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All White Decor vs Color — Sunday Afternoon Chat #2

Wow. The week sped by. As usual. I’m surprised >>not really<< that I didn’t manage a blog post this week! I puttered around from room to room on Monday, spring weather making me feel the need for change, trying to figure out where to start, knowing I had to straighten up first and basically doing nothing. Tuesday and Wednesday, we worked on the next estate sale, and I don’t have a clue I did the rest of the week!

Neutral Decor

(The picture above is my attempt at a no color room.)

I touched on the subject of all white/neutral decorating last week. How I think I’d like to do that, but can’t seem to stick to a no-color color scheme. Well, this week I took the time  to cruise through some bloggers’ spring home tours. (Hey! That’s what I did Thursday!)

The houses were beautiful. No argument from me there. They were carefully planned, perfectly coiffed, and oh, so pretty. My house doesn’t even come close to measuring up to those standards. These homeowners have put time and thought into their decor and did an excellent job. Plus, they cleaned them up, took professional looking pictures for us to enjoy and get inspired! So please know I’m not criticizing here, especially not any single home. But house after house after house was white, white, white, gray, white, gray, white and gray – Oh! There’s some black! — white, white, white…. Seeing them one after the other like that…. Well, I think I’m over wanting that look. Seeing one at a time would have been much easier on the eyes – my Pinterest feed has a lot of all white decor – but seeing them all together, I thought I’d go blind. 🙁 No one’s house stood out. Nothing seemed different. Okay. Each home was different. It just didn’t feel that way. Until home with color slipped in there. 

Ahh… I had to stop and take a closer look. Color drew me in, making me want to see more and deeper into the room. What’s on that table? What do I see peeking out of that corner? Wonder what’s in the next room? Where did they find that fabulous sofa? There was substance to focus on. Focus might be the keyword here. With the white, my eyes just skimmed the rooms, not focusing on any one thing.

I wonder how much longer all white/neutral will be the in thing to do? Will those of us, and I undeservedly flatter myself by using the word “us”, who break away from the mold and use full blown color be the next trend setters? Will our houses be the ones people love to look at? Or will white/neutral be here for a few more years before people start craving color? Does lack of color give a sense of peace in a chaotic world? White/neutral is classic and it’s easy to use pops of color. It’s easier to color up white than to de-color color. Huh? Did that make any sense? I don’t know. But I did come to the conclusion that we should do our own thing. Especially bloggers. We shouldn’t try to make our homes what we think people want to see. We should be true to ourselves. If we love all white, then make it great. Make it different. If we love color, then do it. There will be other people out there who love what we do. The hardest thing about that, for me at least, is figuring out what we love the most and to stick with it.  

Having said all that, I do think I want to use a more neutral wall color when I repaint — if that happens in my lifetime. Ha! As it is now, we have three totally different greens in our house. If something looks good in one of the green rooms, it doesn’t look good in another. I would love to be able to move accessories from room to room or totally change the color scheme without the need to repaint. 

So, what about you? Are you a white/neutral decor lover or do you prefer color? Do you see yourself changing over time? Do you love color or do you lack confidence when it comes to color? 

Side note: I published this, then opened my email to find the newsletter from Cedar Hill Farmhouse and she’s talking about decorating trends! She says it all so much better than I did. See here post here > Which Design Trends To Avoid. No, she’s not telling you to avoid white or colors. She’s saying to be true to yourself, just in a more eloquent way with prettier pictures. 🙂

 

 

Follow Wanda @ Just Vintage’s board Pretty Home Decor & Vignettes on Pinterest.

3 thoughts on “All White Decor vs Color — Sunday Afternoon Chat #2

  1. Well, I *do* love your all white vignette in the picture. I also love the look of an all white/shades of white/neutral home (and outfit!), but you’re right, it’s hard to not sneak JUST a little touch of color in there.

    Here’s a thought – my mother always had two different decors for spring/summer and fall/winter for the living room. For the seasons she’d change the seat cushions on two hard chairs, throw pillows on the sofa, art on the walls, “objet d’art” on sidetables and silk flowers in the arrangements. She may have also changed the drapes, I can’t remember for sure. But the living room went from deep olive green and red w touches of black…to celadon green and pink. It was a pretty dramatic change in color and feel for really only changing up a few things. This could be a way to have your neutral palette and your colorful room, too!

    1. Bettye, I’ve always wanted to do that and am actually trying that this year. Last year. Funny though, that the boxes of “off season” stuff are still in the room. LOL

  2. I love white and the cottage look. Don’t think it will ever go away totally. But, I also like to see one pop of color with that white – maybe some pillows on the sofa, or a vase with flowers….

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