No More Boring White Walls

We're not afraid of color in our home but our main living area, hallway & kitchen do boast a simpler color palette. Although we opted for possibly the most popular paint color in these spaces that exists, we didn't want to stop there & settle for anything that lacks interest. When choosing our shade of white (Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee) we knew ahead of time which features we would add in & around these rooms so it didn't feel so one note. Here's what we did to keep our white rooms from falling flat.

1. Box trim: We've since added box trim detailing in several rooms of our home but the living room & hallway are where it all began. This is a super affordable & relatively easy DIY project that elevates your walls. Painting it the same color as the walls keeps it looking classic & clean but still adds shadow, texture & dimension.

2. Contrast Color for Trim: Another paint color we picked out at the same time we chose our white was a contrasting trim color. The base, window & door trim in our living room & hallway are a light & airy shade of beige (Benjamin Moore Natural Cream) - to keep things cohesive & to create a natural flow from the front of our house to the back, we used natural cream on our kitchen cabinets & backsplash as well. Depending on how much trim you have to cover & the layout of your home I think this is one of the cheapest & simplest ways to spruce up a room with white walls.

3. Light fixtures: Wall sconces have been huge for a couple of years now. We have some simple taper candle sconces with battery powered taper candles in our living room. The whole thing cost about $30 to pull off & it's so fun to turn them on in the evenings for a little touch of cozy. This can even double as an art piece & is another simple way to add some texture & visual interest to an otherwise ordinary space.

4. Bold rugs & furniture pieces: A white room is the perfect opportunity to go a little on the bolder side with a patterned area rug or colored furniture. Curtains are another good option for breaking up a plain wall but don't limit yourself to something white or neutral... think velvet or a fun pattern! We had our cream sectional sofa before we ever painted our living room white but if I were choosing new furniture for the space today, I wouldn't shy away from a leather couch or some green chenille chairs. If you're not purchasing anything this large right now, fun throw pillows & blankets are a good place to start.

5. Bring in the Rich, Warm Tones: One of the best pieces of advice I got last year when rearranging & painting our living room white was to bring some warmth up from the floor with a set of bamboo shades (Shout out to Austin's Aunt!) This brought an element of cozy back into the room so it didn't feel so stark. Since then, we added a stunnnning vintage display cabinet in our entryway & it's this deep stained mahogany. If a full light & airy color palette is what fancy's you, run with it babe but if you're wanting to reel things back in a bit then try adding in a few of those warmer, richer wood tones.

6. Colored walls/wallpaper in adjacent rooms: This one may take a little more strategic planning but it can really pay off. If you're keeping a main living space white, choosing color or even a wallpaper (or both!) for an adjacent room can broaden your home's color palette. We went with a wallpaper mural & green paint color in our dining area, just off of our white kitchen. Our study, an earthy blue / green paint color (Pigeon by Farrow & Ball) & our bathroom (Nicholson Red by Benjamin Moore) are both off of the white hallway & are both visible from the living room as well.

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