Moms trounced for painting kids' toys 'sad beige' to match home decor: 'Cold and lifeless'
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She’s dreaming of a beige Christmas.
Mommy influencer Nattie Jo Powell — aka @nattiejopo on TikTok — stirred controversy online after painting her child’s Christmas toy from festive holiday colors to bland, neutral hues.
“Go ahead and call me crazy or a ‘sad beige mom’ for what I’m about to do,” she confessed in her viral clip with more than 7.6 million views.
A “sad beige mom” is described as a maternal figure who embraces the bland color as part of their home decor, wardrobe and children’s everyday items.
In the 1 minute and 50-second video posted Dec. 1, Powell revealed she’s channeling her “inner Pinterest mom” by giving her “Step2 My First Christmas Tree” a complete makeover with a “neutralized” look.
“I can already hear you thinking that I’m going to ruin my toddler’s Christmas by painting over these colors,” she said.
However, the mom claims her toddler’s favorite toys are brown cardboard boxes and clear water bottles, which are both in the neutral color scheme, so adding the beige-washed Christmas tree toy into the mix wouldn’t hurt.
“I really — I think that she’s a neutral girly at heart,” she adds.
The momfluencer showed followers how she completed her vision by purchasing spray paint and redoing the Christmas tree pieces outdoors in neutral-tone colors such as dark green, white, gold and brown.
Once she revealed the final product, she loved how well it went with her home decor.
“Guys, honestly, I love them,” she gushed. “They’re definitely giving organic modern vibes.”
The Post reached out to Powell for comment.
Although Powell welcomed her neutral tree’s holiday vibes, many TikTokers called it “cold” behavior.
“It’s got the winter spirit … cold and lifeless,” commented one person. “I don’t mind the tree color but the ornaments were too sad for me.”
“I work in children’s developmental research and they need color so bad,” wrote one children’s expert.
“Is this safe? I just feel like everything goes in little mouths!” questioned a worried viewer.
In a follow-up clip, Powell responded to people concerned about the toy’s potentially toxic paint.
“I can care less if you think I’m a sad beige mom,” she begins. “But I do care about how a lot of you guys commented on the colors and the safety of the ornaments. My toddler truly doesn’t put these in her mouth.”
While some people believe Powell’s neutral aesthetic is unnecessary for a child, other “sad beige moms” embrace the colorless scheme.
Cadyn Potvin, who goes by @cadyn_potvin on TikTok, admitted to spray painting her daughter’s Christmas toys.
“I never would’ve thought I would be up at 12:51 a.m. on Christmas spray painting a toy kitchen sink for my daughter at 18, but here I am,” she wrote in a TikTok clip.
And TikTok user Megan Morales also revealed how she painted her children’s toys to match her home decor.
“The mom who has to paint her kid’s playhouse so it matches our house,” the video’s text overlay read.
Morales showed the before and after photos of the playhouse — which once had a red roof but transitioned to neutral tones with a black roof.
Meanwhile, self-proclaimed “sad beige mom” Jen Marie Greer promotes neutral-colored toys because “it is not an eye sore in the house.”
In a TikTok clip, she compared bright-colored toys to beige neutrals, admiring them and saying, “You can’t blame us … I can’t help but love it.”
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