From Brittany Krupnik of Blissful Design Studio… Neutral · neu·tral: having no strongly marked or positive characteristics of features. That definition does not sound like something that you would describe when defining what you want your home to look like, right? But we design the majority of our remodeled homes with what we like to call a “neutral color palette”. What you realize when reading what neutral truly means is that how we are defining a neutral home when it comes to interior design is not devoid of positive characteristics, but just the opposite. Neutral homes do not have to be boring. Here’s what I included in this recent neutral home design that was full of stand out features.
Neutral Doesn’t Mean Just Black & White
A neutral color palette is a lot more inclusive than you think it is. A common misconception is that a neutral color palette means black and white, but there are so many other colors that can be used in between there. Think in terms of colors like cream, taupe, gray, olive, camel, and mocha. In this home, I didn’t leave out black and white. Quite the opposite actually. The base colors of our design and our staging were black and white, but we used other neutral colors to add depth and warmth to the space. In the kitchen, the backsplash has variations of taupe, beige, brown, gray, and off white. The great part about working with neutrals is that they all work so well together.
Neutral Doesn’t Mean Visually Uninteresting
Adding pattern is a great way to add visual interest in a neutral home design. I had so much fun with the master bathroom when designing this home. There are so many great patterned floor options available, but when I saw this black, white and taupe diamond-patterned tile, I couldn’t get it out of my mind. It works perfectly within a neutral color palette, but there is so much visual interest that comes with using a patterned tile and this one really is a showstopper. And even though we used a bold pattern on the floor, we mixed in more pattern with the hexagon tile on the shower floor and a long subway tile on the shower wall. You can see on the other bathrooms as well, but we used varying patterns on the floors and showers to create visual interest and make things exciting even with a subdued color palette.
Neutral Doesn’t Mean Cold.
I think that neutral color palettes are some of the warmest and coziest homes, but in order to achieve that, you need to add in texture and natural elements. One of my favorite natural elements to use is wood. It’s warm and textural and really cozy. You can see how I used wood through the home in both the design and staging. The wood tile floors throughout are the biggest element, but that wasn’t the only place. The open shelves in the kitchen were a really great place to add warmth and texture, but we were able to add even more texture by adding the shiplap wall above the backsplash all the way to the ceiling. In the staging, we chose jute rugs and wooden coffee and accent tables and really great vintage velvet chairs that were found in the home when we first purchased it. We had them cleaned up and added them back into the home when we staged it to sell.
I don’t think I will ever get tired of designing homes with a neutral color palette. This home was an absolute joy to design and stage and I am thrilled for the new homeowners. I hope they love it for years to come!
Love what you see? Take a peek at the talent behind the story… Design & Styling: Blissful Design Studio · Photography: Rennai Hoefer
