Muted Color Palettes

Muted color — the kind that doesn't announce itself — is the hardest to execute well and the most rewarding when you get it right. It's the difference between a room that feels quietly expensive and one that feels merely beige. Wada's Japanese palette is saturated with this sensibility: 'nezumi' (鼠 — mouse grey), 'rikyu' (利休 — the grey-green named for the tea master Sen no Rikyū), 'kinari' (生成り — the barely-off-white of undyed linen), 'fuji' (藤 — the washed lavender of wisteria). These are not timid colors. They are confident in their restraint, and they pair with almost everything. Reference material for Scandinavian interior brands, editorial fashion, sustainable packaging, and any project where the work should be noticed before the color is.