Neutral colour schemes are timeless and classic. There’s a reason why year after year you see them in decor magazines, model homes, and all over the internet and TV. You can easily adapt neutrals to the season’s latest trends with a few colourful accessories, or you can stay true and revel in layering textures of the infinite spectrum of neutral shades.
Neutral bedroom with butterfly leather chair and apothecary table lamp, Solid Frog
I have to admit that I love the soft, muted colour scheme of an all-neutral interior. There is something very relaxing and laid-back about rooms with this palette. If decorated successfully, they're inviting yet striking, calming yet no wall flowers. Of course, achieving a successful neutral room is often harder than it seems. It’s a fine line between bland and breathtaking.
Tip: The key to working with neutrals is to incorporate as many different textures as possible, taking care to offset rough with soft, hard with plush, and crumpled with smooth. You can’t have too many textures!
Use this moodboard as a jumping off point for a living room or even a kitchen...
Organic White Linen Fabric - Designer Fabrics
Calacatta Marble Tile - Mettro Source
Farrow & Ball paint colours - Hardwick White, Shaded White, Off-White
Natural Walnut Floors
White Painted Oak Floors
Botticino Fiorito Marble - Marble Trend
Leather Belt - Anthropologie
White Ceramic Tile - Duna Series - Blanco - Matte - Mettro Source
Manzanita Branch - Quince Flowers
Handmade Ceramic Tile - Blanco - Mettro Source
Mongolian Lamb Pillow Cover - West Elm
I could imagine a living room with natural walnut floors paired with oversized sofas covered in organic linen slipcovers and a calacatta marble coffee table flanked by two leather butterfly chairs (see neutral bedroom above). A couple of sheepskin throws or Mongolian-lamb floor pillows would finish the room splendidly. Likewise, this neutral colour scheme could work well in a kitchen. Picture the stunning look of floor-to-ceiling walnut cabinetry paired with calacatta marble countertops, leather counter-height stools and soft linen roman blinds! I dream, it's true.
Tip: Another key to neutral colour schemes, besides layering textures, is to remember that every detail counts. No colour means the eye looks for other things to settle on, and in a room where all the furniture flows one into the other, every detail stands out. So sweat the small stuff, like the legs on your sofa -- exposed or skirted? wood grain or black? -- or the finish on your coffee table, apothecary lamp (as seen in bedroom above), curtain rod and even the wood of your picture frame -- every detail is necessary to bringing the look together.
Are you a fan of the neutral room? How do you keep it from feeling bland?
Emma Reddington is the lifestyle maven behind the acclaimed blog, TheMarionHouseBook.com, where she experiments with interior design, cooking, baking and do-it-yourself projects.
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