Discover the 2016-2017 RV Color Trend: Embracing 50 Shades of Greige

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If there were one color scheme to describe the 2016-2017 trends in large recreational vehicles (RVs), it might be summed up as “50 Shades of Greige.” This somewhat subdued, even understated marriage of grays and beiges continues to grow as a popular choice for camping vehicles, especially the Class A coach crowd. When you think about it, this actually makes sense, considering the type of consumers who are most apt to purchase luxury Class A vehicles. While they obviously must enjoy recreational camping and road trips, they are also probably accustomed to luxury surroundings in most situations.

Because gray tends to be a sophisticated and elegant color, its presence brings that sense of luxury right into the RV. With a slight tweak, beige can be either cool and reserved or warm and earthy. Put these two colors together in a paint blend such as Sherwin Williams’ Perfect Greige 6073, Gray Area 7052, Agreeable Gray 7027 or Wool Skein 6148, and you have an organic blend that can warm up a space to make it friendlier or cool it down to a preferred level of elegance.

In reality, big RVs are not wearing a lot of painted wall space. Rich medium-brown to dark-brown wooden cabinetry is plentiful in every living area because it usually provides premium storage space, and most of that is located on the walls. Wicker Glazed Maple, Carmel Glazed Cherry, and Manhattan Glazed Maple are three wood finish choices in the 2016 Newmar Ventura and Ventura LE. While you might correctly guess the tones of the first two, the Manhattan Glazed Maple creates a much blacker shade of cabinets.

So, where is the greige? It’s on the furniture fabric, the window treatments, back splashes, the carpet and tile flooring, the countertops and even the bedding. It may be in solid leatherette, or in small geometric patterns, but it is there. In one sense, the entire interior of the RV coach becomes a sophisticated, monochromatic neutral, which can seem cozy and yet luxurious. On the other hand, because individual pieces blend together so well, there does seem to be a spaciousness that is also important when one is spending significant amounts of time in a relatively small space.

For a few examples, consider the 2016 Thor XTE, Tuscany or Axis, all Class A coaches. These giant RVs offer standard colors that include black/gold/tan window features, dark tan leatherette furniture, greige tile flooring, countertops and table tops. The Fleetwood Bounder describes its interior as Eclectic Bronze. It leans to the brown side with Butternut Cherry cabinets, beige or off-white furniture, geometric brown/beige/off-white window treatments, gray/black/beige back splash, beige flooring and walls, and a gray patterned bed treatment with tiny touches of black, white and beige. Then there’s the 2016 Newmar Ventura and Ventura LE. Options include Phantom, with dark gray carpet, gray counters and tile floors, and five greige solid and patterned fabric accompaniments; Cheval, with med dark counters and floors and gold/red/brown fabric combinations; and lastly, Antiquity, with dark counters, medium dark floors and a mixture of brown plain and textured fabrics.

If all this brown and gray seems a bit much, you might consider the 2016 Trek. Having died a premature death a few years back, it has returned with a new color scheme inside and out, but still within the current trends. The exterior is light gray on the bottom and roof with black in the middle. Two bold bright yellow lightning stripes wake up the sides, as does the word “Trek” on both sides and front, also in that same unmistakably bright yellow.

Inside, Trek has followed the crowd with gray carpeting and floor tiles, light greige furniture, white counters and an abundance of medium-warm wood cabinetry. However, in a burst of individuality, the company has installed bright orange, yes, bright orange privacy curtains up front and coordinating orange/beige window treatments throughout the rest of the vehicle.

It appears that the majority of big name RV coach companies appear to have agreed to support the same brown/gray, or greige, color scheme this year. Their vehicles are certainly luxurious and lovely. As for me, I’m quite taken with the yellow stripe and the orange curtains. Now if I could just get used to drop-down beds.