Using Bright Accents in a Neutral Home

As I’ve written before about how neutralizing a home is often recommended as part of the staging process. In order to draw from a neutral color pallet, but without the starkness a straight white can sometimes bring – you see a lot of tan and beige colors used for wall paint.

So, I thought I would take the opportunity to talk about the importance of the accent color pallet used in a thoroughly “neutralized” home. In the case of this resent staging the walls were painted tan, and the wood flooring was a rich brown. I matched the pallet with darker brown tones, and deep beige in the furniture to enhance the natural warm earthy feel. But if only earth tones are used, the room can become washed out (too neutral), so it is important to add bright accents.

In this case I used blue tones, and added visual complexity by focusing on the complimentary blues to the tan and orange-brown colors. The result is a warm inviting room but one that draws focus not to itself, but to the selling features of the home, like the wide window view, the natural lighting, the wood flooring.

Below are some more pictures from this same staging.