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Can Colour Be a Neutral? These Rooms Prove It Can

By Talia Hart On

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.
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