Beige Doesn't have to be boring!

Hi there! So... although I am a personally a big fan of color, color, and more color in home decorating (and clothing and everything else), I welcome a "breather" every now and then to design a more neutral, cream-y, brown-y colored space for other people. As opposed to the cool grey trend of the last 10 years or so, the "new" neutral is trending toward warmth - we all need coziness right now, don't we? The key to keeping it from feeling boring is to make sure that you use a lot of different textures in your material choices. AND a neutral backdrop can support some color in the art, rugs and accessories, albeit more muted colors like sage and dark pine greens, robin's egg blue, sunset orange (nature-y colors!). I've put together some eye candy below. Here's my mood board for this Neutral Palette design trend.

Natural wood, stone, handmade (or handmade-looking) tile, marble, iron, fur, wool - all of these materials are beautiful when mixed together. And there's no reason not to add in some fun patterns to your cream/beige/brown palette. Look at some of these combos:

Oh, and last but not least, this photo from the home of Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis - it is perfection! Look at the green velvet sofa!! This style leans more toward the 'Modern Rustic' style that I have discussed in a past blog post (the concrete isn't really an element I'd use in the Neutral/Cream/Beige/Brown design...but this is just so pretty that I couldn't help but show you).

There you have it - beige and brown are certainly not boring in my book! The bottom line is that your home should make you feel happy and be built of the colors and materials that you really love - don't follow design trends on the big stuff that you'll stuck with forever (or a long while, at least). xoxoxoxo Sally

{The amazingly gorgeous rooms in these photos were designed by talented designers and homeowners who I greatly admire!}