of their time...

Read More

Let's take a look at the two most common - and popular - play mat...

Read More