TikTok has dubbed a woman who spray-painted her child’s toy Christmas tree with muted colors the next "Sad Beige Mom."
The "beige" lifestyle trend, popularized by Kim Kardashian, has people swapping colorful clothes, home decor and accessories for those in neutral, monochromatic tones.
Natalie Powell makes no apologies for her Christmas tree makeover. Several months ago, she bought her 16-month-old daughter Vivian a Step2 “My First Christmas Tree,” a plastic toy with ornaments and a train set at its base.
“I wanted Vivi to have her own little tree to decorate for Christmas,” Powell of Jacksonville, Florida tells TODAY.com.
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Knowing the tree would live in a common area of her home, she wanted it to match her neutral-colored furniture, so she gave it a “total makeover."
“Go ahead and call me crazy or a ‘Sad Beige Mom’ for what I’m about to do,” Powell said in a TikTok video with eight million views. “I’m leaning into my inner Pinterest mom with a vision to neutralize the tree and I can already hear you thinking that I’m going to ruin my toddler’s Christmas by painting over these colors.”
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“I really think that she’s a neutral girly at heart,” she added.
Powell spray painted the fir a paler shade of green, then covered the orange, red, yellow and purple ornaments in brown and beige hues. The star was treated with a dim gold.
“I love them. They’re definitely giving organic, modern vibes,” Powell said in her video. “Should I paint the train or leave it as is?”
More than 30,000 TikTok comments offered opinions.
- “I’m so glad you put your needs first.”
- “Whose tree is it really??”
- “As long as it matches your decor, that’s all that matters.”
- “It’s got the winter spirit. Cold and lifeless.”
- "I'm goth and like everything black. But only my room is black. Everywhere else is colorful because it's my daughter's home too."
- “Sad beige baby.”
Some commenters accused Powell of exposing her daughter to chemicals in paint.
“Mine doesn’t put the ornaments in her mouth,” Powell responded to one comment.
Others said that color benefits children’s development.
“Early education professional here,” a commenter wrote. “Children being able to explore different vibrant colors is so important ...”
Powell tells TODAY.com that she has a degree in child development, adding, “The comments crack me up."
The majority of Vivian’s toys are bright and flashy, Powell says, although as she explained in her video: “Let’s be real — my toddler’s favorite toys are brown cardboard boxes and clear plastic water bottles.”
Still, Powell says her feelings were hurt when comments first rolled in. “I would never intentionally try to hurt my child."
Fortunately, she says Vivian loves her Christmas tree.
And the mom is having fun with her online infamy. She introduced a sardonic TikTok series called “Sad Beige Mom” that follows her life with a “Sad Beige Baby.”
“I decided to roll with it,” says Powell. “It’s been fun.”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
