Better Brown Than Brassy!

I used to be partial to browns a few years ago when I went through an ethnic phase. My colour schemes usually ranged from pale beige to taupe to dark mahogany, with warm colour highlights. Of late, however, I find myself leaning towards the more contemporary white/grey palette. Strange how our preferences evolve.

Here’s a gallery of browns from my travels.

Brown in architecture

Eiffel Tower, Paris
Eiffel Tower, Paris

Brown in landscape

Wadi Rum, Jordan
Wadi Rum, Jordan

Brown in art

Musée du Quai Branley
Oceanic art – Musée du Quai Branley, Paris

And design

Interior, Arts et Métiers metro stop,
Interior, Arts et Métiers metro stop.

Brown animals

The taste of brown

The smell of brown

Market, Bangkok - Thailand
Market – Bangkok, Thailand

….and its aroma!

Kullad Chai (Tea) - Agra, India
Kullad Chai (Tea) – Agra, India

Until next time…..happy travels, no matter where life takes you 🙂

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Madhu is an Interior designer turned travel blogger on a long sabbatical to explore the world. When not crafting stories on The Urge To Wander, she's probably Tweeting @theurgetowander or sharing special moments on instagram.com/theurgetowander

69 thoughts on “Better Brown Than Brassy!

  1. All beautiful images, love the photo Cow – Varanasi india. Must admit, I like brown which is verging on orange. Great post.

  2. Brown in all it hues is such a lovely color; not given enough credit I think (in comparison to the brighter hues or B&W.
    Lovely photos, Madhu.

    1. I can’t seem to get away from it completely either! My clothes mostly range from cream and ecru to beige and chocolate! Even my saris, to my friends disgust, are usually cream and gold or pale olive!! They think I am boring 🙂

  3. Dear Madhu,
    You got all your bases covered in a thorough study of brown. You just need a photo of Governor Brown or maybe Farmer Brown to complete this exploration. I couldn’t pick a favorite, but am leaning toward “The smell of brown,” which tickled my fancy.

  4. Brown is my fave color – brown and shades of green, black. I love these pictures – so rich and earthy. To me, brown is the color of quiet elegance, a self-assuredness that comes from deep contentment… like the earth itself.

    A great post… but, what’s new about that? Your post compositions always impeccable. 🙂

    1. Ah, I think i should let you write the captions for my images Meenakshi. You make everything come to life with your evocative words! Thank you dear friend for the lovely compliments 🙂

  5. The photo of the quail made me go hungry again . Liked the brown theme. 🙂

  6. Oh market places always act like a magnet to me,
    one of the many fascinating things are the colors – brown too… 🙂

    All the “brown” photos are very well chosen… 🙂

    1. That masala chai in earthen ware cups was particularly good Isadora! As roadside stuff always is, despite the concerns over hygiene 🙂

      1. I agree. Some of the roadside stands have good tasting foods and beverages.My sister and her husband had a roadside stand to test recipes and to save money so they could open a restaurant. They opened the restaurant and the customers followed. They’re retired now but they were great cooks of traditional Puerto Rican foods.

        1. Oh, it’s yummy. The taste is always robust. The herbs and spices tell your tongue that you’ve had a meal. It isn’t spicey where you can’t taste the food. It’s more of a picnic of flavors coming out and saying ‘ Hello’. Depending on the region or how close to the water the menu will compensate for that. I hope you get to try it one day.
          ~~~~ : – )

  7. I lean toward the Wadi Rum and the cow in Varanasi. All lovely images of this earthy color. Right now Ron and I are surrounded by brown, barren earth. The cotton and rice fields are mostly harvested as we tour the Mississippi and Arkansas Delta, then on to the bayous of Louisiana and then home.

    1. Ah, a namesake 🙂 Thank you very much Madhu. Do you have a blog? Couldn’t find a link on your Gravatar.

    1. Delighted you think so Dallas. I wish I could get them to be a bit sharper though. I obviously don’t have very steady hands, and I have been stubbornly resisting carrying a tripod 🙂

  8. Nice phot essay Madhu. I love pulling this type of essay together. I think that many times readers just want some eye-candy, and this post is it. Thanks. ~James

    1. You are right James. These garner more views than a very thoughtfully written article! Thanks for stopping by 🙂

  9. What a gorgeous array of browns, Madhu. I love those camels, and that Metro station is stunning. Where was the photo in your header taken? The carving on that rock is so intricate. xxx Ailsa

  10. Of all the terrific shots, it was the simple brown tea in the plain plain cups that absolutely reached out and grabbed me. I can taste the tea —

    1. That was from a tiny tea stall in Agra and was easily the best thing we tasted there, along with some special puris quite unlike any we had had before!

  11. Wow, we have the same colour schemes! And I love brown in combination with blue.
    You know when we ladies comes up over 50 we shouldn’t wear black close to our face because the few wrinkles that we have will become even deeper – so brown and grey is to recommend. *smile – Same with mascara …
    And you have nearly the same angle on the Eiffel Tower as I had on one of my favorite shots. I just love your gallery of browns and my pick of this great bunch is the two “mugs” with tea or something.

    1. We do share a lot of things in common it seems! Hope you ‘sorry ass’ is treating you kindly Viveka! Hugs 🙂

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