Foxtel / Adam Hollingworth
Choosing the right paint colour for your interiors is wholly subjective. You can go with coastal blues, buttery yellows or contrasting combos. However, most of us tend to turn to a neutral at some point, whether it’s a personal preference, or a step towards selling our beloved homes.
And while neutral implies a universality which can never go wrong, there is an art to choosing the right shade. To make it as simple as possible, allow Selling Houses Australia host and interior designer, Wendy Moore, to explain:
“There is a very basic rule to neutral tones: they are either grey-based (cool tones) or beige-based (warm tones).”
Easy enough, right? Well, not quite. Neutrals, like all colours, tend to ebb and flow with trends. “We go through a constant cycle back and forth between them, and the cycle lasts around 15 years,” Wendy explains of the grey vs. beige neutrals. “The issue comes when we paint our house during one cycle, and then want to change.”
Home-lovers may recall the trend of ‘millennial grey’: A cool-toned, multi-grey and white colour palette that swept homes throughout the 2010s. However, the reign of this neutral is over, with Wendy confirming the current preference is for beige-based tones and “warmer, muddier whites”.
So, how do we choose an eternal neutral?
The best neutral colour to paint your home
If you’re looking for a neutral colour to paint your home, Wendy says there’s one colour she returns to, and it’s perfect for owners who are selling or staying in their homes.
“My trick is to choose a greige colour that straddles both sides. It has a mix of grey tones, but has a slight warmth to it,” Wendy begins. “A good example from season 18 of Selling Homes Australia is the colour we used in the Edmondson Park home, called Cotton Sheets by Taubmans. It’s a good example of a soft white that will stand through the ages and the trends.”
A natural trendsetter, Wendy’s chosen hue incredibly close to Pantone’s Colour Of The Year, Cloud Dancer.
Of course, nailing the best neutral for your home will depend mostly on the lighting, and the colour of your floors and possibly furniture. For this reason, it’s always important to test and swatch the colour on your walls, and look at it for a few days, in morning, afternoon and evening light.
Meanwhile, there’s no rule dictating you must choose a neutral at all! As Wendy points out, all colours “come and go” in popularity. The only real way to skirt this issue to choose a colour that you love. “Our home is our own story and we can write the rules. For me, it’s always blues and greens. I can always find a colour there that calms the space, adds some style and feels perfect for the moment.”
If you’re feeling apprehensive about switching-up the colour of your home, Home Beautiful editor Elle Lovelock has her own piece of advice, which she imparted on The Edit podcast: “If you want to paint your house a different colour — just start. Start because then you have to finish it!”
Listen to Elle and Wendy’s chat on The Edit by Home Beautiful wherever you listen to your podcasts, or watch it on YouTube.
