Hello, friend!
If you've been following along with our home journey for a while, you might have noticed a certain paint color popping up again and again in our rooms. It's one of those colors that just works, no matter where we put it. When we first heard Universal Khaki was chosen as the 2026 Color of the Year, we were a bit surprised. Not that the color was worthy, but because we've been fans of this color for years. It's been on our walls, ceilings, trim, furniture, wainscoting, and even on the back door.
Today, I'm sharing how we've used Universal Khaki by Sherwin-Williams throughout our previous home and now, in our current home. I thought you might like to see this color in use, in case you are searching for a dependable neutral for your home.
Universal Khaki ~ SW 2026 Color of the Year
Universal Khaki (SW 6150) is what I'd call a warm mushroom brown, and if you are looking for a proven neutral color as a base for your home color palette, read on. But here's the thing that makes it so special: it's a bit of a chameleon. Depending on the light in your room, it can read as beige, a warm gray, greenish, or soft brown. Sometimes all in the same day. This versatility has not made the color tricky, but rather versatile. It's sophisticated without being cold, warm without being overwhelming. It has this lovely, earthy quality that feels perfectly at home in an English country or cottage style interior. In our experience, it plays beautifully with creams, soft pinks, blue, greens, and is ideal for setting off artwork!
How We Discovered Universal Khaki
Bedroom: A Tranquil Sanctuary
As part of our budget bedroom remodel series, I started by choosing a worn-looking rose cottage-style wallpaper from Etsy, and I pulled the entire color palette from there. Universal Khaki became the grounding wall color, paired with the soft, creamy Ivory Lace (SW 7013) on the upper walls and ceiling. This was my accidental discovery of both our neautral colors & I had no idea how
What I love most is how Universal Khaki works as a backdrop for our gallery wall in that room. When you have multiple art pieces and frames creating visual "chatter," you need something calm behind them to unify the collection. This color does exactly that: it grounds everything and lets the art speak.
Painting Universal Khaki on the wainscoting ensured the room didn't get too "girlie". It worked beautifully; the wallpaper and other features could be the feature, while the millwork was a supporting backdrop.
We also painted the inside of the closet door Universal Khaki. This small detail extended the palette and made even the closet feel intentional.
Dining Room: Warm and Inviting
When we transformed our dining room into an English country-style space, I chose a lovely garden-themed wallpaper by Laura Ashley to cover the upper portion of the wall. We still needed a color for the chair rail and wainscoting that would blend with the wallpaper, feel grounded and warm, and connect with the other rooms. Once again, Universal Khaki was the obvious choice.
Funny thing is, the actual color of UK isn't in the wallpaper, but the earthy tone tricks your eye into thinking that it is! UK had already proven itself elsewhere in the house, and using it again helped maintain that lovely continuity between our living room, dining room, and, eventually, our pantry sightlines. There's something so satisfying about walking through your home and feeling like everything belongs together, even when each room has its own personality.
Living Room: A Cozy Retreat
Our living room has been through quite a few changes over the years. When we were creating our little English cottage snug, I originally painted our built-in bookcases my favorite rich grassy green called Pesto Paste by Behr. I adored the color on its own, but in the living room, it was competing with the strong red brick of the fireplace.
After living with the green for a while, I repainted the bookcases in Universal Khaki. Oh, what a difference! The soft, earthy neutral blended well with the brick without visual competition while still feeling warm and intentional. Plus, it was more cohesive with the rest of our home color palette.
Matt also suggested painting our back door Universal Khaki to blur the line between the dining room and the living room, and he was spot on! Having the back door painted in UK, the same as the wainscoting in the dining room, improved the visual flow from room to room. Sometimes it's those small, unexpected touches that make a home feel cohesive.
Color Drenched Sunroom
After updating the garage conversion in our previous home into a bright, useful sunroom, we color-drenched the space in Universal Khaki. This meant we painted the walls, trim, and ceiling all in this same color. I knew this color would be a calming neutral and that the room could take this amount of color since two huge windows allowed light to stream in.
You can see from this view looking back into the pantry area that we have also used UK on the trim and the millwork on the furnace door. This gives a strong sense of cohesion throughout the house as you move from room to room.
UK in Our Current Home
We have used the lovely Universal Khaki once so far in our current home. I do have a mudroom makeover in the works with this great neutral, so stay posted!
In the master bath, there is a touch of UK on the bathroom window sill. Initially, it was painted a harsh black (which showed dust rather badly).
The difference is subtle, but this background color has shifted the focus from the windowsill to the airy vintage curtains and beautiful Zellige tiles.
A Note on Kitchens and Bathrooms
Universal Khaki would be absolutely charming in both spaces. In a kitchen, it could work beautifully on lower cabinets or as an accent on an island, especially if you're going for that warm, yet serene English country feel. In a bathroom, I could see it paired with crisp white bath & sink, brass fixtures, and black accents for a sophisticated, polished English manor look.
Tips for Using Universal Khaki in Your Home
After living with this color for several years now, I've learned a few things that might help you if you're considering it for your own space:
Use it as a grounding neutral when you want pattern or art to shine. If you have a gallery wall or beautiful wallpaper, Universal Khaki makes a wonderful backdrop. It calms visual chatter without competing for attention.
Consider it as a "bridge" color. If you have bold elements that are competing, like our brick fireplace and blue accents, Universal Khaki can step in as a calmer option that still feels warm and classic.
Repeat it throughout your home for cohesion. We've used Universal Khaki in our guest bedroom, living room, dining room, pantry, on trim, and even on the back door. That repetition creates a sense of flow, especially in open-concept spaces or rooms with connecting sightlines.
Test it in your lighting. Because it shifts depending on natural and artificial light, paint a sample on your wall and observe it at different times of day. What reads brown in the morning may read more grey by evening, and you'll want to love it in all its moods.
Embrace Versatility in Your Home
If you're looking for a color that's warm, sophisticated, and endlessly adaptable, I really can't recommend Universal Khaki enough. It's been such a useful color in our cottage journey, playing nicely with other colors, with wallpaper & art, and always making our spaces feel collected and cozy.
Warmly,
Rachel
