Let’s talk about common mistakes people make when designing a neutral room!

Before & After: Virtual Rendering

A really common mistake I see people make when they’re designing any neutral room is that they do neutral walls, flooring, and furniture and the room lacks depth and visual interest. To avoid that mistake, I would add lots of texture with different wood tones, fabrics, and patterns while still keeping a neutral color palette.

First thing I would do in this room is add a chair railing and picture moulding. This adds visual interest to the wall without being too overwhelming. We added peel & stick wallpaper inside the picture moulding as an easy and budget friendly way to DIY large scale artwork!

Every room should have curtains hung as high and as wide as possible to trick the eye into seeing the windows as larger and more visually interesting. And every room should have some kind of greenery to breath life into the space. We placed a faux olive tree in the corner of the room and I love how the leaves match the wallpaper and area rug so well!

When we compare the two versions of this room, do you notice how even though we added a lot more furniture and decor to the space it actually makes the room feel bigger? A common misconception when designing rooms is that the more you add, the more cluttered it will feel, but if you’re intentional with finding in functional furniture that fits within your color palette it can actually work in your favor to make the room feel more cohesive and polished.

The key to creating a room that looks collected instead of cluttered is finding pieces that mirror each other. Small details like the rounded legs on the crib are mirrored in the rounded post on the side table and scalloped edges of the pillow on the recliner. The linen shade on the ceiling light matches the linen shade on the floor lamp and the linen curtains. The jute decorative box, woven planter, and wicker baskets all tie together even though they’re placed throughout the room.

Let me know what you think of this design in the comments on Instagram and follow along for weekly room transformation ideas! You can shop the links for this space below or on my Amazon and LTK storefronts. Use the link below to submit your space to be considered to be featured next week!

Helpful Tutorials

How to DIY Wallpaper

A Neutral Lover’s Dream Baby Registry

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