Decorating & Design
14 Stylish Spaces That Dare To Wear White After Labor Day
Wearing white after Labor Day was once a noted fashion faux pas. But in recent years, white has been recognized for its versatility, lending itself to cozy, layered looks as well as bright and airy styles. Now, wearing the shade after Labor Day is not only accepted, but encouraged — and the same is true when it comes to decorating your home. For the key to creating a white-hot look with the snowy shade, browse through these 14 chic spaces that prove white has a place in your home year-round.
A tobacco-colored sofa and dark grey chairs ground this townhouse’s bright white walls. Autumnal tones, like camel and burnt orange, feel seasonal.
Sabrina Albanese stayed away from cookie-cutter finishes when designing this 1,200-square-foot condo for a singer-songwriter Alessia De Gasperis Brigante. Touches of white balance out the eclectic pieces, like an outdoor chair by Patricia Urquiola and stump tables dipped in white paint.
White metal stools and a waterfall Carrara marble counter marry well with black subway tile and a chalkboard wall in designer Tanya Linton’s family kitchen. A collection of colorful cookbooks and graphic rug up the fun factor.
Bedding is one of the easiest ways to change the feel of a room from season to season. Choose simple white sheets as your base and add in fall colors with a duvet or quilt after summer comes to a close.
White can be found on the pedestal table, sideboard, walls and curtains in this dining room by Anne Hepfer. To keep the look from feeling too vanilla, Anne chose deeper hues for the rug and brought in artful elements, like a bubble light fixture and saturated textiles.
“In many ways, my home is like an autobiography,” says Sonja Bata of Toronto’s Bata Show Museum. A collection of framed artwork by Inuit artists from Cape Breton add interest to white walls.
Light white upholstery is a staple in the pages of our summer issues, but as Gardiner Museum CEO Kelvin Browne proves, the look can transition easily into cooler months. Medium-toned wood furnishings, warm textiles and rough wood walls completes the look.
Pink and white may sound like a summery color scheme, but this dining room by designer Tanya Linton has more heft thanks to black accents on the rug, bistro chairs, picture frame and dining table.
At first glance this linen rug looks bright white, but smaller hints of other colors lend subtle variation. Deep purple bedding is a pleasing contrast.
Toronto designer Sam Sacks upholstered mahogany chairs in moss green velvet and chose a marble pedestal table for a young family’s otherwise-white kitchen. “I always play extensively with texture. It adds depth and dimension to a room,” she says.
Floor-to-ceiling triple-hung windows bring ample natural light into this already bright white living room. On those cooler fall and winter days the homeowners make the most of the fireplace (with a TV hidden above!).
If anyone knows about style dos and don’ts it’s fashion stylist Kate Horsman. As a white devotee Kate embraces light hues year-round. In her bedroom a neon light reads “stairway to heaven” and glows blue when turned on.
Designer Deb Nelson chose the classic pairing of black and white for her studio office in Halifax. The high-contrast space can be tweaked seasonally with accessories and fall foliage.
In this principal bedroom in Cape Cod, cream walls and a paneled peaked ceiling warm up the white bedding. When the cold weather hits simply layer a wool throw at the foot of the bed.