I have been noticing a trend in my postings about interiors and that is that with the exception of pictures of my home, the images that I show tend to be neutral in tone and feel. Most of my images are coming from relatively recent publications and with trend toward neutrals being so strong, it’s difficult to find images of interiors with a great palette of color. Furthermore, when I do find a great color scheme it is often too busy or eclectic for my taste. And while the neutral palette can be serene and refreshing, after a while the interiors begin to blend together for me. Hence, I have been in a bit of a blogging slump due to my own laziness in avoiding digging through my inspiration files from a few years ago. But, I finally got my act together and found some images to show you. Mary McDonald, whose work is shown below, is known for her bold use of color. I really love this study which she designed. While I guess that strictly speaking it’s a black, white and gray scheme with yellow accents, the yellow is brought in enough to make it integral to the room, rather than a simple pop of color. The repetition of stripes in the curtains, pillows, ottoman and zebra rug hold this room together in perfect tension. I also appreciate that the styling and accessorizing are bold but uncluttered.
- Mary McDonal, via House Beautiful
- Jeffrey Billhuber, via House Beautiful
Jeffrey Billhuber uses charcoal gray and the most wonderful yellow in this study that he designed. I love that color combination and gravitate toward it, whether it’s in my kitchen or my closet. The detail on the chairs keeps them from being staid and really adds to the drama of the room. Also, I have to comment on the cheeky styling – do you see the men’s tie on the stag? Priceless. There is a trend here in the application of color. Let’s show some more images and see if you can spot it.
Miles Redd is also known for his use of color. Here the teal, cinnabar, and shades of green are really masterfully incorporated in the room. I really love the masterful mix of styles in this room – the kente cloth inspired geometric on the chiars, the velvet and silks, the Asian table and the French chairs. It’s a fantastic mix of styles and periods. Actually, I am also seeing another trend in these photos. What is similar about these very different rooms? First, the color has been pulled into the room with the furnishings and accessories. The “shell” of the room is actually neutral in all three of these rooms – the walls are charcoal or black. Uh oh – I caught myself in a lie. Look at the corner of the Redd room behind the lamp. You can just see that the wall color is a deep, glossy teal blue. Gorgeous! Anyway, what I was going to say is that one way of making sure that a room does not look too saturated with color is to use a neutral backdrop of walls, trim color and floor and allow the color in the soft furnishings to shine through. Another common thread in these rooms is that in the photos at least, we do not see a rug, fabric, or piece of artwork that pulls the colors together. This is really difficult to execute, but these designers did so with great panache.
Here is another example of the backdrop of the room providing the foil for the colors in the room. Isn’t it lovely? The floor has been stencilled and painted and I really appreciate how the checked fabric on the chairs plays off of the grand scale of the checkerboard floor. Notice, too, how restrained the use of prints in the fabrics in the room actually is, although it doesn’t feel that way at first blush. The only other printed fabric is the bolster on the sofa and it marries beautifully with the rug. This is a great example of how to blend solids, prints, and a neutral backdrop into a wonderful interior.
Here is another example of furnishing against a neutral backdrop – all white with dark floors. The colors in this case are pulled from the rugs in each room and then amplified in the scale of the stripes of the bench and size of the teal green console. When I first saw this photo, I fell in love with it. Not only are the colors lovely and unexpected, but the mix of textures and styles is very succesful, too. Here is a photo of the room you see through the hallway.
The rug and pillows really carry the color in this room, with the sofas and loveseats covered in neutrals. The mismatched French chairs are charming, as is the paisely covered bench. The pillows are really wonderful in this room – so eclectic. I would imagine that the textiles used are vintage. While the colors of the artwork are wonderful, I am not sure that they share the mood of the rest of the room, or even each other. This is probably intentional on the part of the homeowners.
This photo has been in my inspiration file for several years. I love the color on the walls and the contrast of black and dark brown with it. The shelf at picture molding height adds a great deal of charm, as do all the garden inspired accessories. I am a sucker for faux bois ( literall “fake wood”, in this case rendered in concrete) and I always end up with photos of it in my files. Notice that the floor is very simple and neutral, and that the upholstery is solid green and the accessories have a rigid palette as well. I think it’s the key to keeping this room from looking too eclectic and fussy.
Just WOW! I kept this image in my inspiration file for my husband’s study. It looks nothing like this, but what a room! But once again, look at how the fabrics and accessories are edited carefully to maintain the color scheme the designer chose. The print on the desk chair is fantastic, as is the calligraphy piece leaning on the striped chair. Once again, notice the sisal on the floor, to keep the interest on the more graphic elements of the room.
The shape of things to come? After you stop drooling over that lipstick red lacquer, notice the linen slipcovered chairs in two beautiful shades. The print of the wallpaper is in muted colors, but still a great presence in the room, as is the tile backsplash in the kitchen. I wonder if we are going to use the elements of simplicity, shape and texture that we love in Belgian style and begin to blend them with pops of pattern and color. Hmmmm, could be interesting. We’ll see. One thing I can predict with fair certainty is that we are going to see more and more color in our interiors, as the pendulum always swings. A safe bet is to keep the shell of your interiors neutral and add the color and sizzle with furnishings and accessories when the time comes. It’s the reverse of slipcovering your existing colorful furniture in neutral linen, which is so prevalent now. I do believe that a middle ground for many will be the white walls, dark floors, white draperies and white furniture in the room I posted above, with color introduced in pillows, rugs, and secondary pieces of furntiure – not at all a budget busting exercise. What fun it will be to see how it all shakes out!
Kristin
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What an interesting and insightful post. I am a neutral girl myself but these images really do kind of tug at my vicarious interest in color. I wish I had many more rooms in my house to play with some of these colors.
Thank you! I do love the look of neutrals – I guess I am just so inundated with the look from perusing too many magazines!
I tend to gravitate towards neutral rooms as well, maybe as a result of so many magazines. However, I find my favorite rooms have neutral backdrops with pops of color on accessories.
Interesting post as always. The neutrals are soothing, but a bit too neutral for me, but these examples with color are too much color for me. I guess I fall in between.
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