Create a Serene Space with a Monochrome White Interior

Do trends in hair color cross over to interior design? You might think so given the on-trend look for dyeing hair “granny chic gray” for age groups from teens on upwards. Just as gray hair is tres chic, so too monochrome white interiors with gray accents are going from strength to strength. Don’t imagine these interiors are bare, minimalistic scenes of severe design restraint, instead all-white interiors can and should be the opposite: rich, warm interiors punctuated by natural fiber rugs and multiple textures. Read on for tips to achieve the look in your home, and to discover the surprising all-white secret of a high profile New York-based “color pop” interior designer. (Hint: we featured her work in our recent “Color 2020” blog.)

The all-white look is on-trend but it also transcends trends because the look can be instantly switched up with color shots if you decide in a few years time that your mood for all-white is all over. Scan Instagram and all-white interiors outnumber maximalism and other styles? Why? Because all-white is a style within the reach of every DIY designer. It’s not rocket science to achieve the look, and it doesn’t break the bank, but it is a look that benefits from attention to details to create a rich look rather than an Arctic tundra scene.

All-white crosses polar opposite styles. Modern Farmhouse – an updated “shabby chic” style credited to TV design celebrities Chip and Joanna Gaines – is an all-white style, while the chic and understated all-white Swedish Style is best captured by Stockholm-based designer Lotta Agaton. Both styles lack color shots, but neither style lacks warmth. Texas design firm Laura U prioritizes grays, whites and muted brown interiors, and describe their signature monochrome look as “classically current”. 

The serenity of monochrome is not new and some swear by its ability to increase happiness in the home because the look is restful on the eyes, but also because white reflects light and creates an unseen prism of colors said to induce happiness. American interior designer Carleton Varney tells the story of Lawerence Rockefeller who wouldn’t allow anything other than sand colored beach umbrellas and chairs at his oceanside estate because he didn’t want the beauty of the sand dunes to be interrupted by color. The connection of pale monochrome with nature and health is cited by other designers. Designer Ray Booth aligns the monochrome neutral palette look he favors with his love of “simple” Japanese architecture. He only introduces “color” with plants. 

So what are tips will help you achieve the all-white look? 

• White needs light– “wood is what we have, and light is what we need” says Agaton. Warm wood floors lend a balance to light colored rugs, while white walls and furniturereflect light. Windows are often left unadorned, but if you live in a warmer climate use curtains to control the sun.
• White needs “color”– tints of grey and shots of black will add interest without interrupting the flow of white
• White needs texture– this is the most important tip – add texture throughout your room using different materials including wood and textiles plus natural materials like cane, raffia, rattan, rope, and paper. 
• White needs rugs– Nikki Brantmark is the founder of the blog “My Scandinavian Home”. She confirms rugs are an important element of Scandinavian homes whether all-white or not. Very few homes use wall-to-wall carpet, and most home owners layer rugs to create added texture and visual and tactile warmth. Plush, natural fiber Moroccan rugs are one favorite for all-white rooms, but our stock includes many hand-knotted pale and off-white hand-knotted and handwoven rugs that will accentuate your monochrome scheme
• White needs nature– consider adding plants or if you don’t have a green thumb, place an interestingly shaped tree branch on a mantlepiece or standing upright in a vase with stems of gray pussy willows

Before we forget, just who is the New York-based high profile interior designer we mentioned at the beginning who is famed for her color pop interiors? And what is her surprising “secret”? The designer is Sasha Bikoff. She recently revealed to The New York Times that she’s building a home for herself in East Hampton. Will she paint it in her color pop aesthetic? No, she describes it will be an “all-white modern barnhouse”. It just goes to show that even color maestros like Bikoff can appreciate the serene appeal of all-white interiors.