Neutral Home Decorating Ideas and Tips
Elevate your interiors with these neutral home decorating ideas and get inspired to embrace the timeless charm of neutral decor.
Looking to transform your home into a serene retreat or want to introduce more versatile colors into your decor? Then, going neutral is the answer!
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Although the new home decor trends on the up are all about color and pattern mix matching like maximalism, cottagecore, and grandmillennial home decor trend, the neutral decor style still reigns supreme. And the reason is quite simple.
The neutral aesthetic has a timeless appeal that withstands the test of time (and trends) so it’s no coincidence the neutral decor style is as popular as ever.
What Is Neutral Home Decorating Style?
- While maintaining a cohesive and sophisticated look throughout your home, using neutral color schemes allows you to explore trends without committing to bold choices.
- This versatile decor style is all about tranquil color palettes that comprise “noncolors” in both cool colors and warm colors. Think taupes, tans, creams, browns, ivories, greys, and sandy hues.
- A neutral color scheme can be the perfect canvas for experimenting with furnishings, textiles, and light and letting your unique style shine.
- Despite the stereotype that neutral interiors can look cold and dull, I’ve realized there are so many ways to add your unique style twist to your decor besides color, and these stunning neutral decorating ideas prove it!
Neutral Home Decorating Ideas With 5 Tips:
There are many ways to go about creating a neutral space, but here are just five tips for creating an elegant neutral home decorating style:
1. Create a Color Story
Creating a neutral color story is key to pulling off the all-neutral home decor style. How? Layering an assortment of light to dark neutral colors. Make your own color story out of neutrals using different colors from the neutral family, from light to dark.
By creating a color story with variations within the same color family, your space will feel cohesive and avoid feeling flat. This will give your place a soothing and fresh vibe without making it look too overwhelming or bland.
For me, it’s all about airy vibes, so I tend to go for pale tones: off-whites, sand hues, light blues, and soft greens to add that contrast boost.
2. Focus on your larger furniture pieces
When it comes to giving your space a neutral makeover, the best approach is to tackle the large surfaces and bigger furniture pieces first to set the tone that will guide the rest of the decor.
That’s why I recommend starting with your walls and larger surfaces! Think of large furniture pieces like sofas, tables, and statement art pieces. I like to keep my sofas within the ivory and sand color family because I feel it compliments my beachy cottage meets French country style more.
So, I usually chose larger furniture pieces that have that elegant feel, like this tufted farmhouse-style bench, this charming armchair in beige upholstery, or this sleek sofa in the lightest shade of pale ash.
But, if you’re leaning towards a dark and more moody color scheme, something like this lush-tanned leather tufted sofa can be a great warm neutral option. I love leather sofas for comfort and wear and have a similar sofa in our family room! Plus this brand is highly talked about and rated well with bloggers that I know:-))
And, we can’t forget about walls, ceilings, and floors!
Because contrast adds depth and dimension (something incredibly important when decorating) you can use this first stage to introduce texture to your rooms. Add visual contrast with the help of wall treatments such as wallpaper and wood paneling. Or, go for tactile painting techniques like roman clay, lime wash, or Venetian plaster in neutral tones.
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3. Texture it up – Neutral Home Decorating Ideas
Neutral decorating is one of the most popular ways to add personality and style to a room without being too obvious about it. It comes in many different shades and tones. So many that it can be hard to know where to start!
But, one thing always remains key, no matter which neutral style you go for… Texture!
Focus on the larger surfaces first! It is a smart way to start your neutral journey and this applies to texture too.
But, if you’re not planning on changing your walls or furniture pieces, there are many other ways to add that tactile quality to your interiors!
My favorite way to design with neutral home decorating ideas? Accessorize!
I love to accessorize my interiors with textured pieces that elevate and highlight my neutral scheme. How do I do this? By picking elements that are within the neutral color palette but are a bit more saturated and add contrast.
Materials like weathered woods, restored pottery, rattan, raw linen, jacquard, and hand-woven fabrics like macrame and crochet are usually my go-to’s when adding texture. Sequins, metallics, and materials with a slightly reflective finish also add a tactile and dimensional quality that really ties a neutral room together.
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For example, macrame storage baskets, corduroy pillows (which I have), a cute throw blanket, earthy clay-colored kitchen towels, or a handwoven jute rug like this one (the #1 best-selling rug on Amazon). Some simple ways to lush up your space with textures without taking away from your neutral theme!
Go for other textures like stone, marble, sequins, glass, grasscloth, and more!
4. Make Light Work for Your Space
Lighting plays a vital role in your color scheme, whether it’s a moody palette with muted or bright hues, no matter the undertones you chose. I’ve discussed this topic previously, but our lighting choices can make or break the space we’re decorating. And this is especially true when we’re dealing with neutral interiors!
To create a soothing space that radiates warmth but is also practical, amp it up and customize your lighting to make your interiors shine. You want your space to have dynamic lighting that incorporates all lighting types (ambient, task, and accent lights). Layer them across the rooms in different areas and heights of your home.
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Color temperatures are also a concept important to consider. I truly encourage you to study the space you want to re-decorate. Think about what you’ll do in it and how you want to feel when you’re in that room.
As an accent lighting option to cozy up the ambiance, I love these flameless LED candles. This dimmer switch is also a fantastic product to control the lighting in your space.
5. Spice it up with a pop of Color
Scared of ending up with a beige and flat neutral space? Add a pop of color! Now, this is the reason I love dressing my home with light neutrals so much! A neutral color scheme is all about versatility.
Going for a neutral home decor style makes it so easy to switch things up!
If you get bored with the all-neutral look, you can simply add some fun pops of color.
A neutral backdrop goes with pretty much anything! Get creative with accessories, try new fun trends, and showcase your favorite decorative elements.
You can give your interiors a whimsical feel with botanical wall art, or abstract landscapes that go with the neutral theme. You can also incorporate faux greenery, artisan-inspired ceramic vases, pampas grass in earthy tones, or contemporary-style ceramic pottery…the options are endless!
Or you can let a patterned area rug like this rustic one with floral medallion motifs or this machine washable antique style Persian rug from Ruggable do all the talking!
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And those are some ideas to give your home a neutral makeover! What do you think? Are you a fan of neutral home decorating ideas or you prefer other styles? Let me know below in the comments!
Want to read more about decor styles? Check out these articles!