How to Punch Up a Modern White Living Room

New This Week: How to Punch Up a Modern White Living Room

Consider these easy combinations to bring personality, color and texture to your neutral backdrop

Mitchell Parker July 8, 2016

Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative trends, breaking news, industry analysis and humor.

A lot of people gravitate to a modern-style, all-white decor scheme to create light, bright and open living spaces. That’s because the approach awakens the senses and promotes a feeling of freshness. Who wouldn’t want that in a room where you often socialize? But all-white schemes, if left to their own purity, can come off feeling a bit too bright and, let’s be honest, boring. 

To temper this downside, designers pull in hits of color, texture and personality through accessories and furniture to energize the neutral backdrop. Here, three living rooms that begin with crisp white walls and bright white sofas get some much needed punching up.

Hogue Interior Design LLC

1. Stone + Jute + Trim + Plant

Designer: Michelle Hogue of Hogue Interior Design
Location: Westport, Connecticut
Size: 374 square feet (34.7 square meters); 22 by 17 feet 

Homeowners’ request: A neutral and fresh color scheme that supports entertaining 

Punch-up: Oversize Belgian bluestone surround and hearth plus fiddleleaf fig for color; jute rug and simple trim for texture; different shades of white on walls, ceiling and trim for depth 

Special feature: Wall of doors connecting the interior to a covered porch, terrace and pool 

Designer secret: “Minimize or eliminate the mantel,” says designer Michelle Hogue. “Let the stone surround be the focal point of the fireplace.” 

“Uh-oh” moment: “We struggled with whether or not to paint the fireplace wall a different color, or possibly apply a Venetian plaster,” Hogue says. “In trials, the darker color on this wall helped to ground this space, but it competed with the Belgian bluestone surround. Painting all of the walls the same color visually made the space feel larger.”

Also on the team: Bluewater Home Builders; Anthony Tartaglia (architect); Meridith Baer(stager)

Surround and hearth: Belgian bluestone with custom trim; paint: Penthouse (walls), White Dove (ceiling) and Winter White (trim), all Benjamin Moore; trim: custom, Bluewater Home Builders and Hogue Interior Design

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Katie Martinez Design

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2. Pattern + Natural Wood + Rug

Designer: Katie Martinez of Katie Martinez Design
Location: San Francisco
Size: 370 square feet (34.4 square meters)

Homeowners’ request: Turn a two-bedroom attic space with a dropped ceiling into a relaxed and comfortable family room with a raised ceiling 

Punch-up: Patterned pillows and books for color and personality; natural wood for warmth; rug, throw pillows and blanket for texture 

Special features: Painted wood ceiling boards; large window; slipcovered sofa for easy cleaning

Why the design works: “We maximized the amount of lounge space in the room with the big sectional, soft rug and lounge chair,” says designer Katie Martinez. “We were also able to orient the sofa toward the TV and the window. There weren’t any flat walls in the room, so we got creative with the built-in bookcase and window wall so it could accommodate both.”

Designer secret: “Natural light and views always make a room,” Martinez says. 

Also on the team: Aubrie Pick (photographer); Silvestre Vera (contractor); J Style At Home (cabinetmaker); Integrand (engineer)

Paint: Super White, Benjamin Moore; sofa: Eilersen; coffee tables: Blu Dot; lounge chair: Design Within Reach; rug: Restoration Hardware; floor lamp and pouf: Serena & Lily; pillows: Non-Perishable Goods and Sue Fisher King

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Park and Oak Design

3. Sisal + Metal + Leather + Plant

Designers: Renee DiSanto and Christina Samatas of Park and Oak Design
Location: Glen Ellyn, Illinois 
Size: 440 square feet (40.9 square meters); 22 by 20 feet

Homeowners’ request: A mostly white scheme for a fresh, clean look 

Punch-up: Sisal rug for texture; metal-and-glass coffee table for shine; fiddleleaf fig for color; brown leather pillows for warmth

Special feature: Outdoor fabric on the sofa 

Designer secret: “I think focusing on textures is what made this room a success,” says designer Renee DiSanto. “Sometimes a space calls for bold colors or a lot of pattern, but we wanted this space to be simple and relaxed but still interesting.”

Sofa: Restoration Hardware; sisal rug: Pottery Barn; cowhide rug: CB2; coffee table: Williams-Sonoma Home; pillows: Schumacher; wall paint: custom blend, Benjamin Moore

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