Putting the ‘new’ in neutral

Neutral gets a bad rep. It’s the gear you’re in when you’re going nowhere. It’s not having an opinion. In design, it’s synonymous with bland and boring. But that doesn’t have to be the case! We need to flip our view of neutral on its head and see how neutrals are permanently in style for a reason, as they help to hold your entire interior design together.

Neutral interiors act as the solid base for your interior. From there, you can add pops of colour through accessorising – which you can easily change according to the season. Neutrals can also help to create an utterly striking space, and here’s how…  

Layers

Layering is the secret to creating beautiful neutral interiors. Without it, a space can look flat or unfinished, like a blank canvas.

But neutral doesn’t mean just black and white, or beige and white. You may be using a simplified colour palette, there within that, you need to consider the variation in shades, contrasts and textures. Think, for example, about merging matt, textural Venetian plaster walls with gloss ceilings. Even if they are in the same colour, they will give the space an entirely different feel to simply painting walls and ceilings in plain eggshell paint.

At one of our projects in Hyde Park Gate, we have used a fairly minimal colour palette but upped the layers by using combed plaster wall panels in differing directions to add geometry to the design. The ceiling is finished in hand-applied polished plaster, which reflects light at different angles, and we have installed an eglomise mirror that is neutral in colour, but rich in the depth and tone it brings to the stairwell.

Elemental Materials

Don’t feel your use of a neutral palette is limited to a certain number of paint colours. This is the second type of layering begins, by using elemental materials such as metals, timbers, marbles and glass. These beautiful, raw materials naturally have their own style of grain, vein or reflection, and you can use them to add subtle cooling or warming tones, direction and pattern, subtly changing a simple, unadorned space to one that has been thoughtfully designed.

In our Hyde Park Gate project, the dining room has clean lines and minimal detail, but the emphasis is on the materials. The window surrounds in hand-applied gold leaf give texture and reflection. On the floor, we use three types of marble – the main marble, a dark border marble and a surrounding outer border marble that continues through the skirting with inset bronze trim and dark timber capping. Overlaying the floor is a wool and silk rug. And the rear wall features a variety of materials to striking effect, including polished plaster, combed pearlised resin, polished brass, bronze, liquid metal, marble… and two tonnes of timber veneer. It sounds excessive, but the effect is discreetly beautiful.

Detailed Design

An interior never stops at just colours or materials. You can uplift any space with details that add depth and interest, including wall mouldings, ceiling cornicing and dimensional joinery. First, you need to consider the layout of the space and where you want to draw or divert focus by highlighting certain areas in order to create sightlines walls. Then begin to frame the space with applied details and joinery.

Adding shapes and geometry makes things even more interesting. For a quirkiness and personality, add a touch of bold abstract, geometric tiles or curved niches. The palette may be neutral, but the effect is anything but boring.

Our Four Seasons project in Bahrain showcases our love of detailed design, too, with a wall whose double detailed skirting abuts curved marble architrave framing. We have also incorporated a metal mesh insert to the wall, a specialist finish within the framed section and finely detailed credenza (a low sideboard) in front. Suddenly neutrals aren’t so simple after all.

Lighting

With the right lighting, neutrals can pop as dramatically as any brighter colour. It’s all about bringing delicate highlights and shadows to the room. Up or down lighting with LED strips create simple focal points, and if you see the room as a jewellery box, then beautiful, bespoke wall lights, pendants or chandeliers can sparkle like the treasure within. We love a chandelier at Rive Gauche and it’s the ultimate jewel in any architectural interior design. It serves as a sculptural piece, but as with any feature lighting, it solidifies and lights up the room, both actually and metaphorically. And the shadows cast from these feature lights turn up the dial an extra few notches.

Artwork and design pieces

It’s your home, so why wouldn’t you want to infuse it with your personality? Whether it’s a specially-designed piece of furniture or fun accessory, such as a rug or cushions, this way of showing who you are through an artwork is the final flourish when all the rest of your design has come together. Step back and look at how the styles, materials and overall space speak to each other, then balance this out with your final touches. 

At Rive Gauche, we don’t just take care of the interior architecture or the furniture. Our design is holistic, inspired by tonality and contrast, layering and material diversity. We use patterns and textures, play with warm and cool, light and dark, and shape. And we ensure every space has the depth of design and the finishing touches that really make it stand out.

Please get in touch to let us show you how we can make your home stand out.