Wintery Grays

Today is a beautiful gray day in Northeast Ohio.  The kind that invites you to slow down and cozy up.  I adore color, but I can't help noticing romantic neutrals lately.  As you know, gray is one my new favorite colors.  So soothing and mysterious.  I love it used in a neutral scheme.  The romantic neutrals are all about texture and shape, mixing in some rustic/organic and industrial/functional pieces.  I hope you enjoy these photos from my inspiration file.

 Love that lantern!  This would be a cute outdoor space.

 Love the painted brick and the repetitive shapes.

Love the hanging light!  Also love the display of white bottles.  May need to steal that idea.  Above three images Emma Thomas via Desire to Inspire.

I know this picture has been circulating, but I couldn't help but include it.  Such a gorgeous room!  Love that rug, the slip cover and the hanging light.  Love the palette coffee table.  Love the enlarged photo and over sized lamp.  A cozy, funky room that still manages to look simple and uncluttered.  A fine achievement.  Image via The Style Files.

Sometimes a piece is beautiful because of its pure functionality.  I need that over sized hook and one of these clothes hangers.  Image Bodie and Fou.

Beautiful slip covers lend cozy informality to this room.  Love the large organic art.  Styling by Marianne Evennou.

I hope this coffee table was made from a tree that was already felled, and not chopped down for this purpose.  If so, it's gorgeous.    Love the slip cover.  Looks like a cozy place to curl up with a puppy for a nap.  Styling by Olsson & Jensen.

Just because it's winter doesn't mean your outdoor space can't be beautiful.  I love this space!  Especially the large Buddha head.  Kathleen's Carriage House via Apartment Therapy.

Just a little more.....

Yes.  It's an obsession.  Romantic neutrals.  Lots of white, with gray.  Industrial with Moroccan inspired accessories.  Low scale, simple yet beautiful rooms.  I can't get enough.

 

How gorgeous is this modern room?  Cool and sleek, with just the right amount of warmth from the Moroccan-inspired candlesticks and the hanging lanterns.  Also love the low scale of the sofa and table.   Image Cor via sofablog.  Incidentally, I highly recommend sofablog.  It's a wonderful German blog. I love its unique perspective, and I always find it inspirational.  I'm adding sofablog to my link list.  Seems to be a lot of cool art coming out of Germany these days.  I'd like to travel to Berlin.

I know this room is highly stylized, but I can't get over the colors.  Love the soft dove gray of the sofa, table and rug.  Does anyone know who designed this fab sofa?  Jaime Hayon maybe?  I adore the table too and would love to know its designer.  Patricia Urquiola maybe?  That brushed aluminum bowl is cool too.  The room is feminine, soft, airy, simple with just the right amount of edge.  A fine accomplishment.  Here's a couple more from the same stylist.

Every room should have a pop of pink.

And a funky lamp.  Above three images photographed by Lo Bjurulf.  Image via  Agent Bauer.

I need that display case for my pottery.  I also need that little silver table.  Image Ikea Sweden (I think, please correct me if I am wrong).

Romantic Neutrals

Funny thing about neutrals.  They're really growing on me.  I've been seeing tons of romantic, organic, industrial, neutral rooms.  As you know, I love a neutral scheme with white floors. I'm so addicted to color, I can't imagine that I would ever go totally neutral, but these rooms are intriguing.  Here are a few of the keys to a successful neutral room:  organic objects; tons of textures; a mix of materials like glass, concrete, steel, wood; large amounts of white.  I also adore pops of silver, gray and even lavender in a neutral scheme.   Here are some great examples.  Hope you enjoy!

 

Above two images Annaleenas Hem.  Love the light fixture.

Peter Margonelli.  A neutral room can be very mysterious.

 Love the black chairs, the white table and floors.  Image source unknown.

 I love black, white and gray with pops of lavender.  I also love the pop of silver from the disco ball, and the Euro Saarinen coffee table (probably my favorite table of all time).  This room is just the right mix of rustic and shiny.  Above three images Agent Bauer.

Love the gray walls with the white mantel.  Love the collection of gray pottery.  Image Amanda McLauchlan.

Neutrals can be cozy.  Love the mix of materials here.  Amenity Home.

Love the rustic floors, white sofa and industrial light!  Image Andrea Ferrari.

Here is a trend that's been around for a while, but doesn't show any signs of slowing down.  Nor should it.  The black accent wall.  It's incredibly chic.  I adore this beautiful bedroom.  It's slick, romantic, sophisticated.  I love the combination of wood with clean lines, pretty bedding and retro lighting.  A stunning achievement.  Image via the boo and the boy.

Reader's home at Desire to Inspire.  Love the pale gray and white.

Love the bed in the alcove.  By keeping the walls, bedding and drapery white the look is airy.  Also aiding in keeping the room airy is the fact the curtains are hung low, letting in the natural light.  I think this would be a wonderful place to rest during a gentle rain storm.  Image source unknown.

Love a pop of color from artwork in an otherwise neutral scheme!  Image via Retro Villa.

Here's a look you know I love.  A pop of pink - provided by the chair - in an otherwise neutral scheme.  Proving, once again, that pink is not just a girly color and can be used in a thoroughly modern way.

Swoon.  Love these acrylic chairs!  A successful neutral scheme incorporates lots of different materials.  A neutral room can easily be too dark. Using acrylic or glass is a smart way to keep a room airy.  Above two images Roger Davies.

Love the painting.  Love the pottery. Simple shapes work well in a neutral scheme.

Love the pottery, the furry pillow and that funky lamp!  The skull art, well not so much.  Above two images Studio KO.

How cool is this kitchen!  Love the black walls and the white counters and cabinetry.  Looks so clean and modern.  Not usually a fan of the cuckoo clock, but spray painted white, it pops against the black walls.  (Hint to a great reader who wants to incorporate rustic and cowboy elements in a modern scheme - make an art installation.  Spray paint unusual elements white and float them on a colorful wall for a pop.  Remember to go big!)  Image via Lovenordic Design Blog.

I love the shape of these Moroccan-inspired hanging lamps!  It's a great idea to use a glass table in a neutral space.  It takes up little visual weight.  And notice how this table doesn't have stuff piled on it, this shows off the beautiful wood floor.  Image via VoK Design Group.

Industrial kitchen.  Rustic dining set.  Fab.  Image via vtwonen.

This beautiful, cozy room works because of the variety of textures (I hope the bedspread is faux).  Image via Design Crisis.  What about you, dear readers?  See any ideas you'd like to incorporate in your home this Fall?  I don't imagine I will ever quit using color, but there are some ideas here that I'm going to use.

Pops of Pink in a Neutral Scheme

I love pops of pink in an otherwise neutral color scheme.  I adore pale pink, but hot pink is my favorite.  It looks great with black, gray, silver and even navy blue.  And pink is not just a girly color.

Pink can be done in a thoroughly modern and edgy way, as this fab room sows.  Love the sofa.  Love the lights.  Image via Norm Architects.

Pops of hot pink work well to temper a slick, masculine room as these pillows show.  Todd Davis for Room Crashers on HGTV.

One of my favorite lamps of all time!  The pink Murano looks so fab with the gray walls.  And dig those chairs.

 Above two images via Emily Henderson.

Above two images Door Sixteen.  I'm sure you read Door Sixteen, don't you?  It's a great blog.  I love Anna's living room.  Love the black accent walls and, of course, the hot pink pillows.  I need Anna to come to my home and arrange my pottery.  I love the way she styles.  The room is rich, but still simple.

Room designed by Ligne Roset via Houzz.  I love the look of pink coupled with industrial look of the walls.  To see more pink coupled with industrial chic, check out this fab loft featured in a previous post, here.

Vintage furniture takes on a new life when given a fresh coat of paint.  This vintage piece is really funky in hot pink, I love it!  This would work well in a room with gray walls.  Image via Vamp Furniture.

Look at this fab bedroom set by Karim Rashid.  You already know I love me some Karim.  He's due for a new post.  I love how his furniture (like Zara Hadid's) has no recognizable historical time reference.  It's just kind of organic, shapely and so sexy.  This photo proves that hot pink, gray, white and silver look great together.  What about you dear readers, are you thinking about your Fall decor?  Will you be including pops of pink?