How About Neutrals?

There are many Neutrals that designers love to keep coming back to.

Some designers could paint every room in the house a color called Coconut Skin. This color is a deep mocha with some milk in it. It is cozy and comforting without being childish. Grounding it with pastels, it is weighty with bright colors. Even with a crazy color like lime green, you have a great combination.

What designer does not love a grayish blue as a backdrop? The color blue of a washed out sky just after a storm has passed. Almost anything looks great with Glass Slipper. This color is what neutrals are all about.

The most enduring color is from Benjamin Moore called Papaya. Papaya looks like homemade vanilla ice-cream with a little caramel in it. It looks great with blues, greens, and blue-greens of the sea and sky. There is nothing edgy about it. This color make the room look pretty and beautiful.

Mesquite is a flattering light moss green without much yellow.

A pale gray that does not turn blue or green is the color Horizon. It is the perfect background for many interiors. Blues of course look beautiful against this gray, and so do pinks, lavenders and wood furniture.

It is called Wenge and it is from Benjamin Moore. It is a rich blackish brown, the color of a bitter chocolate with cocoa. A neutral should get along with every color in the fan deck. This color goes with silvery greens and creamy yellows, and is wonderful with red.

#1 All About the Whites

Today's color topic is all about Whites.

These are the colors most of us want to come home to. Whites, an entire rainbow of them.

Off whites, cozier and creamier than ever, thanks to new and better
paints. A whole new world of neutrals that turn up the volume with just a
hint of color. Beautiful, interesting, and yet still easy to live with. If you have ver treied to pick a white paint, than you know there is such a thing as too many choices.

If you have a wall with a bow in it or a floor that has settled, use
Strong White. This will make an old room feel graceful rather than brand
new. It has more pigment and therefore more character.

Everything looks great against a true, clear, eye-chilling,
freezing-cold white. It is like a snow blizzard or marshmallows. Use Super White so anything placed in the background projects like technicolor.

It's tough to get a crisp look without being cold. This is where Ivory White does the trick. It is also the most flexible white to work with and works with any color.

Decorators White usually comes across as white- white, yet it is soft rather than harsh. It also works very well with art.

You do not want a highly reflective wall surface if you are going to be hanging a lot of art. China White is a very subtle off-white with a gray tone that helps the art work stand out.

When you are in doubt, Linen White. It may seem like a cop out but it works beautifully. Mostly used when people are unsure or if they want something light and airy. No matter what light shines on it, it looks great.

Mushroom White is a beige and it changes drastically. One minute it is putty and the next it is rosier. Chameleon almost and mysterious. It takes the properties of the color around it. You almost want to out your hand out and touch the wall because it does not seem solid. It is almost cloud like.

A good standby to have is Grant Beige. it is like a favorite pair of worn khakis. It works with modern spaces and traditional ones. If you want to keep your palette clean with whites, creams, and accents of black, it becomes very architectural, or you can warm it up with soft reds, blues, and greens.