WHITE & BRIGHT LIVING AREAS

I've never studied interior design ( would absolutely love to though ) but it's pretty clear that if you start with a good base, then decorating will naturally be a complete breeze. What I've found living in nearly five different apartments in my young adult life is is that the best looking ones always made for the most enjoyable decorating experience. Almost no work was involved. All you needed was some moderately good taste to really ' make ' the room.

In the spirit of beginnings, let's take a look at the white and bright room. The barest you can go but also the type of room that holds the most decorating possibilities. In some of these photos, you can see that there are wall panelings. I really love wall paneling because it adds dimension and character to an otherwise bare empty room. The only annoying thing is that they are often found pre-dominantly in European architecture. Of course they come in other styles of homes as well. Pre-war, Victorian, Edwardian but then again, which countries boast the most of those styles?

What's so nice about white is that it's an 'honest' colour. Nothing can hide from white. It reflects light and it brings out the colours that are already in the items which you have. It's also malleable, meaning that any style or taste will fit perfectly into the space. White is accomodating. It's a morphing pad for your creations. Its simplicity is malleable but when left as is without interference, it's elegant, simple and modest.

The latest apartment I lived in in Tokyo was a loft style one that had a huge abundance of natural light and what I loved about that, was that it made colours pop very brightly. My colour palette has changed somewhat very recently and I tend to not go for such brightly coloured furnishings or decorations as often as I used to. I love colour and I always will but the effect of colour is youth and naivety.  I suppose it does depend on the types of colours and shades you're going for though.

I'm someone who loves simplicity when it comes to furnishings but find it hard to stick within the boundaries of that particular look. I'm far too eclectic in my taste and findings to be able to stay scrupulously within the lines. When I watch movies or flip through magazines, I often wish very hard that I could have such a solid, definitive taste profile. I can't, too eclectic!

Original post by Amanda Shadforth here 

Photos by Astrid for Gravity home link here