Is pink the new neutral?
Finding the right neutral base for a room or scheme can be hard, and we've all painted multiple swatches of the best white paints on our walls to find the perfect one. But what about neutrals that aren't white? Biscuit and caramel tones are a good idea, grey has been and (thankfully) gone and magnolia seems ripe for a comeback. However, there's one colour that has never been considered as a neutral but works so well in this case: pink.
When it comes to sales of Edward Bulmer's range of natural paints, pinks have always topped the charts – little wonder when such colours as ‘Jonquil’ and ‘Cuisse de Nymphe Emue’ create such a wonderful base for all manner of spaces. Ditto Farrow & Ball, whose ‘Setting Plaster’ is famous in its own right and who have more than one creamy, dreamy pink to use as a base. These pinks have long been used in stylish houses all around the country but when we featured Catherine Chichester's Cotswold barn and encountered her perfectly neutral and pretty pink kitchen, it was the ideal room to state pink's arrival as a true neutral.
“I was going to go with a fabulous light blue but in the predominantly northern light in that room, the blue made everything far too cool,” Catherine explains. “But the ultimate inspiration was finding the sensational block of marble that I used as my counter top,” she continues. “I saw this particular piece of breccia capraia marble in the yard of my stone supplier. The piece had already been sold to another client and I was gutted. I started to dream about this particular piece of marble and that’s when the pinks took a more firm hold. Our best colour choices are always inspired by nature, with a lot of sensitivity for the nature of the room and a kitchen, for me, is a feminine and nurturing soft space.” Catherine took the time to create the perfect pink for her house, explaining “I mixed four different colours diligently to end up with my kitchen colour to created a shade of pink that allowed for my extensive collection of blue and white China and lots of other colours used in the room. It's a very good neutral!”
For those not wishing to mix four paints to achieve the soft, flattering colour that envelopes Catherine's kitchen, she divulges that she has since discovered a match: ‘Bell Pink’ from Atelier Ellis.
Pinks are pretty, soft and flattering and can bring a wonderful atmosphere to a room without being overpowering, so why wouldn't we use them as a neutral? If you still need more convincing then take a look through the examples below of how it's been used.
Michael Sinclair1/19The colour on the walls and cabinetry of Catherine Chicester's kitchen is a mix of four pink shades from paint specialists Relics of Witney, which collaborated with Catherine on the grey used for the door and window frame. A Rosi de Ruig lampshade echoes the veined worktop from Middlesex Marble.
Photos: Owen Gale, Styling: Rachel Moreve2/19Upstairs in Polly Ashman's West London house, the walls of the open plan main bedroom, walk-in wardrobe and bathroom are all painted in ‘Clover’ by Edward Bulmer, making for a light, neutral space.
Paul Massey3/19Plain English units painted in ‘Mash’ and an island in ‘Sauce’, with patterned Balineum tiles behind the cooker, create a modern country-house feel in this kitchen designed by Rita Konig.
Paul Massey4/19Sarah and Renshaw Hiscox's house in the Cotswolds features walls in a soft Sanderson pink. It's complemented by an ottoman covered in a Hunt & Hope tiger-stripe tapestry and an armchair in Manuel Canovas’ ‘Rita’ jacquard in rose.
Owen Gale5/19The textile designer Molly Mahon, known for her brightly patterned hand-block-printed fabrics, has created a welcoming family home in her Sussex cottage. The living room is a lovely pink colour, picking up on the colourful accents and textiles dispersed throughout the room. Molly painted the fireplace in a style reminiscent of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant's nearby house, Charleston.
Owen Gale6/19Painted in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Setting Plaster’, the light pink living room in this Victorian house in London serves as the perfect backdrop to the bolder tones used throughout the space.
Matt Clayton7/19An eclectic collection of prints and photographs adds to the homely feel of this multi-toned pink room in the London flat of interior designer Cath Beckett, co-founder of Yellow London.
Paul Massey8/19In this delightfully pale pink living room in a London house designed by Virginia Howard, a marble fireplace from Jamb is flanked by two Beaumont & Fletcher sofas covered in Claremont’s wool/silk ‘Toile Chenonceau’; the Acres Farm club fender is in Jane Shelton’s ‘Sienna Red’ from Simon Playle.
Simon Brown9/19While we are used to seeing ‘Setting Plaster’ in kitchens when used on the walls, this kitchen by Samantha Todhunter is the first time we've seen it used on kitchen cabinets. A chequerboard floor in ‘Tora Blue’ and ‘Mallory’ limestone tiles from Artisans of Devizes is softened by the light pink, which is on a wall of panelled cupboards designed by Samantha, inspired by old dressers.
Paul Massey10/19The bathroom in this London house by Joanna Plant has a Carrara marble counter and floor, softened by walls in ‘Cuisse de Nymphe Emue’ by Edward Bulmer Natural Paint and a blind and half curtains in ivory linen from Volga. The colour 'makes you look about 12 years old,’ Joanna enthuses. The gently filtered light, from soft Roman blinds and pleated half curtains in gauzy Volga Linen, also helps.
Sharyn Cairns11/19The sitting room in Ben Pentreath's Dorset parsonage has achieved practically iconic status with its walls in ‘Parsonage Pink’, a bespoke shade by Papers & Paints that was then made available to buy.
Simon Brown12/19Designer Kerri Lipsitz has created a serene sanctuary in her London house, painting the walls of her bedroom in Farrow & Ball's ‘Smoked Trout’. The simple curtains are in Romo's ‘Alana’ fabric in alabaster.
Michael Sinclair13/19Soft, tonal pinks run throughout interior designer Thea Speke's country house, including walls in Edward Bulmer Natural Paint’s ‘Jonquil’, which form the backdrop in the sitting room.
Simon Brown14/19'We loved the cool, pared-down style of a house belonging to a Swedish art collector, which we had seen in a magazine,' say the owners of this west London terrace home. Enter Hugh Leslie whose unmistakable style gradually evolved the house into a smart family home. At the front of the house on the first floor is the pretty, generously proportioned main bedroom. Its walls are lined with the same buff-pink linen ('Prelle Toile Barbare' fabric by Alton Brooke) as the pelmets and the curtains, which adds an extra touch of glamour to the room. Behind it is the en-suite bathroom, with simple panelling, hand-built units and a walk-in shower lined in teak, which feels a bit like entering a first-class compartment on a vintage train.
Owen Gale15/19The walls in Angelica Squire's open plan kitchen, dining room and hallway are painted in Farrow & Ball's 'Setting Plaster'. The amount of light flooding in makes the pink a very light, neutral colour.
Dean Hearne16/19The walls in the main living space of India Holmes' house are in ‘Setting Plaster’, providing a neutral backdrop for India's layers of colour. The window recesses are also a Farrow & Ball shade, ‘Radicchio’ and the yellow fringed lamp is from La Dolce Vita.
Paul Massey17/19In the previous incarnation of Rita Konig's London flat, the walls are painted in 'Greville Pink' by Adam Bray. This provides a base for her layering of fabrics, art and furnishings.
Dean Hearne18/19In the dining area of artist Daisy Sims-Hilditch's flat, the walls are painted in Farrow & Ball's ‘Pink Ground’, a foil for Edward Bulmer's ‘Verdigris’ on the cabinets. The antique map was a chance find by Daisy as she walked by Classic Prints on the Kings Road, and saw it in the back of the shop. The size and colour of the frame made it perfect for this space. The floor throughout is Neptune's ‘Savernake’ engineered wood flooring.
Dean Hearne19/19The colour continues into the living room, where Daisy explains that “it lacked contrast so I painted the Neptune bookshelf in the sitting room in a dark blue (Neptune's ‘Ink’)”.
