Neutrals are a very common colour palette option for homes around the world for a variety of reasons. Here, we break down what those reasons are and how you can use neutrals to step out and make neutrals seem less common in your use. Take a look at our guide to neutrals in home décor.
What are neutrals?
What do neutral colours bring to a home? Well, to answer that we need to define what neutral colours are. Officially, neutrals are black, white, brown, beige, and grey. But the thing is, you can add a hint of a colour and still have it be neutral. But we mean a hint. A terracotta colour is really a shade of orange, but it’s considered neutral, off-whites like eggshell are neutral and there is some experimentation in trends right now with pale pinks as a neutral option. However, neutrals are not just colours, but materials. If your materials come from nature, they’re going to be neutral. This is because natural materials, like wood, clay, stone, marble, etc. are universal and timeless.
Safety
The term “neutral” should say it all: neutrals are considered safe because they’re an all-rounder and a people pleaser. Everyone likes them. Sure, you’ve got people who say they “hate beige”. What they mean is that they hate too much beige, but that’s true of just about any colour. If you’re using neutrals right, either with a healthy mix of tones and textures or as a means to make another colour pop as a statement, then no one will hate your beige.
Timelessness
It also means that, as far as style goes, no one is likely to get sick of it quickly either. If you have a habit of following trends or taking risks with your décor, it’s likely you’ll grow tired of it within a year or so. Trends and loud décor choices tend to have a short shelf life, whereas neutrals never “come and go”. They are always here in some capacity and therefore never really leave trends.
This means that your room will never really look out of time either. You can decorate your home in neutrals and not need to update it for years. Take note, landlords. Note we said you can decorate in neutrals and not have anyone get sick of it, not entirely stark white.
A cosy feeling
The thing about neutral colours is that they tend to be very warm. Even if you can say that black and white are cool-toned, the slightest bit of brown or beige tends to warm up the room. This is important because the colour of the room really does affect the temperature. If you’re in a cool-toned room you’re going to feel cold. Offset that with some warm-toned neutrals to make the room a little nicer to be in. A good place to start is with a wooden floor, which will instantly inject a dose of nature with neutrals into your home. If you’re looking for cheap laminate floors, click here.
Limitation = Creativity
Have you ever heard the anecdote in far too many debut movies that the production cut the budget and an amazing movie still appeared, like Deadpool, Reservoir Dogs, etc. We’re big believers that limitations aren’t hinders but creative assets. And because you’re limiting yourself to neutral colours doesn’t mean you’re going to end up with a boring and bland room. Some ideas to get you started include using natural walls, like brick or wood, or going high contrast with a focus on dark neutrals. Build yourself a palette of off-whites, or shades of grey. Or simply use neutrals as a background so that your statement colourful piece really pops.
A blank canvas
And that’s an important point: if your home is about to be moulded and created like a piece of art, a neutral colour palette is a great blank canvas. You can go the route of using neutrals to make a statement piece pop, or even better, use it to make a lot of smaller pieces pop. If you, for example, can’t redecorate your rented apartment, a neutral room can allow you to create a colour palette out of the soft furnishings and décor. A beige room can be made colourful with blue curtains, gold lighting, patterned cushion covers, etc.