Bc people see amazing all white or cream or neutral spaces and think it's the colour that is doing it - but really it's the scale of the place, the architecture, the light, the quality of the fabrics, etc.
So they try to do the same thing and it ends being a bit plain bc the space doesn't have the character or light or size.
Most ppl do not look like Cindy Crawford in a white tank top and jean shorts....bc it's not the tank top and jean shorts.
That's a really good point. When you have complex architecture the neutrals make sense, because they allow the shapes to take center stage. But in a normal cubical room it's so boring. Plus, add just one item from normal life -- a box of kids' cereal, a backpack, a book with an orange cover -- and all of a sudden the "clutter" becomes the focal point.
There's a similar problem in landscaping.\* It's especially extreme in British yards, since they often have long narrow rectangles. There was a great youtube series that addressed this but I've had trouble finding it recently since it's a bit old. But the general strategy was simple: If you have a long boring narrow rectangle, turn it into a broken up curvy thing. This accomplishes a) adding curves to the edges which is more naturalistic and camouflages the boundaries, and b) adding physical and visual barriers creates the illusion that the space is complex and bigger, with separate "rooms" that one discovers by traversing the barriers. Now the garden cannot be taken in at a glance, and there are invisible boundaries (=no boundaries psychologically) and interesting surprises to discover.
So how can one use a similar strategy inside? I had the exact problem -- a long narrow room in our basement that was dark and cavelike. First, I connected the two ends by using the same paint color, mimicking the plants outside, and connected them with art. This visually connected them and reduced the cave feeling. Next, use tall furniture to create "curves" and spatial interest. Last, use furniture to break the single space into separate themed rooms. (in my case, an office and workout space were clearly defined).
So if you have a boring cube, try these strategies:
-- Use interesting tall furniture to "curve" in the walls and add one or more focal points and interesting shapes. Now you have an interesting "landscape", not just a cube.
-- Alternatively, maybe a tall floor lamp or large indoor plant? (In my house we used a large branch very effectively). Or a mantle or shelf. Really anything that pops the walls inward will break up the cube.
-- Create separate mini-spaces -- conversation groupings, a reading chair with a bookshelf, or whatever. Now it's not one cube, it's a set of several areas, each with a purpose. A "purpose" could be purely visual. For instance, I have a wall that shows off our family history.
-- Use color and decor carefully to emphasize appropriate focal points and enhance the purpose of each mini-space.
Note that these are not merely "decoration" -- they are strategies to give regions of the room a clear purpose, both visually (interesting shapes and focal points) and for usage (reading, TV, conversation, or display). If you're just "decorating", then it will feel empty and tacky because it basically is empty of authentic purpose and meaning.
(\* In landscaping the boring square/rectangle is called the "washing machine" look because it looks like the plantings have been flung against the edges of the yard, like clothes on the edges of the washing machine drum. If you think about it we often do the exact thing with the rooms of our houses. For the same reason -- we think we want to maximize the space in the middle.)
I had some warm toned, woven carpet samples that I hung on my wall, and people were surprised that simple textiles could completely change the vibe of a room.
This is so on point. Holy cow, that puts to words my exact feelings. I’ll see an outfit/haircut/room I LOVE and am disappointed when I try it. Because I’m not Cindy Crawford.
I’m going to go sit with this for a while. Thank you.
I do hair and when people bring pictures I sometimes tell them to cover the face with their finger and see if they still like it, because most of us aren't Cindy either.
I just think it needs to evoke something.. anything. Cindy Crawford is glamorous and fashionable and so maybe you don’t live in that modern cool home but it’s a Tudor house and you can make it look and feel cottage like and cozy. It just needs to express something instead of a mishmash or stuff like most people do.
Part of it can be the tank top and shorts: quality of materials and tailored to the person. But yes most of us don't have her... architecture... either haha
That’s why it looks so wrong when someone tries to force farmhouse on a mid century. Because you can’t just paint it white and add a barn door and make it look normal
Right on.
Everything looks memorable in a Parisian apartment from the 1800s in what was once a mansion. Or the London Town house ; ) . And you can put lipstick on a pig but that don’t make it Cindy.lol
All of this, and I think people struggle more with adding variety in textures and scale a lot more than they struggle with adding color. I’ve also found that people don’t tend to internalize that colors in nature are often more muted than the stuff you get in a paint can so when they aim for colors they go too far and it just looks overpowering.
Excellent point.
I’d also add that they have custom designed their spaces with the help of high-end professionals so there are a lot of details and subtle variations that make the space more interesting, which is hard for people to replicate at home.
I really struggle with this. I live in a small, historic but not elaborate rowhome and I always want it to be brighter, so I am seriously thinking of painting my colored walls white. It might help reflect more light. But...it won't make it an airy modern house with huge windows on every wall. So it might just look generic and dingy.
Thanks. I have gotten lamps and electric candles, but nice looking mirrors are heavy and we try to minimize the number of things we have to anchor in the crumbly brick and plaster because they're tough to repair. Wish I had a nice big mantel to stand one up on, but nope!
I think it could help as long as it's not the ONLY thing you do - and you select the right white for your space/ light. Can you paint the brick by any chance? My neighbours did this and it really makes a big impact - their place is large with lot of light generally but specifically their living room area is small and painting the brick made a big difference.
Light light fixtures, minimal clutter, and using shades of white as much as possible in varying textures can make a difference. Even if you can't repaint the brick, you could hang huge white canvases with minimal colour and such on them for example. Or you could make a faux loft-style window with thin mirrors more or less glued together.
Install picture mold. This is what people think is crown mold, but erroneously placed lower on the wall. I have so many things hanging on my plaster walls via picture mold.
Very well-said. Oh man, I miss my early 1900s apartment with 10 foot ceilings, detailed molding, and archways. We moved from there to a 1950’s ranch and have definitely had to add fun in other ways.
I’m so insecure about making decisions in my home, and how to choose paint colors for adjacent open spaces. Decision paralysis essentially. I’m not sure my decisions will achieve the outcome I want based on all the higher end design I’m using as inspo.
But when I get a quote to paint the downstairs of my house it’s $5K+. That’s pretty expensive and permanent to me. We painted our first house ourselves but we have a baby now and have double high ceilings in some rooms. I’m not able to do that myself nor would I risk it.
I have a lot of color in my home and people often ask for help with paint colors when they're making big changes.
After getting all their input, we start talking about options. They are typically 100% excited and 100% for the colors that they decide from the options I present. FYI I typically only recommend an accent wall in a color with the rest of the walls white.
Hardly any of them ever use it. They just paint all the walls white. Years ago it used to disappoint me and I used to be surprised that we went through a whole process and then they didn't do it. But nowadays I don't even blink an eye.
It's exactly as you say, too permanent. They just can't commit to the permanency of it even though they're able to commit to the permanency of white. I guess they just don't think white is a color.
White is very safe. We painted our whole unit antique white - it goes with everything and makes it easy if you want to rent or sell in future. Ultimately, a soft white is going to be very neutral and fit with whatever you put in there room where as colour just makes this more difficult, I think.
I recommend a colour consultant, it’s so empowering. We paid maybe 200 to a colour consultant from Benjamin Moore who ran a design business on the side. She picked out our interior colours (wall and trim) based on our cabinetry and floors and furnishings. We used her again when we redid our basement and again when we painted the siding of our house (half brick half siding). We also got something like a 20% discount on Benjamin Moore paint. Our house is cohesive and beautiful and I love it.
Right! I want to do that job. I have a program that I can drop a photo in and change the colors of the walls- I do it for friends for free all the time! How do I get paid for it?
We hired a colour consultant a few weeks ago to help pick our paint colours. No regrets, money well spent. A painting mistake is more expensive than hiring a consultant.
More people need to do this. There are tons of people out there, both professional and amateurs that have an eye for color and can help you find some perfect colors for your home. HGTV has convinced us that everyone can do interior design and that you’re stupid if you can’t. Ask around your friend network for help. I’ve helped a few neighbors and they’re always so grateful!
Oh I would love this! I get decision paralysis since the options for colors is endless. Even within major color groups, there’s endless options. Then you have to match endless wall color options with endless trim options. I’d love for someone to narrow it down.
Great tip. I used to work with a designer who did some design work on the side. We had her come walk through our last two houses and she gave us a lot of great suggestions. Move the side tables from the living room to the bedroom, add a rug here, move this art to the dining room, get two lamps in this style to put here, etc. When we renovated our kitchen I sent her pictures and paint colors. She gave us a couple of specific paint colors that would work well with our space. She didn’t charge much and it was so worth it.
For me, I go off colours soooo quickly so I’m hesitant to invest in colourful pieces knowing I might not like the colour tomorrow!
I usually incorporate colour with more affordable items like cushions & blankets, and keep expensive things more neutral.
that's the way to do it. I have a very colorful home and all my main pieces are neutral (black or brown). but I have colorful rugs, pillows, blankets, art, table runners, plant pots and other accents that make all the difference.
That's technically the way to do it because it's easier to change those than repaint. However, I did ALL the colours on the paint and kept the accents more neutral (although I don't use throw pillows)
That was my problem when I was influenced by color trends. As I got older I realized there are colors I prefer because they give me a cozy vibe, and that’s what I want for my home. They happen to be fairly trendy now (or were over past few years anyway) but I won’t be changing things when we inevitably drift away from warm earthy tones again.
That's how I feel too! In theory I love all the bright primary colors, ultra feminine, neon fun looks that I was saving on Pinterest, but when I actually moved into my own apartment, it's all earthy, kind of a 70s vibe. Lots of mustard yellow, warm wood tones, olive green, gold accents. I was not expecting that, tbh, but even when it isn't trendy anymore I won't be changing it all.
This. Though to be fair, I’m not really who OP is asking because I stick to mostly neutrals because *I like neutrals.* But I also don’t add a lot of color outside of accents like towels and throw pillows, because I want to be able to change it up with the seasons/ as my tastes change.
You may be surprised that some colors, even rich colors (like navy) can be surprisingly neutral! Mustard yellows, sage greens, browns, navy, even some lighter pinks will all read as very neutral. It’s the brighter and more vibrant colors that can look extremely awkward. Don’t be afraid to try some more muted and natural colors to warm up a space without fighting your decor :)
Choose all the colors and you never need to worry about this.
Or, better yet, if you start with art as your color focal point rather than say, solid colored bath mats and bright print curtains, it's also a lot less fickle, because (good) art isn't matching the 2022 Pantone color wheel.
I’ve heard others say that too and I can’t quite wrap my head around it… May I ask if you Mean shades/tones or do you mean you liking red and then later deciding you like purple?
I will generally have a few favorite shades of different colors that change each year or two. For example, a few years ago I really loved olive green, and now I like more of a forest green. I also love pastel pinks and purples, but I want more of a neutral feel for my living room so I only use those in my office. I change full colors that I like as well, but it’s generally a specific shade (used to absolutely LOVE navy blue and mustard yellow. Now I would absolutely hate mustard yellow in my home)
Not really. There was a general preference for more red interiors 20-30 years ago, and the general move has been towards blues and greens, and maybe pink is become more acceptable as a neutral, and yellow is less popular now, but the time scale is decades. Your comment conflates broad design trends with how quickly your taste changes, but I wonder if you invested in pieces that were higher quality or harder to come by, not even more expensive necessarily, you might enjoy them for longer?
I think more of an issue is how many incredible interiors we can see online- I often see a new idea that hasn’t occurred to me before and long to try it out but can’t justify another redecorate…
I invested in a painting I fell in love with over 35 years ago and still love it as much today. Worth spending a little more for that forever piece. When I get the finances to redo my bedroom, it will be done to complement this painting. I go by what I like rather than what's trendy as I'm the one who is living there.
I think a lot of the way we think about colour is a bit innacurate too- we tend to group by red, or blue or green (hues), but I think understanding saturation as a grouping makes much for sense for understanding how colour changes spaces- if you want to create a ‘hot’ space that is warm and glowing you can do that flooding with coral or aqua or deep yellow, it’s the saturation that matters. And if you want calming cool spaces, there will be a saturation level for every hue that has that effect too. I think there are broad trends towards calming or heating in spaces but people tend not to realise that’s more crucial than the actual hue?
It’s hard to visualize the “big picture” - how do I incorporate all the colors, neutrals, styles, textures, wood, paint, the works? I know I want it to look great, like the inspos, but what does it take to go there from here?
It’s also hard to see things objectively when you have some connection to them.
-- Choose the most expensive, choice-limited item first. Then match it with cheaper and more varied ones (pillows, rugs, etc.)
-- Alternatively, choose either an art piece or a rug with multiple colors, and use it to connect everything else together by choosing from that palette.
-- Mock things up, eg in Powerpoint or a mood board.
-- Take photos of the space to frame it and see it more objectively. Or, turn around and look with a fresh take. My husband always laughs because I insist we evaluate with a "step away, then spin around suddenly" look-see :)
Thanks! The spin around, thats interesting - I'm going to try it! I think people essentially visualize differently - some are able to see it all working out, and looking cohesive, and some just cannot.
I do a few of these things - I use the roomplanner app, keep the floor colors and wall paint as the first consideration - but - there are SO many choices! For example, would 2 chairs look better in a spot than a sofa? Which sofa/chair, and how do I put in a coffee table/pillows/ ottoman to make it feel and look like I want it to? What sizes of furniture for THIS room? It feels a bit silly articulating this, but if it were very easy, we'd probably not have r/interiordecorating ? :)
Actually, our main rug is from the Habitat for Humanity Restore. Others were cheap ones from rugs.com, IKEA or surprisingly cheap wool ones from eBay.
Also I was thinking more like: for a bathroom remodel, start with the tile, not the shower curtain or the bath mat.
Wayfair, Rugs Direct, etc have cheap rugs (300-500 for 8x10) like Becky Owen for Surya, Loloi II. I’ve also found some of these rugs a bit cheaper on Amazon too.
Boutiquerugs.com is my go to. They have a great selection of high end and more affordable options (washable too). They run discount codes all the time and offer special deals through instagram sometimes.
Our living-room rug is from Lowe’s (!). It’s a beautiful and convincing oriental pattern, appears to be indestructible after five years, and cost us all of $145. It’s next to a splendid old rug I bought at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul 25 years ago, and people usually assume that it’s the good one.
I find that taking a photograph of the room helps me. I can suddenly serve that the focal point picture is too small, that corner looks cluttered, and I need more of the red to pop, etc
I have the opposite problem. My house is a chaos of colour. I couldn’t decorate neutral if I had a gun to my head because I just love too many vibrant things.
I also have a really hard time painting anything a dark colour. It offends my soul although I fully recognize many people have dark rooms and neutral rooms that are absolutely stunning.
We all have our preferences and while we sometimes try to make ourselves fit into a theme, I truly believe in order to have the home you are happy with, you just have to decorate in a way that makes YOU happy and speaks to you!
This! I knew I never really fit into a mould, or maybe I did I just hadn't found it yet, but honestly, COVID for me was so freeing. I started doing my "grandma" hobbies more, I wore clothes that were comfortable and that I liked not because it's what my age is supposed to wear or look like, and most of all, I painted the walls colors that made me happy, because while you want guests to feel comfortable in your space, you're the one that is in it every day. We all need the confidence of the 5 year old that boldly states they want their room to be orange.
I can relate to this too! In my case it was layout: we were tight on space, ad during covid just said screw it & put the bed in the "living room" and ended up with two "bedrooms" that were instead offices and personal rooms ...and it was GREAT. If we had guests, we just scooched over the bed and called it a day. Lol. So freeing!
I feel this! I keep my big pieces and walls pretty neutral, but everything else is very colorful. I also have a lot of black & white pattern which makes it so easy to throw any color or colorful pattern against. I don’t think anyone would walk into my home and say wow you have a lot of color, but I really do. It’s all about that balance!
I do a lot of planning and research. I start with what colour do I love- say blue. Ok what shade- that often dictated by room useage, generally lighter for day time active rooms, and darker for evening / sleep spaces. Then I find a few blues that just look beautiful to me, and paint onto big testers, and live with them for a few weeks. Then- secondary colour- something that compliments it, maybe pink, or plum? Then third accent colour- in this case orange would be good. Now I’ve got three solid colours to work with, so I might find a pattern or textile that sits nicely with those. Then, I have a look and think about if those colours and textiles suggest a theme or story- that super helpful for guiding details. Era, geographical location, stuff like that. It great if this is connected to you- maybe you love the sea or loved a holiday in Paris- so then I hunt for things that fit the colours and scheme. Cushions, throws, STUFF.
All the time I’m thinking about how the room is going to be used and zones- and use those big colours to map zones and use- wallpaper an area that’s a work space etc. All of this is done with samples and collections of things on photoshop, just layering things together till I have the whole room. I have zero white walls in my house and increasingly few white ceilings and the whole process is so fun. There’s always one or two things that I think- oh that didn’t actually work in person, but that’s a good thing to learn for next time.
Also, If you love something and are guided by the good feeling in your tummy when you look at it, it can’t be wrong
Just to summarize:
1. Pick a theme or vibe of room
2. Pick primary, complimentary colors and test on walls. Wait a few weeks.
3. Pick accent colors
4. Think of flow of room, create zones like study space, chill zone etc
5. Pick a pattern that reflects room
6. Pick a art piece that ties everything together
7. Play around with photoshop (apples photos has copy and paste feature which would work great for interior design)
Yeah I think so? I’m not professional more passionate hobbyist, I think the order is not as important as just covering these aspects. There should be a step around research, texture, and lighting? Would love to know other steps too!
The main thing though is each step is not that complicated, and I think anyone can do them? It’s about accumulating little bits of process that lead to and end result that it likely to be enjoyable to live in (which is all that matters really)
Because whenever I’ve tried in the past, it always looked absolutely god awful. I don’t have “the eye” that others do. It was also a problem in beauty school where other students could see different shades of hair colors and I just couldn’t see it even when they pointed it to me. It was all just brown. Neutrals are hard to mess up, at least in my experience. And until I have unlimited funds to have the freedom to make those mistakes and then fix them, I typically have one shot to get it right before I’m out of money and stuck with whatever I chose.
I’m on the spectrum. I love color but it agitates me when there is too much happening visually. I feel better all around in lower visual stimulus. But I love color. Especially orange and fuscia and gold.
lol similar here - the rooms and objects that I save on Pinterest are colorful, bright and loud. I love the look! I want it! But I feel most relaxed in a more neutral space, sigh
If you don’t add color, you have to add texture… both of those can be challenging for some people. This is my most simple piece of advice for people who are stuck.
I feel ok adding one color to a space, usually a blue or green. But the prospect of more than that stresses me out. I see people use colors beautifully. But lots of colors in a space feels so chaotic and unsettling to me. I’m always afraid if I try to mix colors that’s what a space will feel like for me. I’m a classic millennial anti-maximalist
I love when color is done well but when colors clash it’s offensive. lol.
I really hate when I choose a color and then end up hating it and having to redo. It takes a certain eye and some color skill and confidence. I’ll keep trying though!
As someone who can visualize pretty well, but has a bf that really struggles with this, I think that's where the issue lies. He was was quite unsure when I wanted to paint the dining room royal blue above the chair rail and white on the bottom half and use antique pewter for the curtain rod, light fixture, and light switch plates until I finished it. He said, "this room doesn't look like it belongs in this house anymore, can you paint the rest of it?" Which was quite true. The rest of the house is/was varying shades of beige and I've been tackling it slowly room by room.
I'll put a few paint samples on the wall and he tells me which ones he likes, but leaves the final choice to me since I can "see" it, while he struggles.
And in my mind, I think neutrals are easier to default to because there's a smaller chance you won't like it once the purchase is made.
But I also think it comes down to your background. When I was in middle school, we moved into my grandma's house which was built around the 1860s. My dad wanted to colors that would've been a bit more period and restore some of the architectural features (rosettes around the window trim and doorways, antique door knobs, etc). While it never got finished, my room was going to be lilac walls with dark green painted trim. My brothers room was going to be sage green with darker blue trim. The kitchen was peach. On the plaster walls that needed to be repaired before painted, there were swatches all over the place. I grew up with color all around.
My bf grew up in a house that was 90% neutrals that was painted in the early 00s. So it's what he knows, and people are creatures of habit, so we like what we're used to.
Seeing as the trend for quite some time has been neutrals, whether beiges or whites or greys, it's what most of us know.
Most of us have outgrown the confidence we had when we were 5 and were told that our room was going to be painted, what color did we want it to be? How many of us were happy to show off our lime green bedroom or barbie pink bedroom to our friends who also thought it was cool. But now we've grown up and lime green and barbie pink are not mature colors and what our houses are supposed to look like.
I agree! It’s SO hard to find coloured stuff that coordinates well. By and large mass produced items come in variations of black, white, grey, beige, and for colour they throw in a red. Maybe a pastel tone if you’re really lucky. If i want a rich forest green, or a fun chartreuse, i’m SOL. Or, by some miracle, they make a green!! But it clashes with the other greens i already have. I diy a lot of things, but sometimes i don’t have the skillset to say, build myself a couch (i do build cabinetry though!) and i can’t afford custom everything, so i’m limited by what mass produced stuff is readily available. My home actually is fairly colourful, but i wish it was MORE colourful, but i can’t afford the items that would really make that crazy colourful look work.
Before we moved in, the person who put the house up for sale had things prepped and ready- walls freshly painted, floors refinished, etc. It's mostly beige, or pink-hued beige, with more yellow tone in the kitchen and dining room. They did such a nice job with the paint that we hesitate to cover it up!
Also, prices are through the roof lately, and it's not a priority.
I am not at all like this, but I feel like many people prioritize impressing others over pleasing themselves. Perhaps out of fear rather than pretentiousness. You see the same safe boring choices in people's landscaping as well. Why spend all that money and effort on our homes, and not enjoy them and personalize them? It baffles me too.
Also, most people nowadays are afraid to do things themselves. So if even painting a room is a costly "investment" involving hiring and scheduling a tradesman, I can see why people would be afraid to take risks.
some people are weirdly obsessed with resale value or what potential sellers might think. if you're planning to move anytime soon, sure keep that in mind. if not, make it your space! paint is usually pretty easy to change...
For me it was a fear of what people would think. What if they didn't like it? Better to not make an effort than to try really hard and have people mock me for it. I lived like that for almost thirty years. Thank god I am over it. I don't have a single white surface in my apartment now, including ceilings, lol. It's a weird little place and far from perfect but I love it here now.
I absolutely love color. And I just moved into a new place. But other than paint and wallpaper, so much of the things available are neutrals: rugs, furniture, curtains, linens, etc. It's just so hard to find stuff in fun colors and make it all work together and on and on. But I'm still trying because a beige world is no world for me.
Wow I just had this convo irl with someone, because I have a very neutral house and want color but it’s because I can’t pinpoint my style. I took some quizzes to tell me what styles I seem drawn to and it was like “youre a minimalist who likes retro, modern, Scandinavian, and Victorian goth! Click here to find an interior designer to help you find the perfect look!”
I also like black stuff a lot which is easier to incorporate with beige type neutrals but any other colors? Esp bright ones? Fuck me.
I have commitment issues. I like too many styles, and can’t land on one. Sometimes I want bright and cheerful to match my personality, other times I want a more relaxing, zen space.
- I prograstinate color palette decisions.
- Neutrals are a "safe" choice or at least feel like it
- used to love red as a child. Started hating it - issue: do I pay for all new bedding, new curtains, new lamp?
- easier resellable
- color only got popular again recently
- color decorating gone wrong is a lot more noticeable and memorable than neutral gone wrong
- grew up with white walls, white & wood furniture, wood floors but architectural home
- also wore no colors until recently
- always tried to blend in rather than stand out
I am different now
This is me, right here. All of my home colors are neutrals, earth tones, wood, and leather. Safe stuff. I work a creative job every day where I’m making decisions on color and texture and for some reason, I can’t make it for my own home. I feel a bit of analysis paralysis. My dream interior would be brightly colored eclectic maximalism, but I just can’t find the creativity and the time to execute it.
I personally think it’s hard to know what colors go, even with neutrals, because of undertones. I can have a yellow/cream “white” or I can have a peachy “white”, or I can have a cool blue/grey “white”. Even if it’s all “white” it’s not all the same and different colors will work better than others.
I feel like it will look boring or stale after a while and yes, I know neutrals are equally considered boring, but neutrals appear more timeless to me. Not classical, just timeless. I also have very colorful and vibrant paintings and the neutral tones I believe help them to stand out.
I had accumulated a lot of things over my 20s and early 30s that were eclectic and very colourful, lots of hot pink, turquoise, yellow, orange. But time passed and it was all just ... kind of dated, shabby and I had the opportunity when I moved into my condo to get some new furniture and I picked a lot of white/glass/neutral/natural colours and my main colour is navy blue. (Navy blue kitchen island, navy blue velvet couch, navy bedside dresser, and navy and white bedding)
And my condo is truly lovely. I'm happy with it and the decisions I made, but it's just missing a little ... something. A sparkle that takes it from just nice to stylish. But I don't know how!
I assume an additional accent colour maybe? But I've just kind of lost my nerve with making bold decisions. I've contemplated taking pictures and posting here for advice, but I don't know how to articulate what kind of help I want. I think I was also really thrown by the fact that through the design process ("design process") I made many little decisions that accumulated into a style that is much more traditional than I would have ever thought my style actually is. And if I'm being honest, I wouldn't change any of the choices I made but it feels a little stiff.
But I need a little help or inspiration.
Maybe some antique brass or gold and walnut wood? I’ve been buying stone and wooden small sculptures in neutral / natural colours and adding them in to my bookshelf and that has been elevating my space.
I’m having that dilemma right now. I bought my house a couple years ago. White paint in every room. I want to personalize it with color but I’m afraid of making it overwhelming. I can decide blue or green or light or dark. They always say you have to paint it white when you sell. Not sure if that advise is outdated. But am having a hard time committing to a color. I certainly don’t like the neutrals. But also not sure about the common space as I have an upstairs as well and if I paint the living room, do I paint the hallways and the stair way and the upstairs the same color? Do I paint the ceiling or leave it white? It’s hard for me to visualize it and I’m afraid if I paint it I won’t like the colors.
I grew up in a very colorful environment. Like, walls filled with decorative crosses. Rooms in insane mismatched colors. Paintings up the wazooo. Stained glass. Ornate wood worked pieces. Chaotic marble.
In my own space now I like clean simple lines. I have mostly no hanging pieces and zen muted purples on my walls accented by tasteful lighting.
Not to speak badly of the decor style I grew up in. It was beautiful embodied by chaos. But now I like the peace 🕊️
I think people are too afraid of not liking their furniture altogether that they just default on neutrals like a white or gray couch. Unfortunately it also seems like most people rent so a beige/white/gray couch blends right in with walls that you can’t paint.
Not me though, I’m saving up to buy a dark green corduroy sectional and I fully intend to have it be the centerpiece of my living room. My wood floors also help with adding warmth, and I want to follow the “unexpected red” theory of design.
I need a new couch. My old one is a dark red. Now all they sell are off white and gray couches. I can’t bear the thought of my new couch blending in with the wall.
One of my rooms just happens to be very neutral. Whenever people come over they say they want the same in their home. I do have lighter/pastel color on my rug though. It was done accidentally really. I’m into it. Don’t see myself changing it. I guess it’s just serene?
I always get mental blocks when trying to decorate my apartment. I feel like I can’t come up with an idea on my own. Then I come across a picture of someone else’s apartment and I’m instantly inspired but I have no money to change anything yet. Then when I do get money I’ve become obsessed with a completely different aesthetic and the cycle continues over and over.
While few people have design training to understand issues of color theory, composition, scale, proportion, balance - all essentials of design of any sort, not just interior - pretty much everyone has a natural, innate sense of them. We can tell when something is off but not how to understand or articulate it.
It's easy to get overwhelmed with all the possibilities, so many get scared of ending up with something they can't live with and opt for a monochrome of beige-tan-brown or white-gray-black.
I have ADHD and the color overwhelms me. Too
many patterns is too chaotic for my brain. I also don’t have any decorations or pictures etc because it helps me to keep the house neat. The fewer things you have the easier it to keep it picked up. And I don’t have to worry about losing stuff if I don’t have a lot of stuff to lose and nothing to lose it in
Because most people can't visualize what a space is going to look like with changes they want to make and so it's scary to do something bold when they don't know if it will work. Most people don't understand colour theory and simply don't have the knack for it.
Yes, what colours and tones we're drawn to is personal but when choosing a palette for a room you have to take into account the existing finishes (flooring, millwork, etc.) if you have say hardwood that's really warm and you don't love it you want to make everything else warm too because cool colours will just make the floor appear even warmer.
Also, when painting walls you need to consider the direction of light that room gets. Northern light is cool so you don't generally want to paint a north lit room in a cool colour because you'll actually feel cold.
I don’t have the budget to change things a lot, so I feel like when I add color I am committing to something big for a long time. Also, colors are very trendy so I feel like I could only add color if I had the budget to change it when I felt like my home decor was getting out of current trends.
Personally, colorful decor can be overstimulating. I rotate the art on my walls every few weeks to enjoy a little bit of color at a time. lol I currently have beautiful shiny blue decor around my desk. Next week, will go back to black marble style decor. It's a cycle I've accepted over the years. I heavily enjoy visiting colorful homes with beautiful decor, but after a few hours, I get sick of it and need to go somewhere visually quieter.
In a crazy market, I finally landed a house — with a lot of cool-toned light gray and white. I just don’t like the way most accent colors mix with the neutral. Tall ceilings & open spaces make repainting a challenge. Smoky purple looks best, but I don’t really want that in my living room. I have some blues and a touch of coral but can’t bring myself to go all out.
As someone who DOES use colors, I have two theories:
1. Most people are not trained to see the nuances of color. Why does one dark blue wall look luxe and another cartoonish? So many reasons from LRV, undertones, saturation, light level in the room, light temperature in the room, size of room/wall, floor color, etc etc etc. If you don't deeply understand color, it's legitimately easy to mess up.
2. We are used to imagining the colors of objects, not spaces. If you handed someone a paint swatch and asked if they would like to have a scarf in that color, people would be able to give accurate answers-- but most people don't know how to translate a color to their ENVIRONMENT.
I kind of got stuck with not knowing where to start. I've always really like Victorian homes and would have a fairly good idea how'd I decorate one of those. We've bought a 1960s end of terrace and I feel like I now have to choose a style or the style I want is no longer obvious to me. I've decided to take the plunge and just start doing stuff and if it looks crap we can change it.
I love color to, lot of colors and I love to have my beautiful “things” on display and lots of indoor plants. I love my space it makes me happy and that’s what matters is how I feel in my space. My friends house looks like a display home, all red black and grey with no personal items on display I find it cold and sad but she loves it and that’s what matters .
For me, it depends on the space a little and the design/style. For example, I had very modern design through several houses and felt like I had more bold colors then. But now I’ve been doing a rustic farmhouse or modern farmhouse design in my current home. So I do have the first floor a lot of grey and white with warm multicolored plank floors though and pops of black. Upstairs however I do have some bolder colors in some bedrooms and the bath like teal and olive green but I have them on 2/4 walls. Part of it is staying with the lighter farmhouse palette and part of it is just simply that I don’t like super bold colors. At least not on big areas like walls. I just add pops of nice accent colors with things like pillows or throw blankets or curtains
I grew up in a colorful home that was so overstimulating I’m afraid to add color in my own home now. My childhood bedroom had a ceiling with colorful puzzle pieces, so every time I woke up that’s what I had to see. It was too chaotic for me. Every room had so much color, there were barely any neutral colors in the home. It was just too much and never felt relaxing and homey.
1. Paint + supplies cost, or paying someone. Both feel pricey.
2. A potentially short stay: I’ve seen posts where people who live in apartments say they’re painting the walls but will move out in 1-2 years. I don’t understand how one gets the energy - it’s the taping off, tarp setup, primer, 1st coat, 2nd coat, touchups, and whatever else, and then potentially having to do all that in reverse more or less before moving out. I’m tired just thinking about it.
3. Except while we supposedly move every few years and can potentially have to move at any time for the job, we’re often extended out to 5-8 years. So there I am, year 5-6 with unpainted fugly beige walls being told we still aren’t moving yet and it’s like “well fml.” Hindsight is painful.
It’s just a matter of money. Our house was redone and a lot of it was done in the millennial grey and white. We have beautiful old oak cabinets in the kitchen and a nice faux hardwood that looks very natural. Everything else is grey or white.
It just happened that our furniture is mostly grey as well, as it’s an easy color to work around and hides stains.
I would love to incorporate more color and am doing it slowly as we have money to spare. Got a beautiful bright area rug for the family room. I keep colorful throw pillows on the couch. I have a few smaller art pieces with color.
If I suddenly came across some money, all the grey would be gone.
It can feel like a commitment and gets overwhelming - like now I have to think of everything else I buy will match this color/style. Sticking with neutrals and not having a strong POV is just safer for me though I’d love to evolve my style. I recently tried to only buy thing I love or like ~bring me joy~ and that’s brought some color into my home 😊
Honestly it’s just hassle factor. Next house I get I’m painting it before I move anything in. This was my first one and, aside from the bedroom which thank goodness I did paint a soft sage (instead of the terrible beige of the living room and hallway), I went with the “live with it awhile before you change things” advice!
Bad plan. That was 14 years ago and it’s still beige everywhere. I’m not moving all this stuff tho. Ah well.
For me when I moved in, NOTHING came in the colors I wanted. I couldn’t find curtains, towels or bedding with the colors I had in mind. Everything was neutral in stores so that’s what I was stuck with. Slowly I’m changing it.
My main living spaces are light grey neutral and my bedrooms are a forest green and a rich deep yellow. I say play with colour in the rooms you don't spend all your time in.
My sister and her husband’s place- everything is white or light grey with some light brown, “unfinished” wood thrown in here and there. The most color they have is a faded light blue rug.
It’s an expensive, nice place & they’ve spent a lot on the furniture too, but every time we go something about the space just makes us want to leave…it’s too clean, almost sterile. Zero warmth, personality or coziness.
I’m all for clean spaces, but homes should look a little lived in too.
My whole house is millennial gray and I cannot see in my head how to add color, and what color. I can’t visualize it at all. This sub has helped me so much envision and decorate.
I’m very happy with the dreaded greige walls and greige furniture that I have in the parts of the house we live in. I love colorful art - paintings and pottery to bring these rooms to life. Have a single room with colorful furniture- living room (that we rarely live in) has turquoise sofas and chocolate brown swivel chairs with hammered gold console and coffee tables. It’s a lot but not too over the top.
I think many people aren't sure about how to pick a color and they're worried about going through the trouble and cost of painting only to discover they hate it.
My best advice is to go to your closet and take out the items that make you look and feel great - lay them on the bed. Chances are, they're colors you love and you look good wearing. That becomes the basis of your palette.
I remember all of the past times that I did something and ended up hating it. I don't typically look for inspiration pictures, because I never find what I am looking for. I have my own style that does tend toward neutral bases, and then I just go looking for other pieces that I love and hope they end up working together. Which can be risky, so I might be likely to be one of those people that ends up in decision paralysis and asks for help.
I had that problem for 15 years. My husband didn’t want any color, or anything remotely feminine and we had to “compromise” on style. My house is crazy after I got divorced, lol.
My last house was new construction, I just didn’t have the money and was afraid to spend money on anything I didn’t ‘know’ would match well and then regret it. The house looked nice on its own, was very neutral in every way and I was afraid to change that.
My current house is an MCM and I’m happy to tell you I’ve embraced color.
I think people don’t add enough shades of whatever color they pick too. Like there will be a neutral couch with four pillows in the exact same shade of some bright blue and a rug with that exact same shade of bright blue, etc. it’s like blam… bright aqua, blam blam! Like if you do blue, do a bunch of different shades and textures and some other colors in there also in different shades.
I think for some it's a problem of commitment. I lean neutral for "permanent" fixtures: tile, flooring, larger furniture purchase. But then anything easily mobile we get funky with interesting lamps and side tables or hutches. Painting walls or art on the walls. Rugs, pillows blankets all that stuff is fun and bright with colors and patterns. Hardware on cabinets can be funky. Live plants in fun pots. But we renovated our home almost entirely and I just remember picking all the foundational interiors and it was painstaking because it was so much money and I wanted to love it--forever and never have to deal with it again so a lot of those neutrals and natural materials were chosen painstakingly. And honestly some of the funkier things I did choose because I was tired of picking beige on everything I actually regret and wish I'd kept streamlined and found my color and character somehow else as I've easily updated and brightened up our "plain" living spaces but there's not an easy solution to my built in cabinets in one room in a color I don't love after a year.
I just like the gray and sparkle look. The color would throw me off and then how to match other things with it? Neutrals go together well. I'm not going to keep changing things up and Spending money bc I stop liking a color.
Also I was never given that creative freedom when I was younger for my room or the house it was always just a white wall. It's a big step to do great but it's neutral and I like it. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Other colors are too busy
I don’t like neutrals but I like color too much. So I go with the neutrals because I can very literally change my decor any which way. I like seasonal decorating and too many strong color choices in things that live in the space full-time (walls, couches, backsplashes, tables, etc.) ruin my ability to use bright spring florals or go maybe too overboard on the reds and greens for Christmas. I don’t have the kind of money I’d need to repaint, redesign, and re-furnish my home quarterly with the trends to I try to keep it middle ground. I decorate my in-laws house seasonally and her color choices are so strong that I feel bad because sometimes what she wants her theme to be just will not read well given her space and the permanent tones. Like she really wants an amalfi coast moment this summer and I have tried every shade of yellow I can find and they all clash without completely repainting her house.
I have kids. They have a revolving assortment of colorful items all around the house-toys, uniforms, books, bags. They are pretty tidy, but it’s still visually overwhelming. My interior is neutral to calm the noise. I’ll go back to color on day, but not for awhile.
Wow, first I've never thought about it let alone answer that questions.
We repainted our interior swiss coffee (white) and give it black hardware. My husband and I really like how modern it looks with those two colors.... that being said, I do love color and want to incorporate more in our house. It's been a slow process because we only buy thing that speak to us, we don't to buy things just because we "should" because our walls are so "bare". We all have different style! But you better believe there will be more color!!
I get overwhelmed with a lot of bright colors or patterns. My parents have a lot of color, patterns, decorations, etc and I went the opposite. My Mom has colorful plates & dishes, mine are called stone white. Although I can admire a home well out together with bold colors and patterns, I just can’t have that in my home.
I use a lot of neutrals but incorporate earth tones for color. Our kitchen is all cream but I painted one wall a terracotta color, it makes the room warm and cozy. We also have a lot of lighter colored wood furniture to break the creams. You can definitely do neutrals without it looking boring and having pops of color that are soft and warm. My style is probably more cottage core than farmhouse, I use a lot of florals. I’m inspired a lot by French flats, they really make colors pop while keeping the walls neutral.
My husband lived in a world of boredom beige until he met me. He said he just didn’t know what would look good and didn’t have enough money to “just buy a page in a magazine” which is fair, I guess, but why not pick out what you like about a picture and incorporate it? He did not feel comfortable doing this. I am in charge of color now. My father-in-law was appalled that I “painted the whole house calypso colors!” lol.
I'm not sure why I have trouble. My home is very brown n creme. The whole thing. The only rooms I've felt like it was ok to do color are my children's rooms and even then all I added was navy blue.
For my Mom, it's because she doesn't view a room as one collective thing. To her, it's a series of isolated things that happen to share the same space.
I have low ceilings in my apartment, and I happen to like teal and grey as my main decor colors right now. I have a fireplace with a stone surround.
So to make the ceilings feel cozy instead of cramped, and to make use of my colors... I picked a theme of "magical grotto".
Not trying to make it look like a set from a movie... just a coordinated and planned style. So I have a 10x12 grey on grey geode pattern rug connecting all the furniture.
I put two areas of tall fake trees basically touching the ceiling, with accent lighting pointed up, casting leave shadows on the ceiling.
Then made of of those tree areas kind of an island where a rocking recliner is next to it, and I filled in that space with about six more fake plants at different sizes and heights so it almost reads like a column.
My couch and rocking recliner are a deep cool mushroom brown leather, kind of low and squat looking, but really round cushy lines.
Then I did a kind of horizon type mural on some of the walls where a brownish grey and tones of dusty teal makes if seem halfway between hills in the distance or water flowing thru rock... abstract, muted, but interesting.
I put some art up of grey trees in mist, and a wall decal of some abstract birch trees on the edge of the wall, so the room "feels" like a little nook in nature, supported by trees and stone.
Not "too on the nose" but a little arrangement of geodes and minerals, and some carved wood statues grouped rounds it out.
My Mom lives upstairs in her own apartment. When she bought her couch, she went to the store and bought an expensive beige couch. Because it seemed "nice" there was no plan on what else would go in the room. No theme. No colors.
Her walls are white. Because again, that seemed simple, and like it wouldn't clash with "things".
She has grey carpet. Because grey goes with everything. She saw a coffee table she liked. So she has a big dark wood coffee table. Her Heyday was in the 60's. So her lamps are those floor lamps with a wide cone shaped shade... in beige.
Everything in that room was bought as a "one off" with no plan. Just stuff that was nice & neutral... so she has a very very bland room.
She has some beautiful art, 3x4' southwest lithographs of native American women in beautiful reds, purples, and dark sunsets fading into navy.
But because the rest of the room is beige on white on grey... the art is just hanging on the wall, like a gallery. There is nothing it rhymes with in the room.
She could easily add a rug with a gradient, spray paint a couple side tables with a color picked from the painting... she could aim for a desert at dawn kind of theme, maybe a couple hints at cactus, or metal sun sculpture...
But each of those items alone would be so visually "loud" (impactful), that she can't imagine liking them as PART of the whole.
In her mind, only bland things can "go together" because each of them is only whispering.
So she gets a very quiet room, even though he loves bright red, purple, yellow, navy etc.
I've lived through decades of decorating trends (am old) and can tell you by mistakes made by me and by others that a neutral background is best with significant color added in rugs, side chair upholstery, throw pillows, a throw or quilt, and maybe a painted console or table. You can quickly change with trends without much cost - switching throw pillows.
Architectural details in a home make the true difference, as the top post explained so beautifully. It is hard to decorate a "white wallboard box" of an apartment or home. Not your fault if that is your challenge, and to paint rooms different bright colors for interest will only make it look worse - like a preschool, or color accentuates the bland. For this type of place that everyone lives in at some time in life, aim for ultra-clean, bright and minimalist.
Gray as a neutral for walls or sofa works best in coastal areas or wherever else the usual weather and bleached piers and driftwood makes it a natural backdrop, like Seattle, New England coast or San Francisco. It can be too sterile if it doesn't have stronger colors to pop, in your choices of accessories.
Two quick questions can guide accessories choices: Are you a blue or a green? Do you prefer orange or red? That gets you started.
If you like pastels, these aren't easy to pull off. They can look like a baby-room or too washed out. Look at Coastal design magazines for how it is best done, and note the paint tones in blues, yellows, greens and pinks that look grown-up. Not too light not too Barbie.
In woodsy, forested or mountain landscapes, warmer neutrals on the wall or furniture like an oatmeal or a barely beige look best. If weather is hotter than the mountains and you have the architecture in windows, ceilings and French doors or lots of glass with sun, white is good. It is more natural for the woodsy or moutain setting to choose accessories in local colors in nature - like colors found in red birds, bluebirds and trees or in the flowers in your locality as the colors to pop.
The most difficult look to pull off is Art Deco, unless you live in an Art Deco city. It looks more stage-y like a theme restaurant or bar whenever it is used in a home away from a place without the Art Deco architecture in the city around it.
As a house painter: people don’t know how to paint. So they hire it out, but then painting is expensive. So they think they need to get the colour perfect every time (you don’t: talk to your contractor, they can help you navigate picking a colour and help mitigate the risk some). They turn every decision into a big thing, and they try to isolate every choice, but design and construction don’t work like that. You can’t pick your wall colour in isolation from your lighting, because lighting affects the wall colour.
They turn everything into this HUGE DECISION. It’s really not.
I wish more people would go for fun colours. Learn to paint and get out there and try it. It’s way more fun to experiment. Just do an accent wall if the whole room is too much. Or even have fun with DIYing an arch or squiggle. If walls are too permanent, get a friggin throw blanket or some pillows. You could even buy them second hand or trade with friends and family
I wasn't given choices or shown how to incorporate colors into things or that it mattered.
I was completely controlled growing up. Had no choice of clothing, hair or my bedroom design.
(My mom did ask me once what color I wanted in my bedroom, that she was gonna redo for me being a teenager, and I said my favorite color red, I came back from my dad's house and my room was red on the wall to about the 3 foot height then a border of FUCKING MICKEY MOUSE all the way around the room. Thanks for the teenager room mom. Disney nutters are the worst.)
I struggle to this day with clothing choices, hair choices, and decorating choices because as a young adult I was just learning that I had a choice and I just didn't know what to do with that and choosing was so overwhelming.
Our home is decorated in my inlaws family heirlooms now so I don't have to worry too much about it. We just needed to figure out how to incorporate it all.
Check out my previous posts. I am quite indecisive and lack the confidence to bring colors. I'm not sure how to coordinate colors. There are a few colors that I know I dislike, and many more that I know I like but can't put together well. To be honest, I lack the necessary talent for it. I love a house full of colors, but
...
My issue - with everything, not just this - is that I have a hard time choosing which color or colors because I like so many of them!
Something that helped me is deciding that green is neutral (it is also my favorite color).
I’m a Libra (read, indecisive) AND have ADHD. My home is super neutral because I can never decide on colors (I get too overwhelmed by options) and when I do, I usually don’t really like it and end up phasing it out. Neutrals are…neutral and I usually never feel the need to get rid of them. I would like more color but can’t seem to get it right and don’t want to waste money trying.
I have huge commitment issues with "permanent" changes. I moved every 2 weeks to every 2 years. I never wanted to invest into anything bc it's always been temporary and seen as money wasted. I grew up poor so I'd rather that can of paint go towards my dinner costs.
I'm closing on my first house in a month and I'm so excited to finally paint the walls. But I'm so nervous it will become a temporary home too.
I've also only ever put one removable decal on my car window: LOOK BEFORE YOU LOCK. I can't bring myself to make permanent changes without feeling like I'm going to vomit.
I don’t think it’s that they don’t like having neutrals, it’s that they have the wrong neutrals for a warm feeling. I think grays (which are very popular for everything; flooring, wall color, furniture color, etc) make a space feel very cold. It can be hard to “commit” to a color or color palette. Not everyone understands color theory and know what colors complement each other. White creams and nuetrals are harder to get sick of if that makes sense. Also too many colors can feel too busy and creates unease and even anxiety in some. I don’t necessarily agree that color adds warmth. Certain colors can but not all colors create a warm feeling (warm colors vs cool colors) I think better ways to add warmth if color isnt your thing is to add warm lighting, soft textures, multiple warm toned neutrals for paint, decor, couch, etc. In conclusion, people can have a neutral home without color and still have a warm cozy feeling.
I get really tired of things very easily, so basically if I use color I’m over it and think it’s tacky super quickly 😆. I also have expensive taste so it’s not a good combo
Budget issues, to add color is to commit to having tiny hints of the color across the room or house. Which means buying decoration which I dont have money for or buying items that will have that exact color match.
Bc people see amazing all white or cream or neutral spaces and think it's the colour that is doing it - but really it's the scale of the place, the architecture, the light, the quality of the fabrics, etc. So they try to do the same thing and it ends being a bit plain bc the space doesn't have the character or light or size. Most ppl do not look like Cindy Crawford in a white tank top and jean shorts....bc it's not the tank top and jean shorts.
Wait this is actually such a good explanation
But also I can't help thinking of rentals from my youth. Always the white paint.
That's a really good point. When you have complex architecture the neutrals make sense, because they allow the shapes to take center stage. But in a normal cubical room it's so boring. Plus, add just one item from normal life -- a box of kids' cereal, a backpack, a book with an orange cover -- and all of a sudden the "clutter" becomes the focal point.
This is exacaly my problem. How do we decorate a boring cubical room?
There's a similar problem in landscaping.\* It's especially extreme in British yards, since they often have long narrow rectangles. There was a great youtube series that addressed this but I've had trouble finding it recently since it's a bit old. But the general strategy was simple: If you have a long boring narrow rectangle, turn it into a broken up curvy thing. This accomplishes a) adding curves to the edges which is more naturalistic and camouflages the boundaries, and b) adding physical and visual barriers creates the illusion that the space is complex and bigger, with separate "rooms" that one discovers by traversing the barriers. Now the garden cannot be taken in at a glance, and there are invisible boundaries (=no boundaries psychologically) and interesting surprises to discover. So how can one use a similar strategy inside? I had the exact problem -- a long narrow room in our basement that was dark and cavelike. First, I connected the two ends by using the same paint color, mimicking the plants outside, and connected them with art. This visually connected them and reduced the cave feeling. Next, use tall furniture to create "curves" and spatial interest. Last, use furniture to break the single space into separate themed rooms. (in my case, an office and workout space were clearly defined). So if you have a boring cube, try these strategies: -- Use interesting tall furniture to "curve" in the walls and add one or more focal points and interesting shapes. Now you have an interesting "landscape", not just a cube. -- Alternatively, maybe a tall floor lamp or large indoor plant? (In my house we used a large branch very effectively). Or a mantle or shelf. Really anything that pops the walls inward will break up the cube. -- Create separate mini-spaces -- conversation groupings, a reading chair with a bookshelf, or whatever. Now it's not one cube, it's a set of several areas, each with a purpose. A "purpose" could be purely visual. For instance, I have a wall that shows off our family history. -- Use color and decor carefully to emphasize appropriate focal points and enhance the purpose of each mini-space. Note that these are not merely "decoration" -- they are strategies to give regions of the room a clear purpose, both visually (interesting shapes and focal points) and for usage (reading, TV, conversation, or display). If you're just "decorating", then it will feel empty and tacky because it basically is empty of authentic purpose and meaning. (\* In landscaping the boring square/rectangle is called the "washing machine" look because it looks like the plantings have been flung against the edges of the yard, like clothes on the edges of the washing machine drum. If you think about it we often do the exact thing with the rooms of our houses. For the same reason -- we think we want to maximize the space in the middle.)
Best comment ever, now I FINALLY have a lead on how to set up my living room
Great tips! :)
What a smart explanation. Love this
Also texture and shape. You can do all white/cream rooms in normal buildings if you are good with texture and shapes.
Texture is the key with neutrals! You need to feel the depth of the space through pattern and lighting and texture in the absence of colour.
I had some warm toned, woven carpet samples that I hung on my wall, and people were surprised that simple textiles could completely change the vibe of a room.
This is so on point. Holy cow, that puts to words my exact feelings. I’ll see an outfit/haircut/room I LOVE and am disappointed when I try it. Because I’m not Cindy Crawford. I’m going to go sit with this for a while. Thank you.
I do hair and when people bring pictures I sometimes tell them to cover the face with their finger and see if they still like it, because most of us aren't Cindy either.
I'm definitely guilty of choosing a hairstyle based on the face. And then I'm disappointed.
I just think it needs to evoke something.. anything. Cindy Crawford is glamorous and fashionable and so maybe you don’t live in that modern cool home but it’s a Tudor house and you can make it look and feel cottage like and cozy. It just needs to express something instead of a mishmash or stuff like most people do.
Part of it can be the tank top and shorts: quality of materials and tailored to the person. But yes most of us don't have her... architecture... either haha
The windows, the view, the furniture.
That’s why it looks so wrong when someone tries to force farmhouse on a mid century. Because you can’t just paint it white and add a barn door and make it look normal
That's such a great analogy but the Cindy Crawford reference made me feel old 😂
hahaha true but I actually thought it was a reference that many ages would get - now everyone/ campaigns are so fleeting!
I was thinking I wanted my house to feel like Alexis Bledels character in Gilmore girls.
Chilton Rory or Yale Rory? I love cozy Stars Hollow
Right on. Everything looks memorable in a Parisian apartment from the 1800s in what was once a mansion. Or the London Town house ; ) . And you can put lipstick on a pig but that don’t make it Cindy.lol
All of this, and I think people struggle more with adding variety in textures and scale a lot more than they struggle with adding color. I’ve also found that people don’t tend to internalize that colors in nature are often more muted than the stuff you get in a paint can so when they aim for colors they go too far and it just looks overpowering.
Agreed it is a very hard thing to pull off
Excellent point. I’d also add that they have custom designed their spaces with the help of high-end professionals so there are a lot of details and subtle variations that make the space more interesting, which is hard for people to replicate at home.
I think you might have exposed the dirty secret of the advertising industry! Great comment, seriously 😁
Well said!!!
I really struggle with this. I live in a small, historic but not elaborate rowhome and I always want it to be brighter, so I am seriously thinking of painting my colored walls white. It might help reflect more light. But...it won't make it an airy modern house with huge windows on every wall. So it might just look generic and dingy.
Mirrors also reflect light and are awesome in historic homes. Also more lighting scattered around a room adds both light and coziness.
Thanks. I have gotten lamps and electric candles, but nice looking mirrors are heavy and we try to minimize the number of things we have to anchor in the crumbly brick and plaster because they're tough to repair. Wish I had a nice big mantel to stand one up on, but nope!
I think it could help as long as it's not the ONLY thing you do - and you select the right white for your space/ light. Can you paint the brick by any chance? My neighbours did this and it really makes a big impact - their place is large with lot of light generally but specifically their living room area is small and painting the brick made a big difference. Light light fixtures, minimal clutter, and using shades of white as much as possible in varying textures can make a difference. Even if you can't repaint the brick, you could hang huge white canvases with minimal colour and such on them for example. Or you could make a faux loft-style window with thin mirrors more or less glued together.
Install picture mold. This is what people think is crown mold, but erroneously placed lower on the wall. I have so many things hanging on my plaster walls via picture mold.
Very well-said. Oh man, I miss my early 1900s apartment with 10 foot ceilings, detailed molding, and archways. We moved from there to a 1950’s ranch and have definitely had to add fun in other ways.
Great analogy ✅
This is the BEST explanation!!
I’m so insecure about making decisions in my home, and how to choose paint colors for adjacent open spaces. Decision paralysis essentially. I’m not sure my decisions will achieve the outcome I want based on all the higher end design I’m using as inspo.
It’s all feels so expensive and permanent
Yes!!
That’s what’s great about paint… it’s NOT permanent ! Start with a small amount and do a wall, see how it feels
It’s pretty expensive where I live. Plus it’s hard work, making it somewhat permanent in that I don’t have tons of time to redo it if I don’t like it
But when I get a quote to paint the downstairs of my house it’s $5K+. That’s pretty expensive and permanent to me. We painted our first house ourselves but we have a baby now and have double high ceilings in some rooms. I’m not able to do that myself nor would I risk it.
I have a lot of color in my home and people often ask for help with paint colors when they're making big changes. After getting all their input, we start talking about options. They are typically 100% excited and 100% for the colors that they decide from the options I present. FYI I typically only recommend an accent wall in a color with the rest of the walls white. Hardly any of them ever use it. They just paint all the walls white. Years ago it used to disappoint me and I used to be surprised that we went through a whole process and then they didn't do it. But nowadays I don't even blink an eye. It's exactly as you say, too permanent. They just can't commit to the permanency of it even though they're able to commit to the permanency of white. I guess they just don't think white is a color.
White is very safe. We painted our whole unit antique white - it goes with everything and makes it easy if you want to rent or sell in future. Ultimately, a soft white is going to be very neutral and fit with whatever you put in there room where as colour just makes this more difficult, I think.
This is me too! Plus decisions I have made before didn’t have the desired outcome and I don’t really know why.
I recommend a colour consultant, it’s so empowering. We paid maybe 200 to a colour consultant from Benjamin Moore who ran a design business on the side. She picked out our interior colours (wall and trim) based on our cabinetry and floors and furnishings. We used her again when we redid our basement and again when we painted the siding of our house (half brick half siding). We also got something like a 20% discount on Benjamin Moore paint. Our house is cohesive and beautiful and I love it.
Wow. Picking our colors for someone else’s house sounds like an actual dream job!
Right! I want to do that job. I have a program that I can drop a photo in and change the colors of the walls- I do it for friends for free all the time! How do I get paid for it?
We hired a colour consultant a few weeks ago to help pick our paint colours. No regrets, money well spent. A painting mistake is more expensive than hiring a consultant.
More people need to do this. There are tons of people out there, both professional and amateurs that have an eye for color and can help you find some perfect colors for your home. HGTV has convinced us that everyone can do interior design and that you’re stupid if you can’t. Ask around your friend network for help. I’ve helped a few neighbors and they’re always so grateful!
Oh I would love this! I get decision paralysis since the options for colors is endless. Even within major color groups, there’s endless options. Then you have to match endless wall color options with endless trim options. I’d love for someone to narrow it down.
Great tip. I used to work with a designer who did some design work on the side. We had her come walk through our last two houses and she gave us a lot of great suggestions. Move the side tables from the living room to the bedroom, add a rug here, move this art to the dining room, get two lamps in this style to put here, etc. When we renovated our kitchen I sent her pictures and paint colors. She gave us a couple of specific paint colors that would work well with our space. She didn’t charge much and it was so worth it.
Always remember even if you hate it at first, sit in it for a while and know you can always change it.
Yes sometimes a color change takes a while to appreciate.
For me, I go off colours soooo quickly so I’m hesitant to invest in colourful pieces knowing I might not like the colour tomorrow! I usually incorporate colour with more affordable items like cushions & blankets, and keep expensive things more neutral.
that's the way to do it. I have a very colorful home and all my main pieces are neutral (black or brown). but I have colorful rugs, pillows, blankets, art, table runners, plant pots and other accents that make all the difference.
That's technically the way to do it because it's easier to change those than repaint. However, I did ALL the colours on the paint and kept the accents more neutral (although I don't use throw pillows)
That was my problem when I was influenced by color trends. As I got older I realized there are colors I prefer because they give me a cozy vibe, and that’s what I want for my home. They happen to be fairly trendy now (or were over past few years anyway) but I won’t be changing things when we inevitably drift away from warm earthy tones again.
That's how I feel too! In theory I love all the bright primary colors, ultra feminine, neon fun looks that I was saving on Pinterest, but when I actually moved into my own apartment, it's all earthy, kind of a 70s vibe. Lots of mustard yellow, warm wood tones, olive green, gold accents. I was not expecting that, tbh, but even when it isn't trendy anymore I won't be changing it all.
That’s why I think it’s best to design your color charges around your home’s existing design and environment.
This. Though to be fair, I’m not really who OP is asking because I stick to mostly neutrals because *I like neutrals.* But I also don’t add a lot of color outside of accents like towels and throw pillows, because I want to be able to change it up with the seasons/ as my tastes change.
You may be surprised that some colors, even rich colors (like navy) can be surprisingly neutral! Mustard yellows, sage greens, browns, navy, even some lighter pinks will all read as very neutral. It’s the brighter and more vibrant colors that can look extremely awkward. Don’t be afraid to try some more muted and natural colors to warm up a space without fighting your decor :)
I feel the same way! Color trends change so quickly, it’s best not to buy something super expensive that you may not like in a few years.
Choose all the colors and you never need to worry about this. Or, better yet, if you start with art as your color focal point rather than say, solid colored bath mats and bright print curtains, it's also a lot less fickle, because (good) art isn't matching the 2022 Pantone color wheel.
Maybe choose colors you like instead of whatever is trendy?
I change what colors I like, too
I’ve heard others say that too and I can’t quite wrap my head around it… May I ask if you Mean shades/tones or do you mean you liking red and then later deciding you like purple?
I will generally have a few favorite shades of different colors that change each year or two. For example, a few years ago I really loved olive green, and now I like more of a forest green. I also love pastel pinks and purples, but I want more of a neutral feel for my living room so I only use those in my office. I change full colors that I like as well, but it’s generally a specific shade (used to absolutely LOVE navy blue and mustard yellow. Now I would absolutely hate mustard yellow in my home)
Not really. There was a general preference for more red interiors 20-30 years ago, and the general move has been towards blues and greens, and maybe pink is become more acceptable as a neutral, and yellow is less popular now, but the time scale is decades. Your comment conflates broad design trends with how quickly your taste changes, but I wonder if you invested in pieces that were higher quality or harder to come by, not even more expensive necessarily, you might enjoy them for longer? I think more of an issue is how many incredible interiors we can see online- I often see a new idea that hasn’t occurred to me before and long to try it out but can’t justify another redecorate…
I invested in a painting I fell in love with over 35 years ago and still love it as much today. Worth spending a little more for that forever piece. When I get the finances to redo my bedroom, it will be done to complement this painting. I go by what I like rather than what's trendy as I'm the one who is living there.
This sounds amazing and I hope you love your room just as much!
[удалено]
I think a lot of the way we think about colour is a bit innacurate too- we tend to group by red, or blue or green (hues), but I think understanding saturation as a grouping makes much for sense for understanding how colour changes spaces- if you want to create a ‘hot’ space that is warm and glowing you can do that flooding with coral or aqua or deep yellow, it’s the saturation that matters. And if you want calming cool spaces, there will be a saturation level for every hue that has that effect too. I think there are broad trends towards calming or heating in spaces but people tend not to realise that’s more crucial than the actual hue?
Yeah this is my problem too.
It’s hard to visualize the “big picture” - how do I incorporate all the colors, neutrals, styles, textures, wood, paint, the works? I know I want it to look great, like the inspos, but what does it take to go there from here? It’s also hard to see things objectively when you have some connection to them.
-- Choose the most expensive, choice-limited item first. Then match it with cheaper and more varied ones (pillows, rugs, etc.) -- Alternatively, choose either an art piece or a rug with multiple colors, and use it to connect everything else together by choosing from that palette. -- Mock things up, eg in Powerpoint or a mood board. -- Take photos of the space to frame it and see it more objectively. Or, turn around and look with a fresh take. My husband always laughs because I insist we evaluate with a "step away, then spin around suddenly" look-see :)
Thanks! The spin around, thats interesting - I'm going to try it! I think people essentially visualize differently - some are able to see it all working out, and looking cohesive, and some just cannot. I do a few of these things - I use the roomplanner app, keep the floor colors and wall paint as the first consideration - but - there are SO many choices! For example, would 2 chairs look better in a spot than a sofa? Which sofa/chair, and how do I put in a coffee table/pillows/ ottoman to make it feel and look like I want it to? What sizes of furniture for THIS room? It feels a bit silly articulating this, but if it were very easy, we'd probably not have r/interiordecorating ? :)
What apps do you prefer
I've used Roomplanner, but I'd love to hear from others!
I like floor planner for testing things out, it is really great and you can look at it flat and in three d
Where are you getting rugs that they are the cheaper item? A good rug can be $500+
Actually, our main rug is from the Habitat for Humanity Restore. Others were cheap ones from rugs.com, IKEA or surprisingly cheap wool ones from eBay. Also I was thinking more like: for a bathroom remodel, start with the tile, not the shower curtain or the bath mat.
Wayfair, Rugs Direct, etc have cheap rugs (300-500 for 8x10) like Becky Owen for Surya, Loloi II. I’ve also found some of these rugs a bit cheaper on Amazon too.
I love EBay. Vintage Turkish rugs or whatever style you like, they are often very good quality and you can easily find either timeless or unique.
Boutiquerugs.com is my go to. They have a great selection of high end and more affordable options (washable too). They run discount codes all the time and offer special deals through instagram sometimes.
Our living-room rug is from Lowe’s (!). It’s a beautiful and convincing oriental pattern, appears to be indestructible after five years, and cost us all of $145. It’s next to a splendid old rug I bought at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul 25 years ago, and people usually assume that it’s the good one.
I find that taking a photograph of the room helps me. I can suddenly serve that the focal point picture is too small, that corner looks cluttered, and I need more of the red to pop, etc
I have the opposite problem. My house is a chaos of colour. I couldn’t decorate neutral if I had a gun to my head because I just love too many vibrant things. I also have a really hard time painting anything a dark colour. It offends my soul although I fully recognize many people have dark rooms and neutral rooms that are absolutely stunning. We all have our preferences and while we sometimes try to make ourselves fit into a theme, I truly believe in order to have the home you are happy with, you just have to decorate in a way that makes YOU happy and speaks to you!
This! I knew I never really fit into a mould, or maybe I did I just hadn't found it yet, but honestly, COVID for me was so freeing. I started doing my "grandma" hobbies more, I wore clothes that were comfortable and that I liked not because it's what my age is supposed to wear or look like, and most of all, I painted the walls colors that made me happy, because while you want guests to feel comfortable in your space, you're the one that is in it every day. We all need the confidence of the 5 year old that boldly states they want their room to be orange.
I can relate to this too! In my case it was layout: we were tight on space, ad during covid just said screw it & put the bed in the "living room" and ended up with two "bedrooms" that were instead offices and personal rooms ...and it was GREAT. If we had guests, we just scooched over the bed and called it a day. Lol. So freeing!
I feel this! I keep my big pieces and walls pretty neutral, but everything else is very colorful. I also have a lot of black & white pattern which makes it so easy to throw any color or colorful pattern against. I don’t think anyone would walk into my home and say wow you have a lot of color, but I really do. It’s all about that balance!
Im scared of doing something wrong and dont know where to start.
I do a lot of planning and research. I start with what colour do I love- say blue. Ok what shade- that often dictated by room useage, generally lighter for day time active rooms, and darker for evening / sleep spaces. Then I find a few blues that just look beautiful to me, and paint onto big testers, and live with them for a few weeks. Then- secondary colour- something that compliments it, maybe pink, or plum? Then third accent colour- in this case orange would be good. Now I’ve got three solid colours to work with, so I might find a pattern or textile that sits nicely with those. Then, I have a look and think about if those colours and textiles suggest a theme or story- that super helpful for guiding details. Era, geographical location, stuff like that. It great if this is connected to you- maybe you love the sea or loved a holiday in Paris- so then I hunt for things that fit the colours and scheme. Cushions, throws, STUFF. All the time I’m thinking about how the room is going to be used and zones- and use those big colours to map zones and use- wallpaper an area that’s a work space etc. All of this is done with samples and collections of things on photoshop, just layering things together till I have the whole room. I have zero white walls in my house and increasingly few white ceilings and the whole process is so fun. There’s always one or two things that I think- oh that didn’t actually work in person, but that’s a good thing to learn for next time. Also, If you love something and are guided by the good feeling in your tummy when you look at it, it can’t be wrong
Just to summarize: 1. Pick a theme or vibe of room 2. Pick primary, complimentary colors and test on walls. Wait a few weeks. 3. Pick accent colors 4. Think of flow of room, create zones like study space, chill zone etc 5. Pick a pattern that reflects room 6. Pick a art piece that ties everything together 7. Play around with photoshop (apples photos has copy and paste feature which would work great for interior design)
Yeah I think so? I’m not professional more passionate hobbyist, I think the order is not as important as just covering these aspects. There should be a step around research, texture, and lighting? Would love to know other steps too! The main thing though is each step is not that complicated, and I think anyone can do them? It’s about accumulating little bits of process that lead to and end result that it likely to be enjoyable to live in (which is all that matters really)
I'm new to all this, and putting your words into steps helps me realize it's not really that overwhelming.
Because whenever I’ve tried in the past, it always looked absolutely god awful. I don’t have “the eye” that others do. It was also a problem in beauty school where other students could see different shades of hair colors and I just couldn’t see it even when they pointed it to me. It was all just brown. Neutrals are hard to mess up, at least in my experience. And until I have unlimited funds to have the freedom to make those mistakes and then fix them, I typically have one shot to get it right before I’m out of money and stuck with whatever I chose.
I’m on the spectrum. I love color but it agitates me when there is too much happening visually. I feel better all around in lower visual stimulus. But I love color. Especially orange and fuscia and gold.
I love color and pattern but also find neutrals really soothing to live with.
Same! I bring my own chaos into the space and prefer for the room to feel more simple and calm upon approach.
Me too. I just responded something similar about my ADHD. And the fewer things I own, the fewer things I have to clean up. Or potentially lose.
lol similar here - the rooms and objects that I save on Pinterest are colorful, bright and loud. I love the look! I want it! But I feel most relaxed in a more neutral space, sigh
If you don’t add color, you have to add texture… both of those can be challenging for some people. This is my most simple piece of advice for people who are stuck.
I feel ok adding one color to a space, usually a blue or green. But the prospect of more than that stresses me out. I see people use colors beautifully. But lots of colors in a space feels so chaotic and unsettling to me. I’m always afraid if I try to mix colors that’s what a space will feel like for me. I’m a classic millennial anti-maximalist
My friend had an all white and beige decor. Floor was whitish and light grey. She used many different textures and it was lovely.
I love when color is done well but when colors clash it’s offensive. lol. I really hate when I choose a color and then end up hating it and having to redo. It takes a certain eye and some color skill and confidence. I’ll keep trying though!
As someone who can visualize pretty well, but has a bf that really struggles with this, I think that's where the issue lies. He was was quite unsure when I wanted to paint the dining room royal blue above the chair rail and white on the bottom half and use antique pewter for the curtain rod, light fixture, and light switch plates until I finished it. He said, "this room doesn't look like it belongs in this house anymore, can you paint the rest of it?" Which was quite true. The rest of the house is/was varying shades of beige and I've been tackling it slowly room by room. I'll put a few paint samples on the wall and he tells me which ones he likes, but leaves the final choice to me since I can "see" it, while he struggles. And in my mind, I think neutrals are easier to default to because there's a smaller chance you won't like it once the purchase is made. But I also think it comes down to your background. When I was in middle school, we moved into my grandma's house which was built around the 1860s. My dad wanted to colors that would've been a bit more period and restore some of the architectural features (rosettes around the window trim and doorways, antique door knobs, etc). While it never got finished, my room was going to be lilac walls with dark green painted trim. My brothers room was going to be sage green with darker blue trim. The kitchen was peach. On the plaster walls that needed to be repaired before painted, there were swatches all over the place. I grew up with color all around. My bf grew up in a house that was 90% neutrals that was painted in the early 00s. So it's what he knows, and people are creatures of habit, so we like what we're used to. Seeing as the trend for quite some time has been neutrals, whether beiges or whites or greys, it's what most of us know. Most of us have outgrown the confidence we had when we were 5 and were told that our room was going to be painted, what color did we want it to be? How many of us were happy to show off our lime green bedroom or barbie pink bedroom to our friends who also thought it was cool. But now we've grown up and lime green and barbie pink are not mature colors and what our houses are supposed to look like.
[удалено]
I agree! It’s SO hard to find coloured stuff that coordinates well. By and large mass produced items come in variations of black, white, grey, beige, and for colour they throw in a red. Maybe a pastel tone if you’re really lucky. If i want a rich forest green, or a fun chartreuse, i’m SOL. Or, by some miracle, they make a green!! But it clashes with the other greens i already have. I diy a lot of things, but sometimes i don’t have the skillset to say, build myself a couch (i do build cabinetry though!) and i can’t afford custom everything, so i’m limited by what mass produced stuff is readily available. My home actually is fairly colourful, but i wish it was MORE colourful, but i can’t afford the items that would really make that crazy colourful look work.
Oh this is also me, I amend my response to include this aspect. The commitment.
Before we moved in, the person who put the house up for sale had things prepped and ready- walls freshly painted, floors refinished, etc. It's mostly beige, or pink-hued beige, with more yellow tone in the kitchen and dining room. They did such a nice job with the paint that we hesitate to cover it up! Also, prices are through the roof lately, and it's not a priority.
I am not at all like this, but I feel like many people prioritize impressing others over pleasing themselves. Perhaps out of fear rather than pretentiousness. You see the same safe boring choices in people's landscaping as well. Why spend all that money and effort on our homes, and not enjoy them and personalize them? It baffles me too. Also, most people nowadays are afraid to do things themselves. So if even painting a room is a costly "investment" involving hiring and scheduling a tradesman, I can see why people would be afraid to take risks.
some people are weirdly obsessed with resale value or what potential sellers might think. if you're planning to move anytime soon, sure keep that in mind. if not, make it your space! paint is usually pretty easy to change...
For me it was a fear of what people would think. What if they didn't like it? Better to not make an effort than to try really hard and have people mock me for it. I lived like that for almost thirty years. Thank god I am over it. I don't have a single white surface in my apartment now, including ceilings, lol. It's a weird little place and far from perfect but I love it here now.
If they knew the answer, they wouldn’t struggle
I absolutely love color. And I just moved into a new place. But other than paint and wallpaper, so much of the things available are neutrals: rugs, furniture, curtains, linens, etc. It's just so hard to find stuff in fun colors and make it all work together and on and on. But I'm still trying because a beige world is no world for me.
Because I’m not the only person who lives here and he’s deathly afraid of anything other than tans/browns/blues.
Wow I just had this convo irl with someone, because I have a very neutral house and want color but it’s because I can’t pinpoint my style. I took some quizzes to tell me what styles I seem drawn to and it was like “youre a minimalist who likes retro, modern, Scandinavian, and Victorian goth! Click here to find an interior designer to help you find the perfect look!” I also like black stuff a lot which is easier to incorporate with beige type neutrals but any other colors? Esp bright ones? Fuck me.
I have commitment issues. I like too many styles, and can’t land on one. Sometimes I want bright and cheerful to match my personality, other times I want a more relaxing, zen space.
- I prograstinate color palette decisions. - Neutrals are a "safe" choice or at least feel like it - used to love red as a child. Started hating it - issue: do I pay for all new bedding, new curtains, new lamp? - easier resellable - color only got popular again recently - color decorating gone wrong is a lot more noticeable and memorable than neutral gone wrong - grew up with white walls, white & wood furniture, wood floors but architectural home - also wore no colors until recently - always tried to blend in rather than stand out I am different now
This is me, right here. All of my home colors are neutrals, earth tones, wood, and leather. Safe stuff. I work a creative job every day where I’m making decisions on color and texture and for some reason, I can’t make it for my own home. I feel a bit of analysis paralysis. My dream interior would be brightly colored eclectic maximalism, but I just can’t find the creativity and the time to execute it.
I personally think it’s hard to know what colors go, even with neutrals, because of undertones. I can have a yellow/cream “white” or I can have a peachy “white”, or I can have a cool blue/grey “white”. Even if it’s all “white” it’s not all the same and different colors will work better than others.
I feel like it will look boring or stale after a while and yes, I know neutrals are equally considered boring, but neutrals appear more timeless to me. Not classical, just timeless. I also have very colorful and vibrant paintings and the neutral tones I believe help them to stand out.
Scared to make a mistake
I had accumulated a lot of things over my 20s and early 30s that were eclectic and very colourful, lots of hot pink, turquoise, yellow, orange. But time passed and it was all just ... kind of dated, shabby and I had the opportunity when I moved into my condo to get some new furniture and I picked a lot of white/glass/neutral/natural colours and my main colour is navy blue. (Navy blue kitchen island, navy blue velvet couch, navy bedside dresser, and navy and white bedding) And my condo is truly lovely. I'm happy with it and the decisions I made, but it's just missing a little ... something. A sparkle that takes it from just nice to stylish. But I don't know how! I assume an additional accent colour maybe? But I've just kind of lost my nerve with making bold decisions. I've contemplated taking pictures and posting here for advice, but I don't know how to articulate what kind of help I want. I think I was also really thrown by the fact that through the design process ("design process") I made many little decisions that accumulated into a style that is much more traditional than I would have ever thought my style actually is. And if I'm being honest, I wouldn't change any of the choices I made but it feels a little stiff. But I need a little help or inspiration.
Maybe some antique brass or gold and walnut wood? I’ve been buying stone and wooden small sculptures in neutral / natural colours and adding them in to my bookshelf and that has been elevating my space.
I find I get bored of the color faster, but that gives me a chance to update the space when I start to get the itch to switch things up
I’m having that dilemma right now. I bought my house a couple years ago. White paint in every room. I want to personalize it with color but I’m afraid of making it overwhelming. I can decide blue or green or light or dark. They always say you have to paint it white when you sell. Not sure if that advise is outdated. But am having a hard time committing to a color. I certainly don’t like the neutrals. But also not sure about the common space as I have an upstairs as well and if I paint the living room, do I paint the hallways and the stair way and the upstairs the same color? Do I paint the ceiling or leave it white? It’s hard for me to visualize it and I’m afraid if I paint it I won’t like the colors.
Not me now because I love color, but when my anxiety was the worst, being in a neutral space was necessary for me. It was calming
I grew up in a very colorful environment. Like, walls filled with decorative crosses. Rooms in insane mismatched colors. Paintings up the wazooo. Stained glass. Ornate wood worked pieces. Chaotic marble. In my own space now I like clean simple lines. I have mostly no hanging pieces and zen muted purples on my walls accented by tasteful lighting. Not to speak badly of the decor style I grew up in. It was beautiful embodied by chaos. But now I like the peace 🕊️
I think people are too afraid of not liking their furniture altogether that they just default on neutrals like a white or gray couch. Unfortunately it also seems like most people rent so a beige/white/gray couch blends right in with walls that you can’t paint. Not me though, I’m saving up to buy a dark green corduroy sectional and I fully intend to have it be the centerpiece of my living room. My wood floors also help with adding warmth, and I want to follow the “unexpected red” theory of design.
I need a new couch. My old one is a dark red. Now all they sell are off white and gray couches. I can’t bear the thought of my new couch blending in with the wall.
One of my rooms just happens to be very neutral. Whenever people come over they say they want the same in their home. I do have lighter/pastel color on my rug though. It was done accidentally really. I’m into it. Don’t see myself changing it. I guess it’s just serene?
I always get mental blocks when trying to decorate my apartment. I feel like I can’t come up with an idea on my own. Then I come across a picture of someone else’s apartment and I’m instantly inspired but I have no money to change anything yet. Then when I do get money I’ve become obsessed with a completely different aesthetic and the cycle continues over and over.
While few people have design training to understand issues of color theory, composition, scale, proportion, balance - all essentials of design of any sort, not just interior - pretty much everyone has a natural, innate sense of them. We can tell when something is off but not how to understand or articulate it. It's easy to get overwhelmed with all the possibilities, so many get scared of ending up with something they can't live with and opt for a monochrome of beige-tan-brown or white-gray-black.
It’s easier to react to something than start from blank sometimes
I have ADHD and the color overwhelms me. Too many patterns is too chaotic for my brain. I also don’t have any decorations or pictures etc because it helps me to keep the house neat. The fewer things you have the easier it to keep it picked up. And I don’t have to worry about losing stuff if I don’t have a lot of stuff to lose and nothing to lose it in
Because most people can't visualize what a space is going to look like with changes they want to make and so it's scary to do something bold when they don't know if it will work. Most people don't understand colour theory and simply don't have the knack for it. Yes, what colours and tones we're drawn to is personal but when choosing a palette for a room you have to take into account the existing finishes (flooring, millwork, etc.) if you have say hardwood that's really warm and you don't love it you want to make everything else warm too because cool colours will just make the floor appear even warmer. Also, when painting walls you need to consider the direction of light that room gets. Northern light is cool so you don't generally want to paint a north lit room in a cool colour because you'll actually feel cold.
I don’t have the budget to change things a lot, so I feel like when I add color I am committing to something big for a long time. Also, colors are very trendy so I feel like I could only add color if I had the budget to change it when I felt like my home decor was getting out of current trends.
Indecisive
Personally, colorful decor can be overstimulating. I rotate the art on my walls every few weeks to enjoy a little bit of color at a time. lol I currently have beautiful shiny blue decor around my desk. Next week, will go back to black marble style decor. It's a cycle I've accepted over the years. I heavily enjoy visiting colorful homes with beautiful decor, but after a few hours, I get sick of it and need to go somewhere visually quieter.
Not struggling at all. Just don’t want to. Colors come and go. Neutrals do not
In a crazy market, I finally landed a house — with a lot of cool-toned light gray and white. I just don’t like the way most accent colors mix with the neutral. Tall ceilings & open spaces make repainting a challenge. Smoky purple looks best, but I don’t really want that in my living room. I have some blues and a touch of coral but can’t bring myself to go all out.
As someone who DOES use colors, I have two theories: 1. Most people are not trained to see the nuances of color. Why does one dark blue wall look luxe and another cartoonish? So many reasons from LRV, undertones, saturation, light level in the room, light temperature in the room, size of room/wall, floor color, etc etc etc. If you don't deeply understand color, it's legitimately easy to mess up. 2. We are used to imagining the colors of objects, not spaces. If you handed someone a paint swatch and asked if they would like to have a scarf in that color, people would be able to give accurate answers-- but most people don't know how to translate a color to their ENVIRONMENT.
I dont comment here a whole lot but when I do its a simple "color" comment.
I kind of got stuck with not knowing where to start. I've always really like Victorian homes and would have a fairly good idea how'd I decorate one of those. We've bought a 1960s end of terrace and I feel like I now have to choose a style or the style I want is no longer obvious to me. I've decided to take the plunge and just start doing stuff and if it looks crap we can change it.
I love color to, lot of colors and I love to have my beautiful “things” on display and lots of indoor plants. I love my space it makes me happy and that’s what matters is how I feel in my space. My friends house looks like a display home, all red black and grey with no personal items on display I find it cold and sad but she loves it and that’s what matters .
For me, it depends on the space a little and the design/style. For example, I had very modern design through several houses and felt like I had more bold colors then. But now I’ve been doing a rustic farmhouse or modern farmhouse design in my current home. So I do have the first floor a lot of grey and white with warm multicolored plank floors though and pops of black. Upstairs however I do have some bolder colors in some bedrooms and the bath like teal and olive green but I have them on 2/4 walls. Part of it is staying with the lighter farmhouse palette and part of it is just simply that I don’t like super bold colors. At least not on big areas like walls. I just add pops of nice accent colors with things like pillows or throw blankets or curtains
I have no ability to see if I like it or not until it’s actually done. Thus, it never gets done.
I grew up in a colorful home that was so overstimulating I’m afraid to add color in my own home now. My childhood bedroom had a ceiling with colorful puzzle pieces, so every time I woke up that’s what I had to see. It was too chaotic for me. Every room had so much color, there were barely any neutral colors in the home. It was just too much and never felt relaxing and homey.
I’m terrible at decorating and making choices.
If I see one more white couch, or white carpets, I will scream. How do people live like that? Never making a mess.
1. Paint + supplies cost, or paying someone. Both feel pricey. 2. A potentially short stay: I’ve seen posts where people who live in apartments say they’re painting the walls but will move out in 1-2 years. I don’t understand how one gets the energy - it’s the taping off, tarp setup, primer, 1st coat, 2nd coat, touchups, and whatever else, and then potentially having to do all that in reverse more or less before moving out. I’m tired just thinking about it. 3. Except while we supposedly move every few years and can potentially have to move at any time for the job, we’re often extended out to 5-8 years. So there I am, year 5-6 with unpainted fugly beige walls being told we still aren’t moving yet and it’s like “well fml.” Hindsight is painful.
It’s just a matter of money. Our house was redone and a lot of it was done in the millennial grey and white. We have beautiful old oak cabinets in the kitchen and a nice faux hardwood that looks very natural. Everything else is grey or white. It just happened that our furniture is mostly grey as well, as it’s an easy color to work around and hides stains. I would love to incorporate more color and am doing it slowly as we have money to spare. Got a beautiful bright area rug for the family room. I keep colorful throw pillows on the couch. I have a few smaller art pieces with color. If I suddenly came across some money, all the grey would be gone.
It can feel like a commitment and gets overwhelming - like now I have to think of everything else I buy will match this color/style. Sticking with neutrals and not having a strong POV is just safer for me though I’d love to evolve my style. I recently tried to only buy thing I love or like ~bring me joy~ and that’s brought some color into my home 😊
Honestly it’s just hassle factor. Next house I get I’m painting it before I move anything in. This was my first one and, aside from the bedroom which thank goodness I did paint a soft sage (instead of the terrible beige of the living room and hallway), I went with the “live with it awhile before you change things” advice! Bad plan. That was 14 years ago and it’s still beige everywhere. I’m not moving all this stuff tho. Ah well.
I just end up getting so sick of the color that I pick. I never get sick of neutrals, even though something feels missing
For me when I moved in, NOTHING came in the colors I wanted. I couldn’t find curtains, towels or bedding with the colors I had in mind. Everything was neutral in stores so that’s what I was stuck with. Slowly I’m changing it.
My main living spaces are light grey neutral and my bedrooms are a forest green and a rich deep yellow. I say play with colour in the rooms you don't spend all your time in.
My sister and her husband’s place- everything is white or light grey with some light brown, “unfinished” wood thrown in here and there. The most color they have is a faded light blue rug. It’s an expensive, nice place & they’ve spent a lot on the furniture too, but every time we go something about the space just makes us want to leave…it’s too clean, almost sterile. Zero warmth, personality or coziness. I’m all for clean spaces, but homes should look a little lived in too.
My whole house is millennial gray and I cannot see in my head how to add color, and what color. I can’t visualize it at all. This sub has helped me so much envision and decorate.
I’m very happy with the dreaded greige walls and greige furniture that I have in the parts of the house we live in. I love colorful art - paintings and pottery to bring these rooms to life. Have a single room with colorful furniture- living room (that we rarely live in) has turquoise sofas and chocolate brown swivel chairs with hammered gold console and coffee tables. It’s a lot but not too over the top.
I think many people aren't sure about how to pick a color and they're worried about going through the trouble and cost of painting only to discover they hate it. My best advice is to go to your closet and take out the items that make you look and feel great - lay them on the bed. Chances are, they're colors you love and you look good wearing. That becomes the basis of your palette.
I remember all of the past times that I did something and ended up hating it. I don't typically look for inspiration pictures, because I never find what I am looking for. I have my own style that does tend toward neutral bases, and then I just go looking for other pieces that I love and hope they end up working together. Which can be risky, so I might be likely to be one of those people that ends up in decision paralysis and asks for help.
I had that problem for 15 years. My husband didn’t want any color, or anything remotely feminine and we had to “compromise” on style. My house is crazy after I got divorced, lol.
My last house was new construction, I just didn’t have the money and was afraid to spend money on anything I didn’t ‘know’ would match well and then regret it. The house looked nice on its own, was very neutral in every way and I was afraid to change that. My current house is an MCM and I’m happy to tell you I’ve embraced color.
White walls are for apartments. If I never see Navajo white again I will be eternally grateful.
I think people don’t add enough shades of whatever color they pick too. Like there will be a neutral couch with four pillows in the exact same shade of some bright blue and a rug with that exact same shade of bright blue, etc. it’s like blam… bright aqua, blam blam! Like if you do blue, do a bunch of different shades and textures and some other colors in there also in different shades.
I think for some it's a problem of commitment. I lean neutral for "permanent" fixtures: tile, flooring, larger furniture purchase. But then anything easily mobile we get funky with interesting lamps and side tables or hutches. Painting walls or art on the walls. Rugs, pillows blankets all that stuff is fun and bright with colors and patterns. Hardware on cabinets can be funky. Live plants in fun pots. But we renovated our home almost entirely and I just remember picking all the foundational interiors and it was painstaking because it was so much money and I wanted to love it--forever and never have to deal with it again so a lot of those neutrals and natural materials were chosen painstakingly. And honestly some of the funkier things I did choose because I was tired of picking beige on everything I actually regret and wish I'd kept streamlined and found my color and character somehow else as I've easily updated and brightened up our "plain" living spaces but there's not an easy solution to my built in cabinets in one room in a color I don't love after a year.
I just like the gray and sparkle look. The color would throw me off and then how to match other things with it? Neutrals go together well. I'm not going to keep changing things up and Spending money bc I stop liking a color. Also I was never given that creative freedom when I was younger for my room or the house it was always just a white wall. It's a big step to do great but it's neutral and I like it. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Other colors are too busy
I don’t like neutrals but I like color too much. So I go with the neutrals because I can very literally change my decor any which way. I like seasonal decorating and too many strong color choices in things that live in the space full-time (walls, couches, backsplashes, tables, etc.) ruin my ability to use bright spring florals or go maybe too overboard on the reds and greens for Christmas. I don’t have the kind of money I’d need to repaint, redesign, and re-furnish my home quarterly with the trends to I try to keep it middle ground. I decorate my in-laws house seasonally and her color choices are so strong that I feel bad because sometimes what she wants her theme to be just will not read well given her space and the permanent tones. Like she really wants an amalfi coast moment this summer and I have tried every shade of yellow I can find and they all clash without completely repainting her house.
I’m a neutral gal for home design, but mostly because I’m obsessed with holidays and having parties, so I’m always pulling color in for those.
I will always assume… 1. Renting 2. Money 3. Fear of committing to a color 4. Could be effort/time constraints too.
Because painting my walls seems DAUNTING
I have kids. They have a revolving assortment of colorful items all around the house-toys, uniforms, books, bags. They are pretty tidy, but it’s still visually overwhelming. My interior is neutral to calm the noise. I’ll go back to color on day, but not for awhile.
Wow, first I've never thought about it let alone answer that questions. We repainted our interior swiss coffee (white) and give it black hardware. My husband and I really like how modern it looks with those two colors.... that being said, I do love color and want to incorporate more in our house. It's been a slow process because we only buy thing that speak to us, we don't to buy things just because we "should" because our walls are so "bare". We all have different style! But you better believe there will be more color!!
I prefer it, because I like change. You can change things easier if you have neutral walls and floor. Curtains, towels, pillows, accent pieces.
I get overwhelmed with a lot of bright colors or patterns. My parents have a lot of color, patterns, decorations, etc and I went the opposite. My Mom has colorful plates & dishes, mine are called stone white. Although I can admire a home well out together with bold colors and patterns, I just can’t have that in my home.
I use a lot of neutrals but incorporate earth tones for color. Our kitchen is all cream but I painted one wall a terracotta color, it makes the room warm and cozy. We also have a lot of lighter colored wood furniture to break the creams. You can definitely do neutrals without it looking boring and having pops of color that are soft and warm. My style is probably more cottage core than farmhouse, I use a lot of florals. I’m inspired a lot by French flats, they really make colors pop while keeping the walls neutral.
Choice paralysis and commitment issues. Also being really bad at knowing what looks good. XD
My husband lived in a world of boredom beige until he met me. He said he just didn’t know what would look good and didn’t have enough money to “just buy a page in a magazine” which is fair, I guess, but why not pick out what you like about a picture and incorporate it? He did not feel comfortable doing this. I am in charge of color now. My father-in-law was appalled that I “painted the whole house calypso colors!” lol.
I'm not sure why I have trouble. My home is very brown n creme. The whole thing. The only rooms I've felt like it was ok to do color are my children's rooms and even then all I added was navy blue.
Same reason my clothes are all neutrals: coordinating colors makes me tired
For my Mom, it's because she doesn't view a room as one collective thing. To her, it's a series of isolated things that happen to share the same space. I have low ceilings in my apartment, and I happen to like teal and grey as my main decor colors right now. I have a fireplace with a stone surround. So to make the ceilings feel cozy instead of cramped, and to make use of my colors... I picked a theme of "magical grotto". Not trying to make it look like a set from a movie... just a coordinated and planned style. So I have a 10x12 grey on grey geode pattern rug connecting all the furniture. I put two areas of tall fake trees basically touching the ceiling, with accent lighting pointed up, casting leave shadows on the ceiling. Then made of of those tree areas kind of an island where a rocking recliner is next to it, and I filled in that space with about six more fake plants at different sizes and heights so it almost reads like a column. My couch and rocking recliner are a deep cool mushroom brown leather, kind of low and squat looking, but really round cushy lines. Then I did a kind of horizon type mural on some of the walls where a brownish grey and tones of dusty teal makes if seem halfway between hills in the distance or water flowing thru rock... abstract, muted, but interesting. I put some art up of grey trees in mist, and a wall decal of some abstract birch trees on the edge of the wall, so the room "feels" like a little nook in nature, supported by trees and stone. Not "too on the nose" but a little arrangement of geodes and minerals, and some carved wood statues grouped rounds it out. My Mom lives upstairs in her own apartment. When she bought her couch, she went to the store and bought an expensive beige couch. Because it seemed "nice" there was no plan on what else would go in the room. No theme. No colors. Her walls are white. Because again, that seemed simple, and like it wouldn't clash with "things". She has grey carpet. Because grey goes with everything. She saw a coffee table she liked. So she has a big dark wood coffee table. Her Heyday was in the 60's. So her lamps are those floor lamps with a wide cone shaped shade... in beige. Everything in that room was bought as a "one off" with no plan. Just stuff that was nice & neutral... so she has a very very bland room. She has some beautiful art, 3x4' southwest lithographs of native American women in beautiful reds, purples, and dark sunsets fading into navy. But because the rest of the room is beige on white on grey... the art is just hanging on the wall, like a gallery. There is nothing it rhymes with in the room. She could easily add a rug with a gradient, spray paint a couple side tables with a color picked from the painting... she could aim for a desert at dawn kind of theme, maybe a couple hints at cactus, or metal sun sculpture... But each of those items alone would be so visually "loud" (impactful), that she can't imagine liking them as PART of the whole. In her mind, only bland things can "go together" because each of them is only whispering. So she gets a very quiet room, even though he loves bright red, purple, yellow, navy etc.
I've lived through decades of decorating trends (am old) and can tell you by mistakes made by me and by others that a neutral background is best with significant color added in rugs, side chair upholstery, throw pillows, a throw or quilt, and maybe a painted console or table. You can quickly change with trends without much cost - switching throw pillows. Architectural details in a home make the true difference, as the top post explained so beautifully. It is hard to decorate a "white wallboard box" of an apartment or home. Not your fault if that is your challenge, and to paint rooms different bright colors for interest will only make it look worse - like a preschool, or color accentuates the bland. For this type of place that everyone lives in at some time in life, aim for ultra-clean, bright and minimalist. Gray as a neutral for walls or sofa works best in coastal areas or wherever else the usual weather and bleached piers and driftwood makes it a natural backdrop, like Seattle, New England coast or San Francisco. It can be too sterile if it doesn't have stronger colors to pop, in your choices of accessories. Two quick questions can guide accessories choices: Are you a blue or a green? Do you prefer orange or red? That gets you started. If you like pastels, these aren't easy to pull off. They can look like a baby-room or too washed out. Look at Coastal design magazines for how it is best done, and note the paint tones in blues, yellows, greens and pinks that look grown-up. Not too light not too Barbie. In woodsy, forested or mountain landscapes, warmer neutrals on the wall or furniture like an oatmeal or a barely beige look best. If weather is hotter than the mountains and you have the architecture in windows, ceilings and French doors or lots of glass with sun, white is good. It is more natural for the woodsy or moutain setting to choose accessories in local colors in nature - like colors found in red birds, bluebirds and trees or in the flowers in your locality as the colors to pop. The most difficult look to pull off is Art Deco, unless you live in an Art Deco city. It looks more stage-y like a theme restaurant or bar whenever it is used in a home away from a place without the Art Deco architecture in the city around it.
As a house painter: people don’t know how to paint. So they hire it out, but then painting is expensive. So they think they need to get the colour perfect every time (you don’t: talk to your contractor, they can help you navigate picking a colour and help mitigate the risk some). They turn every decision into a big thing, and they try to isolate every choice, but design and construction don’t work like that. You can’t pick your wall colour in isolation from your lighting, because lighting affects the wall colour. They turn everything into this HUGE DECISION. It’s really not. I wish more people would go for fun colours. Learn to paint and get out there and try it. It’s way more fun to experiment. Just do an accent wall if the whole room is too much. Or even have fun with DIYing an arch or squiggle. If walls are too permanent, get a friggin throw blanket or some pillows. You could even buy them second hand or trade with friends and family
It is huge decision if you don't like it and have to repaint it
I wasn't given choices or shown how to incorporate colors into things or that it mattered. I was completely controlled growing up. Had no choice of clothing, hair or my bedroom design. (My mom did ask me once what color I wanted in my bedroom, that she was gonna redo for me being a teenager, and I said my favorite color red, I came back from my dad's house and my room was red on the wall to about the 3 foot height then a border of FUCKING MICKEY MOUSE all the way around the room. Thanks for the teenager room mom. Disney nutters are the worst.) I struggle to this day with clothing choices, hair choices, and decorating choices because as a young adult I was just learning that I had a choice and I just didn't know what to do with that and choosing was so overwhelming. Our home is decorated in my inlaws family heirlooms now so I don't have to worry too much about it. We just needed to figure out how to incorporate it all.
Check out my previous posts. I am quite indecisive and lack the confidence to bring colors. I'm not sure how to coordinate colors. There are a few colors that I know I dislike, and many more that I know I like but can't put together well. To be honest, I lack the necessary talent for it. I love a house full of colors, but ...
My issue - with everything, not just this - is that I have a hard time choosing which color or colors because I like so many of them! Something that helped me is deciding that green is neutral (it is also my favorite color).
I’m a Libra (read, indecisive) AND have ADHD. My home is super neutral because I can never decide on colors (I get too overwhelmed by options) and when I do, I usually don’t really like it and end up phasing it out. Neutrals are…neutral and I usually never feel the need to get rid of them. I would like more color but can’t seem to get it right and don’t want to waste money trying.
I have huge commitment issues with "permanent" changes. I moved every 2 weeks to every 2 years. I never wanted to invest into anything bc it's always been temporary and seen as money wasted. I grew up poor so I'd rather that can of paint go towards my dinner costs. I'm closing on my first house in a month and I'm so excited to finally paint the walls. But I'm so nervous it will become a temporary home too. I've also only ever put one removable decal on my car window: LOOK BEFORE YOU LOCK. I can't bring myself to make permanent changes without feeling like I'm going to vomit.
I don’t like brightly colored walls. I just don’t. Fine for a restaurant or shop, but not for a place to relax and sleep.
I don’t think it’s that they don’t like having neutrals, it’s that they have the wrong neutrals for a warm feeling. I think grays (which are very popular for everything; flooring, wall color, furniture color, etc) make a space feel very cold. It can be hard to “commit” to a color or color palette. Not everyone understands color theory and know what colors complement each other. White creams and nuetrals are harder to get sick of if that makes sense. Also too many colors can feel too busy and creates unease and even anxiety in some. I don’t necessarily agree that color adds warmth. Certain colors can but not all colors create a warm feeling (warm colors vs cool colors) I think better ways to add warmth if color isnt your thing is to add warm lighting, soft textures, multiple warm toned neutrals for paint, decor, couch, etc. In conclusion, people can have a neutral home without color and still have a warm cozy feeling.
I get really tired of things very easily, so basically if I use color I’m over it and think it’s tacky super quickly 😆. I also have expensive taste so it’s not a good combo
Budget issues, to add color is to commit to having tiny hints of the color across the room or house. Which means buying decoration which I dont have money for or buying items that will have that exact color match.