How to Decorate With Neutrals

March 28, 2017

Colors are a fantastic design element as they can very subtly, or even directly, change the mood of a room. However, when it comes to your interior design, letting your color palette get out of hand can be a disaster. Yes, there is such a thing as “too yellow” and you’ll know it when you see it. Starting with a neutral foundation can help keep things from getting out of hand, but you need to know how to decorate with neutrals to make it work.

Because there are a seemingly infinite number of paint colors you can have mixed up, choosing the right palette to work with can be a little overwhelming. Before you start glazing over paint swatches, knowing what direction you want to go with can help save you some time and energy. With that being said, if you’re looking for a look that is both crisp and clean, while still feeling inviting, you might want to consider working with a neutral palette. Here’s how to decorate with neutrals:

Why Neutrals?

While a lot of people might hear the word neutral and immediately associate it with boring, it couldn’t be further from the truth. The beauty of neutrals is that they give you a nice, subtle palette to work with while still giving the room an open and clean look. Unlike other color choices, such as the warmer orange and red tones, neutrals won’t overwhelm the senses when you walk into a room.

Additionally, neutral tones are a lot more versatile than you’d expect. If you want an earthier look, you can lean more towards browns, beiges, and toupes. If you want to play with some contrast without the stark look of black and white, use whites, greys, and other mid-tones to round out your palette.

Is There Such a Thing as “Too Neutral?”

The beauty of working with neutral colors is that it really lends itself to the balance of a room rather than having one color overpowering everything else in the room or having too many colors making the room too busy. With that being said, if you’re using just neutral colors to decorate, then you might have a room that is a bit too muted. Fortunately, that’s a really easy fix.

Remember, the idea behind neutral is that they are rather tame colors, which allows them to blend and flow quite easily. When it comes to how to decorate with neutrals, the right complementary colors make a big difference. By using other complementary tones to your base color, you create a well-rounded look.

If you’re feeling as though it’s missing something, try using some brighter-colored accessories to add just a little extra pop of color and energy. The beauty of that calm and neutral energy is that it will make the small accent pieces much more pronounced and allow you to add a little something extra without going into overkill.

Go With the Flow

One of the coolest aspects to using neutral colors to decorate a room is that you can easily change the feel of the room by switching one of the tones around, all while keeping that room in line with the rest of the color scheme of you have going in the rest of your home. This allows you to keep the flow and continuity going throughout your home while still giving each room its own attention and feeling.

So, if you’re looking for a great range of colors to use for your home’s interior without being bombarded every time you walk into a room, neutrals are the perfect way to go! With these tips for how to decorate with neutrals, you’re on the right path to get started.