Today, I am speaking my real love language with you guys: Neutrals. I try really really hard to use more color in my decor but my heart and eyes tend to gravitate towards whites, creams and beiges. The older I’ve gotten, the less I fight it 😆
Decorating with neutrals can be tough and it’s taken me lots of time and trial and error to make neutrals look cozy and not “blah”. There are a few tricks that I’ve learned over the years that I use when decorating a space with these colors and let’s be real….lots of my spaces are in this category. I thought I would share some of my tips with you in case you are looking to work these colors into your decor, too!
I’d say the most important thing to look for is the undertone of the piece. When it comes to off-white colors this can be one of two things: warm or cool. If the color is a warm tone, it will read a bit more yellow when compared to something that is pure white (think creams). If it’s on the cooler side, your piece will read a bit more brown (think khaki and tan etc).
Once you decide on the undertone I’d try to stick with that same undertone in a space. Either use all of the warm whites or all of the cooler whites and add on from there. At least this is what I do! Side note- any and all of the above compliment pure white beautifully!
Once you’ve got your neutrals decided, then add some color. Put a pretty fresh green plant to bring the space to life or add a metal table to add structure and depth. I always love adding wooden pieces too! Throwing in pops of darker colors in plants, furniture or decor pieces can break up the areas of your home from feeling too bland.
In our bedroom, I stuck with the warmer whites. You can see that our duvet is a pure white along with the throw pillows. I added a cream blanket and it really pops against that white bedding. I love how inviting it is! I could easily switch up the blanket on the bed to a cooler tone option and it would still look just as beautiful. Remember how I said white goes with everything!? It’s the truth! White never goes out of style. 🙌🏼
Ok, so by now you can tell that undertones are important. What else?! One word for ya: Texture. This one has taken me a bit to get acquainted with because your eyes are first drawn to the color of an item and not the texture of it. I can’t tell you how important it is to take texture into consideration when decorating with similar colors.
I’m going to use our bedroom as an example again and let’s run through the elements of texture here. The flat white duvet is a good base for the coziness about to ensue on top. The little ruffle detail is texture at its finest. Ok, moving on. The antique pillow cases with frayed detail have just about as much texture as you can get. I love that it is subtle yet impactful. Next? The three little cable knit pillows up front. Different weaving and patterns but all the same color. To top it off? This vintage chenille throw that has frayed edges and lots of little nubby-detail. All of these are the same color or at least DARN close and the only reason that they don’t look uber-bland is because of the different elements of texture that each piece brings to the table (or bed…🤣)
I hope that this was helpful if you are a neutral-lover like me or are looking to decorate a space using colors like white, cream or beige. It can be so pretty and serene! Thank you so so much for checking out the blog today. You guys are the best!
xo,
sarah jane
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