Its interesting though that when houses are posted here with real character and lots of color , so many people dislike them.

I don't know, pal, seems to me many here enjoy AuntJen's colorful home, or beekeeperswife's wasabi green room, or the various deep colored dining rooms that pop up ever so often. I had lots of nice compliments on my pumpkin colored LR (that some day I'll finish...)

We're building a house now and people throughout the project have seemed very distressed when we said "no tan or biege." The tile guy had a very hard time finding me blue tiles, the builder seemed distressed about our navy blue roof shingles, and the decorator we hired chose all tan for pretty much every room, which we did not do.

I am COMMITTED to color. We have stained blue built in cabinets, stained yellow cabinets, stained gray cabinets, blue and yellow walls, and some dark blue cabinets in our kitchen. We also have all the wainscotings and moldings and architectural details but I think they stand out much more because they are in rooms with COLOR.

My House

Spectacular home, beaglesdoitbetter. It will be so joyful to live in when completed. I like that roof -- looks perfectly natural.

I love this topic! I definitely agree that you need strong architecture to carry off this look well.

I also think it might be stage of life - I have 2 young boys - lots of practices, noise, and chaos. So the neutral with very little stuff around is really working for me right now. I find the lack of contrast soothing to my addled brain!

I am with bird lover - most rooms need architectural interest to look well in a neutral palette.

My current contemporary house is all in neutrals. It isn't a high quality build like in magazines but has very interesting angles so it works. I moved here 10 years ago from a heavily decorated Victorian where, on adding, I don't know, the 8th or 9th pattern to the dining room, a friend said, "You have to stop!"

I have liked the quiet neutral palette here. But now I am working on a place in Florida and using LOTS of color. Ever the contrarian I guess...

Well I'm in the minority on this post! I get a headache just thinking about colors beyond neutrals and any patterns are definitely out for me - I want calm, quiet, neutral, soft and simple. I don't care about resale....but it will happen at some point and why make it harder to sell your home - let them paint it purple and orange if they want- not for me! I'm getting a headache!

We have nothing tan or cream in our house anywhere. We do have some gray but that was planned and done before it became popular. I keep my fingers crossed that it stays in the magazines only and does not get into the houses around here. I'd hate to have it be trendy to the masses. The only white we have is all the lighting and trimwork and most ceilings. Our colors are lavender, bright light green, dark purple and the gray with some black accents. The only brown tones are in our wood floors and antiques. We have no red, blue or orange around either. The shades vary and it all flows. It is not monochromatic, but it does have a vibe.

It's interesting that people comment on how their taste relates to where they are in life. Prior to my life-changing illness the past decade, I was into cottage/French country with lots of color. Along with the evolution of my illness came a transition into appreciating chunky (even modern) clean lines with a zen touch with neutral or very subtle earthy, muddy colors... Simple, tranquil, restorative, even spa-like. Not at all where my preferences led me before.

On the other hand, a decade passed between then and now, and I do believe it is normal for taste to change with time.

I'm curious to see where all this leads when it is actually time to put the money down and COMMIT to the house renovation. I don't want to get caught up in trends, but I do want to incorporate some of these changes.

I grew up in a very colorful home. My bedroom walls were red, before you could really find good red paint. Granted it wasn't the gorgeous reds you can find now, but it was red none the less.
Before we moved into our "new", now eight years old, home my daughter helped me paint the main level in peach (I wanted red), yellows, blues and greens. When we got to the upstairs bedrooms my hubby and daughter out voted me and we did them all in a very nice, but boring beige. As soon as I have help I'll be adding color to these walls no mater what anyone thinks.
I love color. I can't live without color. Call it visual noise, if you will, but I think visual music makes more sense for a color lover like myself.

I have mentioned my cousin and her beautiful all-white rooms before. Time after time she accomplishes the most beautiful rooms in her home, always done with texture and pattern in shades of white, always very different from the previous incarnation and always lovely. And warm, not stuffy.

For me it is all about classic, never au currant. Perhaps it seems boring if you like pops of color and trends, but classic colors, patterns, furnishings, and, yes, wallpapers never go out of style. Classic is NOT the same as neutral. And classicly painted, papered and decorated homes sell very well. I have always had papered homes that sold, in three different communities.

I love a room in tones of neutrals, be it ivories, whites, tans, taupe, or a combination of two or three neutrals. Throw a little gold or black in, and that's really all the 'color' that's needed. The look is one of luxury, w/o necessarily seeming stuffy or boring, and if done right, can also be seen as sophisticated, with an appeal to both sexes.

Sherrmann used the word classic, IMO that sums it up. ;o)

Here is a link that might be useful: neutarls....

I like boring neutrals when it comes to my home. I find it soothing. I also prefer neutral walls against stained trim that is dark. (White trim is another animal altogether and my comments do not apply to homes with it). Not to say that I find colored rooms atrocious. Au contraire, I LOVE seeing colored rooms when they are executed successfully. I have made the mistake in the past and attempted to paint rooms bold colors. It just makes me feel too limited when it comes to switching out my decor, drapes, rugs, etc. I like having the freedom to do this without having to repaint a room. (Please ignore my missing drapery panel. PB failed to send me the package of drapery hooks with one, so the right side of my window is short one panel. Boy, that really chaps my hide...)

I prefer to interject color with painted furniture, drapes, decor, rugs, even a colored glass chandelier, etc. Did I mention painted furniture? Love love love painted furniture.

Somehow the "designers" on HGTV made the rule that you can't sell a house without painting everything greige and a whole lot of people bought that concept. Before that it was sage green for a few years. Wonder what's coming next???

Like Tikatoo and Tinycastles, I love, love, love neutral palettes. I'm another person whose life contains more than enough stimulation when I"m away from home. When I get back, I want everything q-u-i-e-t.

However, I think my house is neutral and not a single wall is painted white or tan. I've gone with the once-ubiquitous silver sage on the walls, and have been surprised that it seems to work beautifully as a neutral background in my LR, DR, foyer, kitchen and even bedroom. White trim, sheer white curtains and textures including smooth brown leather, sisal rugs, baskets...I am very happy with how it's come together. My house is typical 50s ranch-style. We've put in crown and base molding and I am fortunate to have a lot of windows, thus good light in every room. But there isn't a lot of gasp out loud architectural pop, really. I still love it.

I say to each her own. For me, color isn't appealing. For others, it is. Vive la difference!

"Most homes don't have great natural lighting or moody atmospheric artificial lighting. Or strong architecture or beautiful finishes & furnishings."

Especially true in my house but neutral is what I love.
I also enjoy the freedom of being able to move things around from room to room and switch things in and out when the mood hits me.

I truly do enjoy seeing color in other homes though... :)

I have been going color crazy for years...lots and lots of color everywhere in my home and last year on a whim I painted my bedroom in a soft beige color and it turned out to be my favorite color in my whole house - much to my surprise.

I find neutrals to be soothing and comforting to me and I plan on painting more neutrals in the rest of my home. I want my decor to speak for the room and not the walls anymore.

I think sometimes the plain color rooms simply photograph better. Good photos are important for resale. It's often hard to get a good picture of a room that has a lot of inner play with colors. You can't often appreciate the inner play unless you are standing in it. So, I think the beige rooms or mostly white rooms are often all about realtors and fast sales because they assume the majority of the population has zero imagination. An example of how a colorful room could not look as good in a photo is my kitchen; it really doesn't photograph well at all. I have had many remarks on this from people I know that saw pictures before seeing it in person so I know it's true. My stone on my peninsula reads dark but in person has a few cool orangey red shade blotches that match a color in the back splash glass almost exactly. This stone also has some yellowing threads that match my upper cabinet color. My ceiling is tinted a color to match the wall color that blends the floor color. The backsplash glass also has some of the cordovan sable color of my base cabinets. I have yet a different stone on the perimeter that blends the butcher block and flecks of the rest of the room. I painted the small arch entry to this area a color to match the bottom cabinets so the eye would balance out over the room. In person I get raves but in pictures I get an average of minor nice.
I think most of the time pictures of rooms with color can not fully capture the art of it all as you can not see the full balance on how color was used. On more monochromatic photo's it requires no work for people to like or not like. Although I do agree with a few posts above that a good monochromatic room involved so much more than a first glance would show.
Mostly I do not believe bland is required for resale unless you really bite at using color, I quess this is something people will need to know about themselves if they are remodeling but also thinking of resale.

I think that for a strongly colored wall to be most successful the furniture needs to stand up to it well. Many people are afraid to commit to a strongly colored sofa though, for example, because it is a sizable investment. If you look at someone who uses a lot of color, like Miles Redd, he doesn't use neutral textiles when he does powerful walls, its all powerful. I don't think you will find a taupe sofa and area rug in the strongly painted room of a colorist designer, but that is the look that many people try to pull off. I think that with neutral furniture, the whole palette as a neutral is more cohesive.

awm - that was too sweet - thank you!

laurainlincoln - you may have an excellent point there! I never thought about it but I did start painting neutral colors right around the time that DS2 was born and now there are 3. Maybe my subconcious nee for quiet and calm has searched out anyway to make it possible.

I do have to admit though that even pre-children my perfect place was basically a 1 room apartment w/ ceilings that soared to great heights and were aged wood, creamy almost bright white walls w/ ridiculously fat and originaly tim and mouldings. Heavy wood doors w/ wrought iron hardware, parquet floors, massive windows covered in floaty white gauze and a mattress dressed in white plopped in the middle of the floor w/ a small TV and stacks of books laying around.

Steph2000 - After my mom's bout w/ cancer she did a total 180 on her decor too. Not nearly as cluttered. She chose spa like retreatful colors too.

While I really like neutral rooms I still get totally jazzed when I see a great room w/ white trim and walls painted a fabulous color.

For what it's worth I read the articel and th eonly room that I was remotely attracted to was the first one. I was immediately drawn to the green in the very dark picture in the room and the green in the leaves on the table.

I like green, blue, wood tones, white/cream and even a few tans. I also like yellow, pink, purple, even a little red and occasionally orange. Neutrals can be a nice backdrop to color, but has anyone EVER bought a box of crayons, with only black, white, brown and gray? :)

I think all articles on home decor trends need to be taken with a cuppa salt. There's likely an article saying the exact opposite recently posted somewhere. One really cannot believe much of what one reads as it's only the opinion of one or a few people, and not all of them experts.

I've always liked color, however lived with mostly white walls for many years due to DH's mil career. We either lived in mil housing, rentals, or bought with the knowledge we'd be selling in a couple of years so the permanent decor was neutral. However after he retired I painted with color and loved it. More recently I've somewhat neutralized my wall colors altho have no white walls and probably never will have. My walls are shades of browns and greens, the floors brown, and most of the large upholstered pieces are neutral. I can now change accent colors for variety which is a fun way for me to decorate. My house is certainly not boring as it has architectural features, lots of windows, and layered accessories.

To each their own, there is no right or wrong in this. Also I think trends are over-rated in importance by many.

I have never read a single article about interior design in a newspaper or magazine about any style that did not tout it as the hot new trend. Sure, neutral is the new trend--except it's not new, and it's not the only trend; at the very same point in time, we're being told that purple is what's in. This breathless style is simply meant to sell magazines and products.

That said, a lot of disastrous rooms have been created by people who overstate the virtues of neutrals. Neutrals do not all go together, nor can a failed room be rescued by "pops" of color. On the Kitchens forum, you sometimes see calls for help from someone in tears who hates the way his or her new kitchen looks. Overwhelmingly, those sobbing posts come from people who selected the "neutral" choice at every turn, and are now horrified to see that their tile has greenish undertones that clash with their countertop's pinkish undertones or whatever.

Neutral can be beautiful, but it is not new, not "the" trend, and no easier to execute than a room in full color.

I'm raising my hand about liking neutrals primarily. I normally feel like I'm in the minority on this board, but it's nice to see others who feel the same way. I've essentially felt this way most of my adult life (pre-HGTV, pre-home ownership, pre-"trend.")

I rarely see a room with bold color and like it. To each their own, right? To me, color inside the home normally feels... faked... to me. (I really don't want to offend people by saying this, and I hope I don't. It's just my gut reaction and not for me.)

I do have some "colorful" items within my home, but they are mostly functional items and fairly muted colors... eg, old books, old bottles, a globe, houseplants (if they count)... Since they all blend in, they don't bother me.

I'm a lot more comfortable with neutrals because they seem soothing and natural to me. I love lots of textures in design.... an old leather piece of furniture, the grain of wood, linen, stone, metals, etc. That is what I notice in a room and enjoy.

As a bonus, DH also shies away from color. He likes all the dark neutrals and very textured items (our antiqued granite, a very soft throw blanket, etc.) He is not into decor at all and certainly doesn't follow trends... his concerns are more with comfort and he's drawn to earthy items. :)

Don't you love threads like this, especially when everybody is "playing nicely"? I mean, there's obviously no right or wrong answer, but it's so interesting to hear everyone's opinions. For me, it gives me a further glimpse into what each person is like. It fleshes you out more, so to speak.
As much as I personally love my neutral living room, I can equally enjoy rooms I see that have a lot of color, if done well. The bottom line is that the best, most enjoyable rooms are the ones that we each feel personally the most comfortable in.

I find it interesting too. I think for me it has to do with the house I grew up in and living in apartments.

For me it is kind of the opposite of lolauren! To me, cream or white colored walls look unfinished (like you haven't been able to make up your mind) most of the time. Not to say I don't find some of the pics beautiful, they just aren't for me. I would have never in a million years thought of adding color as faking it, but now that she said it, I could see how it could hit some people that way.

Tiny castles, your house is very pretty. So is Allison's.

I just don't think I would feel comfortable. If I ever move though, I just might try it. Well, maybe. I don;t think DH would ever agree to it. :)

I have lived in rooms with way too much bright colors on the walls and everywhere and it is not relaxing to me. I seem to enjoy living in neutral rooms with pops of bright colors. I added two bright pictures of my neutral walls and the color makes me so happy. I like color and I missed it but I still enjoy neutral walls. Color done right in rooms, I really enjoy looking at but I don't seem to have that gift and rooms that I paint with too much color on my walls, do not seem to work for me. But I got bored of pure white walls and I am enjoying beige walls and cream walls. If my bathrooms sinks and toilets were white and not bone, that is where I would love deep colored purple walls or gray walls with red towels.

This is an entertaining thread because it gives insight into different tastes. Like Lynn said, there really is no right or wrong answer, only preferences.

I really like Tinycastle's neutral walls and the beautiful dark trim. Very handsome. And Lynn's room is great too, but it also has interest in the beamed ceiling and textured walls. So, the architectural interest is a common thread to the neutral walls that I find attractive.

That being said, I have to have color surrounding me. I love the way different colors make me feel. It's fascinating how changing the wall color can lend an entirely new mood to the room. I just changed out a bedroom from blue to pale pink (I ordered new furniture to go in there, but it's not in yet), and I like to wander in there just to see how it makes me feel, almost like slipping on a new glove.

It's almost a type of synesthesia. I wonder if the people that are more drawn to color experience this as more of visceral pleasure? It's very curious.

I agree with marcolo, well said.
Neutral rooms done well are gorgeous to me but too staged, what happens when a book or jacket is set down that doesn't belong...the look is ruined. I need color flexibility all the time but I'm not a bit afraid to commit to my favorite colors. I'd buy a cobalt blue sofa in a minute if it weren't for for the sad fact that most well made furniture that's not neutral is only high end- and out of my budget.

So, my mixer, food processor, and a few chairs are colorful.
Walls, well, I prefer being surrounded by muted hues, although ones with a color.

I like being able to introduce the trendy colors easily, turquoise, for instance, with a throw, a vase, a new piece of art.

Some day I will have a pale pink living room. Not this house though, the wood floors are too orange.

It must be a sense of color in general~I tend not to wear colors in clothing also, if I do, they're usually light rather than bright.

My closet is full of ivory/white, gray, black, beige/tan, brown, olive, and metallic bronze/pewter/gold. Boring, huh? ;o)

I know what you mean about some neutral rooms looking staged, Bumble. The ones where they've put white paper covers on each book, and every accessory has to be either white, cream or tan kill me. But, when most people think of neutral rooms, those are the first ones that come to mind . . . and I agree, IMO they usually turn out looking bleak, staged, sterile and with no real personality.

I could never live in rooms with restraints like that. Thankfully, most are not like that, but as we all agree, to each his own :~) And, as much as I love my neutral living room, I love every room I've ever seen of Auntjen's. They're warm, inviting, COLORFUL, beautiful, and have lots of personality. Colorful rooms are awesome, too . . . especially when they're done well, like Jen's.

I like neutral walls and color on the woodwork. I know...this is not the current trend. And my neutral happens to be a sunny yellow. Everything looks good with it. We do have beautiful chair rail moldings, wainscotting, crown molding, and custom milled trim and baseboards, so there is a lot of architectural interest. Walls are a pale yellow and woodwork is a stronger yellow.

I like to add color with fabric and accessories. Again, I know this is out, out, out. We need to completely redo out house in two years, and I wonder what the trends will be then, and if I'll follow them.

Like others have said, I think trends have become inauthentic over the years.

Rather than originating from interesting and different people doing interesting and different things, trend announcements usually feel like marketing campaigns to me.

The room we live in most often is on the 2nd floor and has three large picture windows.
Living in the Midwest, right now my "walls" are orange, green and brown. In a couple of weeks/months they will be a cool gray and white and next spring and summer green, green, and more green.

I never give a thought to matching my furnishings to the "walls". I'd be redecorating my home on a quarterly basis! I suppose the change of seasons give me a better chance of being on trend if gray/white happens to be "in" in the winter.

If a room (neutral or bold) is not done well, the color or non color won't make me find it any more appealing.

My grandfather and his brothers were painting contractors, so they did all the painting in everyone's home. And EVERYONE had white walls. No exceptions. Color was brought in by furniture and drapes.

My mother fought my father tooth and nail to paint our house and got the living room, my bedroom and the kitchen painted green apple, and my brothers room got painted blue. But the other rooms had to remain white.

My own home is very colorful, not a speck of white in my house, with the exception of a couple ceilings. But I'm planning to redo my guest room in all white. Fortunately the windows and doors all have beautiful crown molding and fluted casings we installed. I also have a faux fireplace and a mahogany stained wood floor in there. The room is currently a golden color with raspberry trim, it is very bohemian/world decor in there. But I'm clamoring for a soothing all white look. That'll be my winters project. But I'm not going to go 'neutral' in any other room of my house. In fact, I won't consider the white on white on white theme of the room 'neutral' either!

I think some are talking about neutral walls and some neutral rooms. You can have a room with neutral walls that is not a neutral room. I love neutral walls. Neutral does not have to be white or even beige. Most of our walls are a soft golden color - like candlelight. I love the neutral walls as a backdrop to our antique pieces, many of which are a dark wood. I'm slowly incorporating some painted pieces into our home, although some are white (distressed more like a creme color). I'm wanting to redo our guest room and plan on a painted (maybe robin's egg blue or aqua) dresser.

I've never owned a neutral sofa but am in the market for a new one and am thinking of going neutral this time. I love the look with a mix of colorful pillows. Our great room upholstered pieces are jewel tones and in the office we have a black leather loveseat - both work well with the neutral walls. I do think you can have too much color, colorful walls, colorful furniture, colorful accessories, etc. But as some have mentioned, it's really a personal thing. My sister's home is totally opposite ours - deep greens, reds, even a deep brown on some of her walls - and it is gorgeous. However, some of her rooms are larger than ours and she has tons of floor to ceiling windows in her rooms - so that makes a difference too.

tina

I think that beige or white as the only choice for a neutral is shortsighted. I agree digginginthedirt that a pale yellow can be done as a neutral in a fresh way. We had light yellow walls in our living spaces in our last house and loved how they looked with white trim and our wood antiques and hardwood floors. I think that many light colors can be considered neutral as long as the hue is not strong.
Gray is also a neutral to me. It is a base color.

We have gone bolder in colors with this house, but to me a pale lavender or gray is as soothing as a beige would be. Color does not have to be "in your face". My fave color in this house is the deep purple in our den and dining room. It looks amazing with the bright white trim, white wts, white and chrome ceiling fan and chrome chandelier. In those rooms, the rest of the furnishings and accessories will be neutral so as to not overpower and become garish. I am not a huge fan of using a color to death in each room. One large element (or several small ones) is enough for me.
I have a bigger issue with competing tones of a color and people who think a green wall means all green accessories will work with it, or substitute the color blue, burgundy, etc... I'd rather use other colors in a room with a strong element to not clash.

I'm so tired of people trying to convince me that it is sophisticated to wear/decorate in white and black. I am 58 and not really interested in being sophisticated. I love my yellow kitchen with the black and white toile curtains, and my robins egg blue dining room. I still have a wooden decoy goose that is not in style, but I love the graceful way his neck is curved around. I desperately wanted to paint our living room's picture frame paneling so I could get wood floors. Got the floors, no longer want to paint the walls. It looks so rich now. And in this Texas heat and bright sun, it is so nice relax in the "shade" of our darker living room. Besides, they really set off my red couches.
Having lived through several decades you see so many trends come and go and realize that just because it is novel doesn't mean it is what I want - or will even like when the novelty wears off. My newlywed daughter has a lovely home - all the latest styles and colors. I still love my quirky home more. When I watch these kids home shopping on TV, - every single one of them wants neutral walls, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. Do they really want their home to look exactly like everyone else's? I really need to replace my formica counters but I am stimied because I absolutely do not want granite, for no other reason than everyone else is getting it. Feeling kind of bratty about it. : )

My observation in our neighborhood. For many that have younger kids their house will probably have lots of color. Not jarring - but saturated or bold. If you're an empty nester in our neighborghood, then it's usually neutrals or very calming pastels.

I personally love color - not one beige, cream, or white wall in this house (unless it's still unfinished plaster :) 12 years ago I went with pastels. Now I'm painting in saturated colors - red, blues, greens, yellow, purple, orange... I do have an old house with lots of character and trim though (painted white dove). I did fall in love with 2 pastel-y purples so I put them in an "off shoot" room where I can still enjoy it but it's not as visible from the bolder, saturated colored rooms.

My next 2 major undertakings is the navy billiard room and red dining room.

Neutrals aren't really neutral. They are perhaps even trickier that colors that announce themselves, because you often do not see the colors in the neutrals until you use them and combine them (especially if you are a mere mortal and not a designer).

I find neutrals soothing and love texture. I also find that context is the easiest clue. I am in southern New England, and a 1900s frame house with lots of stone. If I were to use color, i'd think milk paint. Mustard maybe. But I personally find whites and creams soothing and restful, and leave the color to the views out the windows, virtually all unadorned. To reduce my error rate I use neutrals that the mfr shows together. And I always choose the lightest options.

I love color, which is why I am always cutting flowers or putting out bowls of apples. Those colors are far more beautiful to me than any paint chip. I am constantly making still lifes for my viewing pleasure...

I love a neutral background that allows me to change the room to suit my whims.

I put color in my drapes, furniture and accessories. I often move these around and trade items from room to room. I get bored easily, so I like the flexibility of change.

I have had about 4 forever homes, but life has a way of changing our paths.

Life's too short for beige.

One woman's beige is another woman's green:) In my defense, I am not opposed to one having and enjoying color in their life. I love color. LOVE IT!!! I am a person who wears very bold eyeglasses, clothing, shoes (colored Frye boots are my weakness...red, blue, yellow) and has experimented with every haircolor under the sun (platinum, platinum with aqua streaks, medium auburn, dark dark plummy auburn, dark chocolate brown bordering on black). I'm currently back to blonde though. A nice boring neutral blonde to go with my nice boring neutral home, LOL. So I really cannot say I don't use color... I just use it to decorate myself and not my home.

Pattycakes, not boring at all !! you described my closet, heavy on the black.

As for neutrals, I think it all depends on your furniture and accessories; colored walls are a way of accessorizing a home , imo. I have all white, some pale grey walls but I used to have multicolored, very bright homes; I have large pieces of colorful art so my fix for color is there.

Tinycastles, I just love the way your room is decorated, so tasteful and beautiful. I love the pops of color and the pillows and just the way everything goes so well together that I find it gorgeous. This is my 2nd post but I just wanted to let you know.

Thanks lynn:)

tinycastles, just wanted to say your house is charming!!!

Musicteacher, you make some valid points. Those of us in your age bracket are at a stage in life where we are no longer interested in following the trends. Maybe it's because we have experienced so many of them, or maybe it's because we have determined what our own personal style is and would rather follow that than whatever HGTV is hyping at the moment. Those who want the current trends of SS and granite are in the age bracket that spends the most money and therefore companies cater to their preferences. If I look back at what I was doing at that age, I was probably decorating according to the trends of that time also. It's probably a stage.

I love my current decor, but my young adult daughter has made some negative comments about it, which makes me realize that it is soooo not current. Because our home has reached that age where some renovating is due, I'm giving some thought to "updating" the house. That's when I realized I didn't want to give up certain things that are out out out, but that I love, love, love.

I guess I'm going to have one of those "old people" homes that I vowed I would never have!!

I really like warm neutrals, and I'm gradually changing my color scheme in the house to use them in almost every room. When I bought my house 7 years ago, I was tired of having rentals with white walls, so I went for color --- burnt orange, terracota, and yellow walls in the kitchen, guest room, dining room, and home office, with similar colors as accents in the rooms with neutral walls. At the time I loved it. Now, I find neutral rooms more calming and I like the flexibility of being able to mix and match items from different rooms.

I appreciate intense color in magazines and other people's houses, and I don't regret my prior color choices for a second. But the neutrals speak to me more these days. So it's out with the cranberry, gold, and orange palette, and in with caramel and chocolate. Ironically, I feel like I'm post-trend, as I keep seeing items that match my old color-scheme & style in stores.

I think the neutral shades are more interesting than the word 'beige' conveys. My wall colors range from a milky taupe, to golden tan, deep caramel & cafe au lait. The undertones sometimes make it challenging to find complementary shades of paint. I try to bring in interest and contrast by using patterns and varying shades of the same color (i.e. dark chocolate contrasting with a lighter tan), or sometimes use non-neutral colors as accents. It's still a work in progress, but the end result won't be boring to me.

I'm waiting for the follow-up article, The Case Against Shape.