The New Neutral is… Pink?

We all know what neutrals are: colors like black and white and grey and beige that are staid and well-behaved and play well with pretty much any other color. Sometimes they let navy blue join their club, although navy is a little wild for that crew. But there’s a new neutral in town, and it’s… pink? Yes, pink.

I’m as surprised as you are, but I’m also delighted: it turns out that a pale, dusky pink actually makes a wonderful neutral. The color above (seen in a space from Nordic Design) is Farrow & Ball’s Pink Ground, the perfect color to make other hues pop, and add a bit of rosy warmth in the process.

Here’s the same paint color paired with accents of dusty rose, in an image from Farrow & Ball via Mad About the House. Here you can see the difference between the new neutral pink and the dusty rose of the 80s: this pink, by comparison, is lighter and more delicate, pale and warm but not quite band aid-y.

Pink makes an epecially brilliant backdrop to black, spotted here with touches of green. Image fom Lovely Life.

The color palette here is still fairly simple, but you can start to see how this pale, inobtrusive pink takes on other colors like a champ. Image from Living Inside.

I love this living room from vtwonen, and I think the pink walls are what really make it. Imagine this room with white or light grey or even black walls. It would be a totally different space, and, I think, a less successful one. The walls here aren’t attention-getting: they let the other colors have their day in the sun, but they also radiate a rosy warmth.

And interesting twist on the preppy staple of pink and green, from Eco Wallpaper via House of C.

Pale pink and light grey, from Lovely Life.

And finally, from stylist Anna Pirkola, a fairly simple tableau — but look how lovely that colorful Moroccan rug looks in this pale pink room? Doesn’t it make you want to go out and paint your walls immediately? I know I’m thinking about it.