Are you bold enough to live in a neutral home?

How does one go about determining what is a suitable color scheme for one's home? This question comes up again and again in client-designer interviews. Some are quick to toss out colors they like, and yet others are quite stumped, and their blank stare says it all. The process of discovering one's color preferences is part of self-discovery. Some find inspiration in their wardrobe, using what they like to wear as a point of departure. This is just one approach to trying to resolve a design problem.

Others take photos of spaces or rooms they have visited or seen in a design or shelter magazine. At the end of the day, it's not important how you get there - just that you do. Most color schemes can adapt to traditional or contemporary designs. But changing a color scheme can be costly; therefore, the most important thing is that you like it - make that love it! Some people are even afraid to commit to a color palette and always choose a single color for their color scheme.

Now, statistically, half of you think a combination of neutrals is boring, another third don't care one way or another, and the remainder think a neutral color combination is elegant and sublime.

Let's see why.

There are hardly any colors that do not complement some shade of a neutral: the family of low-key hues that range from the darkest charcoal to walnut and sandalwood, to the palest colors of silver and ecru (almost white). All of these colors are formed by brown or black with varying intensities of white. The novice decorator will find that most of these neutrals and a color are easy to pair. This is a very "safe" and yet extremely flexible combination.

Neutral colors such as decorator's white, China white, white dove, dover white, ivory and linen are easy colors to paint walls and cover vast areas such as flooring and upholstered goods. These colors are in stock year-round in fabrics and paints because of their popularity and flexibility. Of course, many will say that these colors are stale and not very exciting. The winning strategy is to pair them with either light or dark wood casegoods and then choose one or two vibrant colors to create unexpected and stylish combinations.

These neutrals-plus-a-color are versatile and have a long shelf life. These are not combinations that one quickly tires of, and they are easy to update or freshen up by reselecting or changing out accessories such as pillows and tabletop items. Like the little black dress, neutral-plus-a-color combinations are a classic approach to interior design.

Regardless of your interior design style, or your preference for traditional or modern furniture, the neutral-plus-a-color approach is useful for any decor from country when paired with earth tones, to nautical when paired with blues, to city sophisticate when paired with grays and black, and island casual when paired with white.

• Joseph Pubillones is the owner of Joseph Pubillones Interiors, an award-winning interior design firm based in Palm Beach, Florida.

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