What Colors Make Brown? Primary Color Combination, Properties of Colors, Different Shades & Mix-ups For Home Decor

Explore what colors make brown? Are they only the primary colors or even the secondary ones? You can be creative to come up with sophisticated shades.

Have you ever aimlessly stared at the blank canvas to guess what colors make brown? Then remember you aren’t the only clueless one; many others are wondering the same. Brown might seem a typical color, but its unique hues and its use in modern architecture made it highly sophisticated. Colors are highly subjective and depend upon a human eye’s ability to translate light into the color perceived by the brain. 

So if someone asks what colors make brown? You can make guesses that many colors do, but it depends entirely upon the perception.

Our eyes contain cone-shaped cells that transfer signals to the nerve, which transfer wavelengths of light, and then colors are distinguished. Everything we see isn’t pure color on the light spectrum; therefore, we can see different colors, even hues of colors.

You can easily mix different colors to make up the perfect shade of brown. 

In this guide, we will discuss in detail what colors make brown. How they can be made using acrylic paints and in home decor with basic properties of colors. 

What Colors Make Brown? 

But before diving deeper, we need to understand what brown color is. It’s such a versatile color but a composite one, which can sometimes be confusing as a lot of people blankly stare at the canvas that what need to be mixed to get the brown color. Mind it, it’s a bit tricky to make. 

But before the mixing process, we need to understand the basic properties which are elaborated as: 

1. Hue: It’s the generic name of the color and is directly linked to color names outside of the color wheel. These are basic colors blue, green, yellow, and red.
2. Value: It explains how intense or subtle color is, like if we use Munsell notation and measure color intensity from 0-10. If the intensity is measured in black and white, then white will be marked 10, while black will be 0. 

Note: Different color pigments will give different values. The colors that are out of the tube will give different values. For instance, a blue color is dark. In ultramarine watercolor, its value is 4, while in oil paint, it is darker and its value becomes 2. 

3. Chroma: It’s the saturation of a certain color. A lot of painters still aren’t aware of what it is. It’s the bright nature and intensity of a color. A high chroma color is naphthalene red, which stands at number 16 or 14. A lower chroma color comes in the ochre shade with the number 6 on the scale, while a neutral gray is scaled at 0. 

I never thought about intricacies when it comes to brown, but I knew it’s a warm color, so once we understand where it stands at the wheel, certainly, it’s somewhere near orange and red. So it becomes easier to guess what colors make brown now. 

What Colors Make Brown With Acrylic Paint?

Are you a painter? Or do you get this urge to suddenly paint something decaying to give it a new life, and what’s a better color than brown? Here is your cue to make a perfect shade of brown with your oil/acrylic paint. But before unleashing your creativity you need to understand what color makes brown when you combine them: 

Blue + Orange 

If primary and secondary colors are mixed, they make a completely different color. Like if you mix blue and orange, they will be brown. Both are complementary colors, where orange is already a combination of red and yellow, and when it’s mingled with blue, brown resurfaces.

If a cerulean blue is mixed with medium orange paint, a light blue color will be made while a darker blue, and neutral orange paint will make the rich brown color. 

Red + Yellow + Blue

Mixing yellow, red, and blue also makes up the brown color. These primary colors can also make gray depending upon the amount you add. Even the amount determines the shade and hue of brown. 

But mixing equal ratio will make a basic brown color.

Purple + Yellow

What colors make brown? Do purple and Yellow do that? Yes, as purple is already a combo of blue and red, and when it’s combined with yellow. The two colors are across each other on the wheel. If you mix a purple color with undertones of red-blue with yellow tinged with green, your brown color will appear more earthy and natural. 

Orange + Black

Black can be added to any shade of orange, and it will make it brown. If black is mixed with red-tinged orange you will get rusty brown color. A light orange color, when combined with black, gives off a neutral brown color.

But by increasing the amount of black, the color can be deepened. 

Red + Green

When you mix green with red, you can acquire a brown color. A red-tinged orange color mingled with a neutral green color makes a medium brown, but when you mix red with olive green, the color becomes rusty brown.

5 Different Shades of Brown Colors

What colors make brown? It relies on the shade you are aiming for, multiple shades of brown can be made by mixing up different colors from the color wheel. Colors are subjective, so every person perceives colors differently.  

Basic Brown

To make the basic brown color, just mix up orange and blue. Mix each color in equal proportion, and you will get a basic brown color. 

But again, if the color isn’t up to your liking, you can alter the proportions, but this ratio is simple and straightforward and is pretty convenient with primary colors with predictive end products.

What colors make brown? Fun thing, literally every color you mix up will eventually turn into brown, but it’s not a good technique when you are targeting a particular shade. 

Even orange and black, when mixed also make brown.

Beige 

What colors make brown that is comparatively light? Beige is a light brown color to make if you need to mix up brown and white. The right approach is to take up white in a palette and then gradually mix brown because if you mix it the other way around, you will be required to start all over again if the color gets too light.

Beige also has a pink undertone, for which you need to add a dab of red. To lighten the beige add yellow or white.  But to deepen the color, add more blue or brown.

Tan Brown

Tan is another lighter shade of brown but with no pinkish undertone. The tan shade is closer to that of basic brown rather than beige. To make Tan, add yellow into brown; even white can be added, but don’t add pink shade.

Espresso Brown

What colors make brown that is way darker than your typical shade? Espresso is a dark brown for which you need colors that are darker than primary shades. To make espresso, add more red and blue colors than yellow. Even if you add purple and black, the color is deepened. Purple gives a better color than black, even mixing up both gives a smooth finish.

To lighten the color, add more yellow and grey; adding white will not be a wise choice. 

Chestnut Brown

It is the prettiest shade of brown, which is way lighter than the typical brown color but isn’t bright enough. To make chestnut, you need to add yellow and red. Don’t add both colors ratio at once; gradually add yellow and then red until chestnut color is acquired.

Chestnut is a reddish-brown brown color and should be earthy and bright in shade. 

What Color Makes Brown In Home Decor Projects? 

Brown is such a versatile and pretty color used in almost all decor projects. In modern interiors, people prefer to add deep brown and even beige and tan colors that give a warm and cozy look to your home. Here I have some hue ideas, that will create prettier shades: 

Sand + Caramel

What colors make brown hues that are particularly rich and warm and give an aesthetic look to your space? Both these colors make a warm, deep tone where sand is pale grayish yellow while caramel is tan Brown, and together make a cappuccino palette. 

This color complements if you make it a combo with yellow or green. Caramel goes well with darker colors like blue or red, whereas sand adds more depth to the place.

It particularly looks great on full rooms and sometimes just walls. When you pair it up with bright lights, it gives a cozy and inviting look to your room. 

Sepia + Turquoise 

What colors make brown? Can you do it using turquoise and sepia? Sure thing! Turquoise is a pretty bluish-green color that reminds us of the sea, while sepia is a complex brown color, a mixture of brownish-gray reminds us of the rusty shade of soil and old photographs. 

If you have ever seen Mediterranean culture, the combo of brown, blue, and green make a harmonious combo that gives a unique and peaceful vibe to your place. 

Umber + Salmon

Are you looking for a coastal-themed room? Umber combined with salmon will be your perfect go. Umber is dark brown while salmon gives subtle orange hues. Both make a nice cozy palette that gives warmth to your space. 

Umber has a rustic undertone and complements gray-blue, and even with salmon hues, a sophisticated look.

Salmon, being the pastel shade, gives a minimalist look and softens the overall appearance. One thing I love about this combo is that it gives a neat pool to your space. 

Terra Cotta + Mustard

Terra cotta is a rusty brown color with subtle yellow undertones, whereas mustard is a bright golden yellow color. When combined together, it makes a dynamic look that is cozy yet luxurious and looks great in winter and fall projects.

But again what colors make brown pop out? These shades will surely do but you need to be considerate about proportions. If you prefer lighter hues, add more mustard, while for deeper undertones, add more terra cotta.

If you can’t get your hands on these two colors, use burnt umber and ochre, which are staples in each palette, and transform your typical color combo to the next level. 

Bottom-line 

In conclusion, what colors make brown isn’t difficult to answer, but the point is how much you need to add primary or even secondary colors to come up with the desired shade. Orange and Black, when combined, make brown; even yellow, red, and blue mix together to make brown. But the point is shade here. If you want a lighter shade, add the pastel color more, but if you desire a deep brown color, add the cooler-toned color more. 

The brown color has made its way into several architectural designs; even for the paintings, it’s tricky to get the perfect shades because of the chroma of different oil paints and watercolor paints.

Give it a thought to get creative with your next project. Is brown your favorite color or were you struggling to make it recently? 

FAQs on What Colors Make Brown

What two colors make brown? 

The primary colors red, yellow, and blue, when mixed make brown. Even orange and blue, when combined, make a basic brown color.

How to make chocolate brown color? 

You can simply start by adding orange and blue then gradually add black to deepen the basic brown color. Adjusting the amount helps in getting the required shade of color.

You may like to read about:

What Colors Make Orange? History, Different Orange Hues

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