Can Colour Be a Neutral? These Rooms Prove It Can

You don’t have to rely on beige or white to create a serene space.
Colour can feel just as calming and grounding when thoughtfully selected, gently enveloping a room. From soft pinks and yellows to muted blues and greens in bedrooms, bathrooms, laundry rooms — and even living areas — these rooms prove colour can work just like a neutral.
Hazy peach limewashed walls in Bronte by Bauwerk Colours are the perfect backdrop for this charming principal ensuite by designer and homeowner Elizabeth Macfarlane.
- Photographer Astrid Templier
- Designer Elizabeth Macfarlane
Elizabeth’s dressing room is awash in the same pinky-peach hue.
- Photographer Astrid Templier
- Designer Elizabeth Macfarlane
Farrow & Ball’s Skylight is a serene backdrop in this principal bedroom designed by TOM Design Collective.
- Photographer Patrick Biller
- Designer TOM Design Studio
This charming laundry room boasts creamy yellow beadboard panelling and fetching terracotta- and pink-hued floor tile.
- Photographer Astrid Templier
- Designer Elizabeth Macfarlane
Butter yellow walls create a serene palette in this bedroom by designer Brian McCourt.
- Photographer Valerie Wilcox
- Designer Brian McCourt
Mellow green panelled walls in designer Alana Firestone’s family den has a calming effect. “We wanted to weave in colour wherever this home allowed,” says Alana.
- Photographer Lauren Miller
- Designer Collective Studio
In this bedroom by designer and homeowner Orsi Panos, walls are drenched in the same pale pink hue to keep the look light in the small space.
- Photographer Valerie Wilcox
- Designer Orsi Panos
White kitchens may be classic, but a soft blue can feel just as timeless—especially in an oceanside home. This boho-meets-beachy kitchen in Vancouver is proof that the right shade can work just as well as white, beige, or cream.
- Photographer Mary McNeill Knowles
- Designer Alana Dick, Ivory Design Co.