Neutral Nelly or to be a Milquetoast
‘Never.’ I
should just banish that word from my lexicon.
Say it all the time. Not only do I come from a long line of women who eat their
young, we are a judgy
bunch too. I say ‘Never’ a
lot. Whenever I see neutral spaces, my
first instinct is to judge the space away as being too boring, too restrained,
as not having any frisson. ‘Never!’ I say. ‘Not for me!’ I say. I am a frustrated artist, so my heart naturally sings
with color. But I have to admit that
lately I am drawn to tonal spaces that are devoid of riotous pattern and
color. This
is noteworthy coming from the magpie who’s favorite color is
pink-glitter-shiny-bright-with-a-side-of-spots.
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| Sally Wheat via Joni Webb/Cote de Texas |
If done
right, with textures, layers, metallics, and a limited palette, tone on tone is anything but
bland. That milquetoast can be
magnificent. Which is my
ineloquent way of saying milquetoast can be alluring. I am seriously contemplating going in an
entirely different direction with Chez V aka the Postage Stamp – one that involves a layered
Out-of-Africa tonal canvas. Think
natural fiber rugs layered with hides, slip covered upholstery, metallic
accents, lots of linen, creams, and canvas, unpainted wood, and some blue and white for that waspy shot
of colonial color but grounded with smart doses of black. And probably a smidge of animal print
– which I consider a neutral, Kassey!
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| Timothy Whelan via Arch Digest |
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| Ashley Goforth Design |
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| Joni Webb via Cote de Texas |
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| Megan Megas via Antique Shops & Designers |
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| Lindsey Reid via House Beautiful |
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| Mark D. Sikes via House Beautiful |
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| via Simply Seleta |
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| Stephen Shubel via House Beautiful |
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| Bettina Nuschei via Nuevo Estilo |
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| Kathleen Clements Design/Briggs Edward Solomon Design |
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| Lynn Morgan via House Beautiful |
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| via pinterest via Scot Meacham Wood |
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| Heather Bullard |
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| via pinterest via Erika Powell |
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| the McGrath ladies via Good Bones Great Pieces |
The
irony here is that I did the whole natural fiber rug/layered hide thing 6
years ago. I started out with a huge
jute rug that I thought would be ideal for a huge dog. WRONG!
Mega wrong! Sure it was
durable, but it showed every muddy paw print, slobber stain, and wine
spill. Then I layered a hide rug over
the stained jute. Brilliant! Hid the
stains on the jute not to mention miraculously repelling any new stains. Super easy to clean off – let a spill dry and
brush it right off. The problem was that it
was major beige-y browntown in a north facing dark room. Boo.
Similarly, I tried sisal, and then seagrass in
various different spots all to the same results. Stain City Sweatheart. Plus the sisal and seagrass showed
wear pretty quickly. Boo too. So I swore off natural rugs in favor of patterned spot
hiders. Plus, I had just had a little and needed
something soft and plush for her to roll about on. So the hide has been in hibernation for 4 years. But now I am OVER the patterned rugs – excepting of course if they are of the
antique persian
variety - so I am ready to pull the hide back out. And a natural rug. So here I am again, saying NEVER SAY NEVER to natural rugs again. And neutral nelly milquetoast spaces. When our over large beast leaves for greener pastures, I am so doing the
tonal Out-of-Africa thing. With a side of bling.
Oh who am I kidding? I will likely have 3 new patterns and a gold-leafed ceiling in this house by next week.
ps - Listen, animal lovers, I love my dog, but he is sick and old
and his quality of life isn’t good. No
judging. There is only room for one Judgy McJudger
around here and that role is taken. I am
simply making light of a sad thing.
and pps - I'm tired - I will attach links later
kisses, mrs. V
