Over on Instagram Stories a couple of days ago I shared a little progress tour of my husband’s office, which will also function as our guest bedroom here at the new house. And I mentioned that I’m considering painting this chest of drawers (see below) the same color as the walls in here. Well, almost the same color. I’d probably have the paint reduced by about 25%, so there will be a slight difference. But ultimately, I want to paint this piece the same shade of green as the walls because I’ve always loved tone on tone interiors!
There is just something so chic about this look.
Tone on tone designed spaces have a calming effect that is anything but boring in my opinion.
And what I love most (and the main reason I want to do a tone on tone look in the office/guest bedroom) is that it creates the illusion of more space. When the furniture matches the walls, it tends to disappear into the wall making the room feel more spacious and less visually cluttered. The office/guest bedroom in our new home is on the smaller side, and I want to be sure to maximize the square footage! So that even when the sofa bed is pulled out, guests won’t feel like they’re cramped in there.
The Keys to Making This Look Work
I think any time you’re going with a monochromatic theme, you run the risk of the space looking/feeling flat. But I’ve looked through tons of inspiration images featuring tone on tone interiors, and my takeaways for giving this look dimension and interest are:
- Vary the depth of color. How much more interesting is this living room because the walls are a much lighter tone than the sofa.
- Be strategic with your standout pieces. In all of the inspiration spaces I’ve loved over the years, the decorative accessories that pop against the tone on tone background are all really, really great statement making pieces. I mean, in this example above, the green velvet lampshade is like the exclamation point! A plain white lamp shade just wouldn’t have had the same gusto here. Tone on tone rooms, really need an exclamation point to work well!
- Layer in lots of different textures. In a tone on tone space, texture matters more than in space where lots of different colors are used. Something shiny, something soft, something nubby, something slick, making sure there’s a good mix will make the space feel more chic and interesting.
I mean, can we talk about the grey mattes on the artwork (pictured above)?! FULL ON LOVE this special little design detail!
So now tell me. If you weren’t already a believer, have I swayed you? Are you a fan of tone on tone interiors?
If you were me, would you paint this piece green or leave it white?
Paint. Paint. Paint. Your style is amazing.