Call us “boring” or “minimalistic”, but Nick and I have always been huge fans of neutral wall tones. Their natural feel and look provide the perfect building block for a modern and elegant home, and make an excellent foundation for bolder colour schemes.
When we purchased our fixer-upper 5 years ago, we knew instantly that we wanted to surround ourselves with neutral walls, and we have absolutely no regrets.
Here are our 6 reasons for loving neutral colours.
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1. Uninterrupted Flow & Timeless Elegance
It is true that the lighter and more subtle the shade, the greater the sophistication. Using a pearl white colour on our walls, right throughout, infuses our home with a light, airy, clean and cohesive flow, which:
- exudes a classic aura, as well as a sense of elegance and timeless charm;
- adds warmth to our home;
- enhances the character and size of our interior space, giving a feeling of abundant, open space; and
- brings instant harmony and an uninterrupted, seamless flow from room to room.
2. Calming on the Senses
Grounding our home in a neutral palette has a very calming effect on our senses, provides visual relief, and makes us feel centered and relaxed.
3. The Perfect Balance
Our neutral-toned walls, pair well with our flat-toned white ceilings and beige porcelain floor tiles, as their contrasting shades balance each other out. They also create definition against our wooden cabinets, mahogany staircases and other hardwood textures.
4. A Blank Canvass for our Art Collection
We’ve found a wonderful way to satiate our wanderlust while simultaneously throwing in pops of colour throughout our home! Our neutral walls provide a clean backdrop for our bold, colourful art pieces that we’ve collected from Africa, South America, Asia and other parts of the world.
They make great conversation starters for our house guests and is the perfect way of diffusing an awkward silence. As our kitchen is the main entertainment centre of our home, we strategically decorated the wall with an interesting piece from East Africa, which has sparked numerous questions and varied interpretations. They can also make great storytelling prompts.
5. Creative Freedom
You know you have selected a versatile colour palette for your wall when you can change your accent pieces, countertops, furnishings and accessories on a whim without having to repaint your walls. There’s just a certain creative freedom and flexibility that neutral walls afford us and they blend in easily with almost anything, given their subtle nature.
6. Flipping Appeal
Having flipped a few properties, we know a few of the things that appeal to home buyers, and clean, light walls is one of them. If we ever decide to sell our home down the road, we know we stand a greater chance of success in raking in a decent price because of our neutral colours. Neutrally painted walls are not only visually appealing to buyers, they:
- provide a clean slate to work with;
- allow buyers to envision their personal style in the home; and
- improve the perceived value of our home.
These are some of the major reasons for using neutral walls in our interior design and we hope you have enjoyed the read!
Check out more of our house tours or drop us a comment below if you feel so inspired. We’d love to hear from you!
Author
Monique Abbott
Hi, I ’m Monique, founder and editor-in-chief of Yes2Yolo, travel addict and lover of home makeover projects.
I’ve explored over 60 countries with my husband Nick. Together we’ve partnered on some truly exciting projects such as creating and running a successful Airbnb business, chairing condo boards, purchasing fixer-uppers and renovating them from scratch on our own while balancing all of this with full-time jobs and family.
While my personal passions are travel and home décor, I am, by profession, a lawyer with over 17 years experience.
