Discover Home:
I’ve talked a lot on this platform about the benefits of a neutral home. As I’ve explained more than a few times, John and I have curated a fairly modern, neutral home. He likes to call it a ‘room in a box’ or an ‘apartment in a box.’ His idea is that when we move, we pick up everything and move it from one room in the old space, to the same room in the new space. But you all know that’s not how my brain works. I intend to re-use our belongings in whatever new and exciting way suits our new space the best. For me, that’s the joy (and the benefit) of having a neutral home. Let’s chat…
Our Old Kentucky Home…
Currently, we live in a small town in Southern Kentucky. We’re about an hour north of Nashville, Tennessee, and we absolutely love our community here. We have a semi-luxury apartment with all the amenities. It’s a glorious place and we couldn’t be happier.
Our apartment came with some pre-chosen color options: Gray cabinets and trim work, gray luxury vinyl flooring, and gray carpeting. Oh! And light gray walls. So… neutrals were going to work best for our space.
We currently have a modern organic aesthetic and it’s working beautifully for us. Lots of blacks, lots of natural stone, lots of wood, moss, greenery, and natural elements. LOVE!
Somewhere Beyond the Sea…
But what happens if the next location is somewhere sunny and 75? How does this modern organic aesthetic translate to a coastal area? That is the beauty of a neutral home!
This week, as we’ve talked about the ‘next location,’ I found myself walking through our apartment assessing our belongings. What would go with us? What would be move to storage? What tweaks would we want to make that would work with a modern coastal aesthetic? What items do I have in storage that could be used in a coastal space?
So, I created a mood board to give an idea of how a modern organic home would easily transform into a modern coastal home. (These items are some I already currently own and are packed away in storage.)
Meet (a neutral) Modern Coastal Home
Simply by changing out the sofa pillows, swapping a leather tray for a rattan tray, replacing leather placemats with blue woven placemats, you can see how the change begins to take shape.
Big ticket items, when neutral, can stay the same. They are static. It’s the accessories that bring the updated change to the home.
By choosing a few woven baskets, a couple of new coastal accessories, and removing the majority of black, the space transforms from a modern organic home to a modern coastal home by choosing lighter color options. You do not have to reinvent the wheel.
Rocky Mountain High…
But what if the next next location is a mountain home? Think log cabin, or a home with stone and lots of wood. How do these pieces then transform again to fit that aesthetic. Let’s be honest, a coastal home is not going to fit in well in a mountain location – any more than a modern organic on would fit the vibe of a seaside retreat.
So how do you take those same ideas and pack them up to move to a modern cabin, or modern mountain home? Well, again, that’s the beauty of a neutral home.
Suddenly, instead of the blue pillows, swap them for darker colors like taupes, grays, or chocolate browns. Instead of a wool rug (which would also fit in a modern cabin home) you may want to incorporate something more rustic like a cowhide rug.
Again, big-ticket items like dining tables, sofas, coffee tables, floor lamps, and some decor, will translate very well. I created a second mood board, so let’s take a look at that. (These are also items we currently own and are either in our current home, or are stored in our storage locker.)
Meet (a neutral) Modern Mountain Home
When the majority of your home furnishings are neutral, you can transform the look and feel of your space simply by choosing what to keep and what to cull.
In this case, you could swap out the coastal decor items like coral and shells for more rustic modern items like stone book ends, a concrete candle holder, and some rustic vases.
In addition, by choosing items like a faux fur blanket, a sheepskin pillow cover, and modern lighting, suddenly, you’ve gone from a coastal aesthetic or a modern mountain home simply by making darker color choices.
The joy (and benefits) of a neutral home…
So, whether you are just starting out, or have owned your belongings for a long period of time, there is extreme versatility in a neutral color palette. Now, that is not to say that everything in your home has to be neutral.
What if you really love a dark burgundy red, or a vibrant blue? What if you like to swap out your colors with the seasons or holidays? Again, that’s the beauty of a neutral home. When big items like sofas, tables, chairs, rugs, draperies, etc are neutral, you can mix and match or change out your accessory colors with very little effort and cost. AND, a lot of styling pieces can transform from one aesthetic to another simply by changing surrounding decor.
And that is the joy and beauty of a neutral home! You have the freedom to create whatever aesthetic you like. And, you also get to decide from month to month, year to year, holiday to holiday, or location to location what feeling suits your lifestyle best!
xo, Billie
discover more:
- The Versatility of a Good Color Palette: https://forwardourmail.com/the-versatility-of-a-good-color-palette/
