Say ‘ewww’ to opaque couché, world’s ugliest colour

“When people pick paint colours, they want to feel happy and uplifted. And this is a colour that makes you feel kind of dead and lifeless. It just brings down the mood.”

That’s Heather Humphrey, the founding partner of the interior design firm Alder and Tweed, explaining to Realtor.com about opaque couché — a greenish brown swatch that House Beautiful says is currently being touted as the world’s ugliest paint colour.

This so-described “sewagetinged hue” has also been pinpointed by Australian researchers as a colour once used to help discourage people from smoking.

Humphrey mentions that prospective home painters should also avoid these colours:

PEACH FUZZ

Humphrey says it’s uplifting in small ways (such as for home accessories), but is mood-crushing when it covers too big a surface. Fine for a house during the 1960s, but quickly dates itself by today’s standards.

ORANGE POPSICLE

Perfect, Humphrey says, for, well, Popsicles, but way too overwhelming for walls and is even known to stimulate the appetite.

BLAZING YELLOW

Though seemingly cheery in tone, go too bright and this happy colour takes on an aggressive tone that make people feel anxious or distressed, Humphrey says.

POPPY RED

Humphrey notes that bright red colours tend to evoke something anger-inducing. In other words, basically the opposite of how you want to feel when you come home.

PARFAIT PINK

A duller version of what you’d visualize on, say, cotton candy, this muted pastel pink shade can suck the brightness out of a room, Humphrey says.