By Colleen Luntzel, Contributing Writer
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Hazelnut Latte… Toasty Marshmallow… Burnt Sugar Frosting… Maple Syrup… Mmm. Yummy, right? Not necessarily. When you’re talking about the color palette in your home, deliciously-named paint colors may entice but don’t always deliver. Canvased across your walls, carpets and nubby tweed couch, Toasty Marshmallow might just be boring old beige after all.
It’s depressing, really. What’s worse… the urge to pop open a tub of ready-made frosting and gobble it down while no one is watching hits you every time you’re in your living room.
Image by Emily Angle
For quite a while now, home dwellers have been scared into thinking that neutral color equals beige, beige equals classy decorating, equals speedy home sales, equals happy marriage, equals calm, well-behaved children…
Um… No.
According to the Encarta Dictionary of North America, neutral with regard to color is defined as, “not strongly or strikingly colored and thus relatively inconspicuous and able to blend easily with other colors.” Personally, I like the non-color definition of neutral: “taking no sides, belonging to, favoring, or assisting no side in a war, dispute, contest or controversy.”
Here’s the thing… Many colors can be considered neutral and provide a lovely backdrop for your home furnishings without going to war with the rest of the colors in your room. Soft Sage, washed out Robin’s Egg Blue, Late Summer Wheat…
What? You say you don’t have any other colors in your room? Put the frosting away. We need to talk.
If you’ve got a serious case of blasé beige (and the inevitable accompanying sweet tooth) the solution for breaking out of your color funk is surprisingly simple… introduce splashes of color into your space through your accessories. Let me give you an example…
Image by Emily Angle
The word on the street is that turquoise is back in a big way—so big in fact, that it is the color in home décor for 2010. Just for fun, let’s say you happen to love turquoise, (You’re trendier than you knew!) but you love your neutral walls too. Add color to your room with throw pillows, glass, a painted piece of furniture or even an upholstered piece. Just remember… with bold, vibrant colors, sometimes less is more, so sprinkle intense color around and de-bunk the color conspiracy in your home!
Image by Emily Angle
Oh, by the way… trying to drop a few pounds this year? Ditch the beige. It might help.
Editor’s Note: Interior designer, author and freelance writer, Colleen Luntzel‘s passion is teaching and equipping others to transform their surroundings into places of beauty and refuge. She’s currently working on an interior design book, and is in the early stages of development of a new home and garden television show. Check out her blog, Designing DNA, for more inspirations.
Emily Angle is an award winning photographer with over twenty years of experience. She resides in the mountains of western North Carolina with her husband and mini doxies. View more of her images on her website, AnglePhotography.com
