CertaPro of Westchester & Southern CT

Electing neutral colors for your walls allows you the freedom to grow with your space.

Use warm or cool neutral paint colors in your space for a color scheme that is easy to design around.

Neutrals palettes are on trend right now for those who want to embrace a minimal aesthetic or want their unique decor to shine.

Taking a neutral stance can, in fact, produce a bold result. Selecting neutral paint colors for your home painting project allows you to be incredibly versatile with design. When your wall color isn’t the immediate focal point of a room, it opens up the possibility to get creative with unique furnishings and decor to take your space to new heights.

Not many people realize just how diverse the neutral paint color family is. Neutrals include white, beige, brown, grey and black, but within those few colors there are many different undertones that can make a neutral feel either warm or cool. If you’ve ever stood in front of paint swatches with dozens of white options, they all may have seemed exactly the same at first glance, but if you hold them directly next to one another or take them into different light, you’ll notice their undertones––some are more yellow, some have a little glimpse of blue, green or gray.

The professionals at CertaPro Painters® can help you decide on the perfect neutral paint palette for your interior painting project. They can provide insight on individual colors so you can understand how the warm or cool undertones will work in your current space to achieve to the look you desire.

Here are a few ways to use neutrals to your advantage to create a space that’s anything but vanilla (unless you’ve selected French Vanilla 7118 by Sherwin-Williams).

Get the Yellow Chair

If your design taste isn’t cookie-cutter, you may have considered showing off your unique style with a statement piece of furniture. What holds many back from purchasing that bright yellow living room chair they’ve had bookmarked for months or one of the colorful, floral rugs pinned to their Pinterest inspiration board is the looming concern that, “this just won’t match with anything.” There are a lot of reasons why neutrals work in a room, and the desire for that bold, colorful dream piece of furniture is one of them.

If you’ve fallen for a couch or accent piece in an unconventional color, go for what you love. Choosing soft neutral colors as a backdrop for your interior paint project will give your walls a fresh, clean look without drawing attention away from your statement-making pop of color.

A Backdrop for Other Color Stories

Opposites really do attract when it comes to neutrals and colors. Mixing neutral walls with colorful decor allows your personality pieces to show off their unique and distinct assets. A good neutral wall will become the foundation of your design scheme if you’re looking to display colorful antiques, flower pots or vases, graphic pillows or large artwork, among any other personal treasures you could be interested in showing off.

Neutral interior paint colors create a landscape for other pops of color or creative design elements to tell their own color story without the distraction of a vibrant or dark-colored wall. The decor doesn’t just have to be in the living room, either.

A kitchen could have a colorful tile backsplash, a bold choice of cabinet hardware or even a unique pigment in poured concrete countertops. A wall collage of family photos may be the focal point in a hallway or master bedroom. Sometimes the color story doesn’t come from the wall itself. Instead, let a fresh professional painting project complement your favorite pieces of decor.

Find Your Soft Spot

Any interior designer will tell you that texture is key to creating a dynamic and inviting space. A textural element in a room could be the velvet of a pillow or throw, the shine on a floor tile, a wooden furniture piece or a woven wall hanging. These textures can easily disappear into the background when a bright wall greets you as soon as you enter a room. But when paired with a neutral wall, these decorative elements and textural additions get the attention they deserve.

For example, a visually interesting bathroom with textures like a soft mat, rustic towel ladder or decorative plant will appear more inviting when set against a neutral color, like Feather Down by Benjamin Moore. Those little textural touches can really make a room come alive.

Neutrals Are a Wise Investment for Now…

Have you ever looked through your closet and wondered how that shirt ended up on a hanger of yours? Your fashion aesthetic can change just as quickly as your design tastes. What makes a neutral color palette so great is that there’s very little painter’s remorse.

If you decide you want to switch up your interior design, it’s much easier to update your existing bedding, artwork or rug than to have to paint the entire room. Neutrals can also work with any style. If your tastes have changed from contemporary to rustic or minimal to bohemian chic, a neutral backdrop makes it simple to adapt.

“There’s nothing boring about selecting a neutral color for your interior painting project,” says Peter Buttenwieser, managing partner of CertaPro Painters®of Westchester, NY and Southern CT. “They’re classics that will age with you as your space grows and changes in both decor and function long after your professional painting job is complete.”

…and Also a Wise Investment for Later

Painting the interior or exterior of your home with a neutral color is also a wise choice if you are currently selling or think you will soon put your home on the market. According to experts, neutrals sell homes.

These neutral colors help people better visualize themselves living in your space. Light blue bathrooms with a gray-blue tint can add to the appeal of the living space. While in living rooms, light taupes and a black front door can add a pleasant color scheme and create an inviting environment when viewed by you or others.

Not only are neutrals a smart choice now to adapt to your changing tastes, but they’re also a wise investment for the long run if you decide to sell.

You pay good money to heat your home during the winter. Don’t let your money escape through leaks in your home. Follow these tips for how to keep your heat:

Seal Walls. The walls and ceilings of your home are the only thing separating the inside from the out, but walls have leaks where holes were cut to install outlets. Reduce the air leakage around outlets by caulking where the electric box meets the plasterboard. Make sure you shut off the power to that section of the house before working. If you have recessed can lights, you should also seal the can’s perimeter with caulk.

Hunt for Insulation Gaps. From the attic to the crawl space, you’re bound to have gaps in your insulation. Anywhere that lets light in is a leak that should be filled with expanding foam to seal it up. For bigger gaps, traditional insulation will get the job done.

Schedule a Heater Tune Up. If you haven’t done so already, replace your heater’s filter.  Call your local heating oil company to schedule a tune up. Although a tune-up can cost around $100, it can end up saving you hundreds on your winter heating bills by ensuring your heater runs efficiently and also by preventing any potential costly repairs that may be needed should something break.