Neutral Home Decor: 6 Decorating Pointers

The household sequence below is the one that kept the room usable while it was unfinished. The words “boring neutrals” totally make me cringe. Neutral home decor can be incredibly soothing, warm, and welcoming and, when done right, anything but boring. Today I'm sharing my tried and true pointers for decorating with neutral home decor that will make your neutrals-filled room every bit as interesting as one that's full of color. (post includes affiliate links; full disclosure statement available {here})

Mix In Some Patterns

A room full of solid neutrals tends to feel a bit bleh but mixing in a few patterns will immediately add interest. For example, all of the pillows in our bedroom are neutral colors, but the mix of geometric and patterned prints keep it interesting:

Patterns also don't need to be limited to fabric – instead of solid colored walls, adding pattern with wallpaper or a stencil like I did in our budget bathroom redo is something to think about:

Load Up on Texture

Every room with a neutral home decor needs some interesting textures – nubby fabrics, plush throw rugs, and woven baskets are a few of the preferred textural elements. For our master bathroom redo, I added {this lidded basket} to use as a hamper and {this small basket} to hold washcloths – they both add a lot to this space that's full of hard surfaces:

You can get all of the sources for everything in our master bathroom redo {here}.

In our hallway, I have {this large basket} hung as art which is another way to add warmth to a space:

Add a Little Color (If It Needs It)

I don't think that every room needs color but I do think that some rooms benefit from at least a small dose of it. The house office is full of neutral home decor (furniture, art, walls, etc.) so when choosing fabric for drapes, I chose something with a little pop of color (citrine yellow!) to liven it up:

Notice that I added a highly textured rug in here too!

Choose a Paint Color with Depth (If You're Not Using a White)

This tip might just be a personal bias of mine but I feel like there's nothing that makes a room feel more boring than a dull shade of builder's beige paint on the walls. My preference is to use a shade of white on the walls or go with a paint color that has some depth to it like the Pratt & Lambert Ever Classic paint color in our guest room that has such a rich feel:

You can look at the preferred white paint colors {here} and the preferred greige paint colors {here}.

Add Layers, Layers, and More Layers

Layering is key! Layering texture upon texture, tone on tone, and even physically layering art and accessories creates interest! For example, tip #3 from my post on  how to decorate a bookshelf shows how layering in a few neutral home decor pieces makes it look so much more interesting:

Add Warmth with Natural Woods

Natural wood pieces bring warmth and depth to neutral home decor! Almost every room in the house has a wood toned piece whether it be something small like the wood lamps in our guest room or larger pieces like the wood credenza in our office or {this natural wood table} in our kitchen eat-in space:

Get all sources for our kitchen eat-in and see more pics of this space {here}.

So that wraps up the pointers that have worked for me when decorating with neutral home decor. Do readers have any other pointers or tricks of your own to add?

XOXO,