In reality, brown and purple are complementary to each other. If the items in the room being painted are various shades of either color, using a lighter or darker shade of either brown or purple on the walls may be possible. Beiges, creams and ivories work well with either brown or purple, as do shades of lilac, lavender, plum or eggplant. Select a shade of beige or ivory as the main wall color with an accent wall in a deep, elegant shade of plum or a dramatic shade of eggplant.
Complementary colors are two colors that are located on opposite sides of the color wheel. For example, green is on the opposite side of the color wheel from purple, which alone makes purple and green an ideal color combination as they are visually appealing when paired together. Both softer shades of purple, such as lilac, lavender or lilac, as well as darker shades such as plum or eggplant, can look good with nearly any shade of green. Unfortunately, brown is the result of mixing multiple colors on the color wheel together and therefore is not present on the current version of the wheel.
Brown is easier to work with as it is considered a natural or neutral shade in the design world. Brown, whether it is darker like chocolate or warm like a sandy beige, is easily paired with a plethora of different colors. Depending on the shade, brown can be paired with cooler colors, such as blues, purples or greens, but also with warmer colors, including reds, oranges and yellows.
On the contrary, purple can be a bit more difficult to work with as it is not considered a natural or a neutral shade like brown. However, purple can be paired well with colors that are located on either side of it on the color wheel, such as red or blue, which is known as an analogous color scheme. It can also be paired with other nearby cooler colors, such as blue and green. It should be noted that, depending on the amount of purple already present in the room, the designer could take a shade or two lighter or darker and use that as the wall color within the room to create a monochromatic color scheme.
Several common color combinations include either brown or purple. Some of the favorite combinations for purple include purple combined with a shade of pink, green, red, yellow or blue. Common color combinations for brown include shades of brown combined with shades of blue, pink or green.