How to decorate with neutrals:3 designers weigh in

KEEP IT IN THE (COLOR) FAMILY

For wall colors, Cristina Azario likes to work with a broad range of shades in the same family, from light to dark. This makes a home feel unified while allowing each room to have its own mood, she explains: “All of the colors in my home have a neutral, natural quality.”

CHOOSE TWO ACCENT COLORS

The easiest palette for a room, says Mishaan, is tone-on-tone neutrals with the addition of two accent colors. In the living room, those hues are the blue on the trim (Ralph Lauren’s Rowboat) and the orange-red of the rug.

FOCUS ON A UNIFYING ELEMENT

Devin Kirk’s palette is a controlled range of neutrals from pale to dark grays and browns. To tie the rooms together and give the home a modern edge, he painted all the moldings in a crisp, high-gloss white by Benjamin Moore.