The Neutral Palettes

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There is a particular thing I find incredibly elusive when I flip through design books, magazines, and blogs. I am always on the look-out but find it quite hard to find. I really want to see the perfect neutral palette. The way I see it, neutrals can be the statement that we usually make the easy way: with color. I find that I use pops of color in my own apartment because I don’t have the architectural interior that I want highlighted. So using color can often be our way of cheating. But done well, the neutral palette is infinitely more intriguing. I don’t mean everything white or those hideous homes where everything is the color of oatmeal, including the decorator’s hair. Now, there are certainly lots of very modern neutrals (think whites, Lucite, and resin floors) but can neutrals be cozy? Warm? Sophisticated? Certainly, but like I said, it is hard to come across the right ones.
Feeding my design book addiction, I picked up a copy of Monochrome by Paula Rice Jackson. I loved the concept and felt like the book was done well, but it was really only half a book. The sleek, modern interiors with shiny floors were included, as was the monochromatic lime green living room. John Saladino’s home was there (he wrote the introduction) but his palette wasn’t the neutral for which I was looking. They left out the most important homes: the neutrals that are cozy, warm, and sophisticated. I’ve posted what I think the book lacks...
The first series of photos is of a home in Spain taken from Maire Claire Maison: Note the casual air to an almost white color scheme. This home is neither classic traditional nor strictly modern.




This second home is an apartment in Paris (but of course) from Elle Decoration, the British version of Elle Decor: I like it because I'm more inclined toward greige as a neutral rather than beige.


Whit's Office

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The time has come to officially start my blog. There have been several false starts but my blog mentor is getting ready for a new office so here is the perfect opportunity to start fresh. Whit is starting with a clean slate and her inspiration was the editor's desk, actual (Anna Wintour's at Vogue) and fictional (Meryl Streep's in The Devil Wears Prada):





A Desk by Ralph Lauren:



    And a chair, also by Ralph Lauren:






I drew inspiration from a number of places. I thought of white with punches of strong color, a does of modernity/feminity, a few traditional pieces, a professional space but Whit is nothing without a strong streak of creativity (hence the notion of a inspiration board/gallery wall), and a smidge of Paris...


    I was really intrigued by this shade of Navy called Symphony Blue by Benjamin Moore. I'd love to see it as a backdrop to an inspiration board/gallery wall behind Whit's desk:



And the desk would be this chrome sawhorse Architect's desk:





Since this really is an office, there will need to be some storage. I'm thinking of the small alcove space that is between the two windows. Behind the desk where the wall is painted Navy,

  • Option 1 would be a half wall of lateral cabinets and cubbies in white with an inspiration board/gallery wall above...



  • Option 2 woud be a traditional piece like this mahogany buffet that I had (and refinished myself for a song), also with the inspiration board/gallery wall above:



I chose this white leather Eames Soft Pad Management Chair, but honestly, any of the Eames desk chairs in white leather are incredibly iconic:


As for the office chairs for "guests" to sit in (Marietta, Chad, Clare, and myself), I haven't found any yet but I bet there are a few French chairs from Indigo Seas that might be convinced to change locations...



That's what I envisioned for Whit...tell me, how far off am I? You can see other inspirations and ideas for the office here and here.



P.S. Happy Birthday, Claire!