In Photos: This Boutique Hideaway's Neutral Palette Is A Balm To The Senses

Style and design has always been fluid, changing with the times and the tastes, from one generation to the next. There was a time when bold was better. Everyone wanted flashy designs and colorful hues to simulate grandeur.

While bold colors still work, and there’s still huge demand for it, interior trends see a considerable shift to more neutral palettes and designs. If done right, neutral colors don’t have to be boring! You can make neutral work for you. And there are three main reasons why we think neutral is just the best for any home: it makes the perfect backdrop, it’s a classic, and it’s gender-neutral.

Check out this beautiful summer house that masterfully uses muted colors to create a relaxing and gender-neutral home.

Neutral colors shows off texture

When you use bold colors in a space, the eye is automatically drawn to the color. That’s the use of popping colors: to excite, to grab your attention. But when you make use of subdued colors and neutrals, you let everything else in the room blend together, allowing accent colors to stand out.

Textures and lines and furnishings, most of all, stand out well in clean backdrops. You’re likely to appreciate the grain of wood in the furniture, the lines in the carpet, and the interesting play in textures in the accessories.

You never grow tired of neutral

A bold orange or a bright yellow is such a beautiful color alone, but more so when applied in the proper context.  Strong and warm colors such as these start to lose their charm when they confront you everyday, every minute. You then suddenly want to start experimenting again. Painting your bedroom red or hot pink, for example, can be so stimulating that it may not deliver the peace and serenity that you should be associating with the room where you rest and sleep.

Neutrals, on the other hand, are very non-complicated. They are classics you'll never grow tired of looking at it. They are calming. They're peaceful so they are perfect for when you want to clear your mind at the end of a long, tiring day. It’s just there when you need it, and does what it needs to do.  Think of the colors of the sand on the beach or the pebbles found along the shore.  There's a reason why shades of beige and gray come in different shades, all referencing some sort of tranquil vista found in nature.

Neutral works for any style

How often do you see a pink bedroom and immediately think that it’s occupied by a young kawaii girl? How often do you step into a dark studio painted and furnished in mostly black and greys, and think that a bachelor lives in it? Whether we like it or not, we often associate colors with sexes: assigning pink paint for a newborn baby girl and blue paint for a newborn baby boy.

But that’s the thing about neutrals: it works for everyone, for all kinds of style and genders. There are no expectations and stereotypes when you walk into a neutral home. There are no judgements. Only peace, serenity, and openness play into the association of a space.

We have arrived at an era where the world has started to open up to different genders and sexual orientations. But while there is more to be won in the fight for gender liberation, let’s appreciate the little opportunities like appreciation for gender-neutral designs and spaces that discourage judgement and stereotypes.

About This Home

The Summer Home is an AirBnB rental located in Ontario, Canada.  It is an 8-minute walk to Lake Huron, and can be rented here.