Brown Aesthetic | Junk Journal Stuff

Although sometimes called a composite colour, brown is technically just a dark shade of orange or desaturated red, and can also be made by combining red and green. A brown aesthetic can run a huge range from vintage and antique looks to more modern cosy, autumnal or coffee shop type vibes, and is also widely found throughout nature as the natural colour of rich soil or dark wood. I love a good snuggly brown for everything from tea and coffee themes to autumnal outdoors and, of course, anything with a vintage-type flavour to it.

“God has a brown voice, as soft and full as beer.”
Anne Sexton

A very old colour, the name comes from the Old English term brún, meaning any dusky or dark shade of colour, and refined into the meaning we know now around the 14th century in Middle English. Words around the world for brown often come from food and drinks; coffee in the eastern Mediterranean, chestnut in the west, chocolate in southeast Asia, and tea in Japan! Brown is often quoted as people’s least favourite colour because it gets associated with the plain, poor, and – amazingly – literal faeces (the old Roman word for the urban poor, plebians, was pullati, literally meaning “those dressed in brown!) but some of its more positive associations are the season of autumn, baking, homely atmospheres, wildlife, and homely or cosy vibes. It pairs well with pretty much everything depending on the desired mood, is excellent as a background, and works great with bolder colours that can pop against it.

Brown Themes & Meanings

nature
dirt, earth and soil
the plain or rustic
poverty (or simple living)
nuturing
stability and reliability
security and safety
warmth and comfort or “cosiness”
honesty and sincerity
sensibility and practicality, a “no frills” sort of vibe
antique or vintage chic, because of the colours of burned/aged papers and many older artefacts
coffee shop chic and associated moods – hot chocolate, warm tea, simple cakes or pastries