Hey there!  This post is 5 ways to warm up a neutral room with a fun announcement you don’t want to miss at the end!  But first, I feel a lot of white or neutral spaces can be sterile looking and feel cold and uninviting.  So when it came to fixing up the interior of the country house and painting some walls in the city house too, I thought long and hard about how to keep things warm and welcoming.  So how do we warm up a neutral room anyway?  Let’s see!

5 Ways To Warm Up A Neutral Room

No matter what neutral wall color you choose there are things you can do to keep the room cozy.  And since there are a lot (and I mean 100+ in Sherwin Williams alone) of different white/neutral paint colors, we chose Sherwin Williams #7567, Natural Tan for the Navasota house (on left), a slightly darker color than the Sherwin Williams #7036, Accessible Beige in the Highland Village house (on right).  I feel having a tiny bit of deeper color helps keep things from looking like a hospital.

If you’d like to see a bit of the Navasota house before we started fixing it up, click here.

Way #1 – WARM WOOD TONES

Bring in the warm woods on the floors, beams on the ceiling, wall decor, antique furniture, chairs, etc.  Anything that’s made of wood or has those same tones.  Try and keep your woods and wood tones near the same color.  If you have drastic changes like a light floor with a dark chest on it, the room feels less put together.

Way #2 – TEXTURE

Rugs, baskets, pillows, throw blankets, etc. can also warm up a neutral room.  In spring and summer you can do that with floral arrangements, fabrics and baskets.  In the winter throw blankets, pillows, layered rugs and candles will do the trick.  Lampshades and wall art help too.  Like the grain sack hanging on the wall.  Lots of texture there.

Way #3 – LIGHTING

The bulbs you choose in your lamps and overhead lighting are a huge factor in warming up a room.  I love incandescent bulbs but the Mister says nope, they are too expensive to run.  So after some trial and error, I have firmly decided that LED bulbs in a 2800-3200 kelvin bring out the most beautiful and flattering light for a neutral room.  In my opinion, fluorescent bulbs are just to blue to do the job.  And don’t forget lamps are better than overhead lighting!

Way #4 – PLANTS/GREENERY

You’ve heard me say this over and over – plants or greenery liven and freshen up a room.  They also make it welcoming.  Much like a nice lawn to a front yard, the color green is soothing.  They don’t all have to be real, a good fake plant is enough.  Don’t go crazy though.  If it looks like a jungle it will seem cluttered and overwhelmingly busy.  Not a good look unless you have a garden room, conservatory or she-shed.  Put me down for the she-shed.  I’d love it but my family wouldn’t see me for days.  Hmmm, my birthday is coming up… 😉

Way #5 – CURTAINS

Curtains are like earrings.  It’s the finishing touch to a beautiful face or outfit.  Curtains can also be expensive.  Especially if you have tall windows or high ceilings.  If you choose a panel, you want the curtain to barely brush the top of the floor or be about one inch from touching the floor.  If you have standard sized windows and walls, hang the rod as close to the ceiling as possible.  This will make your room and windows seem taller.  If you have great big or tall windows and it isn’t in the budget for custom curtains, go for hanging the rod 4 – 6 inches outside the window.  I also think using curtains in a neutral tone work best.  Having them coordinate with the walls makes it easier to change out your accent decor too.  So, if you have white walls, get white or similar curtains.  If you have gray walls, get a similar gray colored curtain.  You’ll be amazed at the difference curtains make in a room.

Besides these 5 ways to warm up a neutral room, can you think of any others?  Do you have a room that needs help?

FUN ANNOUNCEMENT TIME!

That question brings me to THIS GREAT BIT OF NEWS ~ If you have a decorating dilemma or have a space that needs just a little something, you can now send pictures to my email at cindy@countyroad407.com or post pictures to the County Road 407 Face Book page to seek my help!  Woo hoo!  I’m happy to give free advice.  And when you’ve completed some of my suggestions and want to share it with us (only if you want to share), I’ll feature you on my Face Book page!  So make sure you are following the FB page!

I’d love to help you and really believe we should all live in a space that we love.  Plus, my opinions are overflowing!  LOL

Happy Decorating Friends!

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