Neutrals aren’t timeless; they’re just non-committal
Have you ever walked into a home and felt… absolutely nothing?
No spark. No curiosity. No warmth. Just a quiet, sterile flatness, like the walls are trying not to offend anyone.
That’s the emotional toll of beige living.
It looks safe. But it doesn’t hold you. It doesn’t see you. And it certainly doesn’t reflect who you are.
As an interior designer, I don’t design to match the trends. I design to match the truth: your truth.
Your story. Your past, your growth and where you're headed next.
The beige that broke her
A few months ago, I met a woman who had just moved into a stunning apartment. High ceilings. Original molding. South-facing windows that spilled light onto her parquet floors. And yet, the moment I stepped inside, it felt like the soul had been vacuumed out.
The walls were off-white. The sofa: taupe. The art? Mass-produced neutrals that said absolutely nothing about her.
I asked her gently, “how do you feel when you walk in?”
She looked at me for a long moment and said,
“I don’t. I don’t feel anything.”
That was the beginning.
She wasn’t looking for “nice.”
She was looking for a home that could see her. A space that could hold the woman she was becoming.
The design process is never just about the room
When I start a project, I don’t begin with the furniture or the floor plans. I begin with you: with conversations, patterns, memories, color reactions, emotional responses.
In this case, she shared stories about her childhood summers in Tuscany, her love of wildflowers, her fascination with quiet luxury. So instead of another beige-on-beige room, we brought in muted olives, dusty rose, the soft brown of aged wood, textured linen and a deep velvet armchair in a burnt clay tone she almost didn’t let herself want, until she sat in it.
The space transformed. But more importantly, she did.
She started hosting again. She started painting again. She began to feel at home.
That’s when I know the design has worked; when the space isn’t just beautiful, but alive. When it breathes with you. When it lets you be fully who you are.
If you want timeless, be honest
People often say, “I want something timeless.”
But here’s the truth: timeless doesn’t mean colorless.
Timeless is about resonance, not restraint. A room can feel grounded and elevated without being beige. It can feel peaceful without erasing your personality.
My work isn’t about making things “nice”.
It’s about creating interiors that feel like a true reflection of you, built to hold your real life, your emotions, your desires.
If your home feels like it’s waiting for you to show up fully, let’s change that.
→ Come connect. I’d love to hear your story.
Written by Carole Vaudable, interior designer
