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While some choose to decorate with bold and bright hues, others lean on white to define their space. White is crisp, clean, and extremely powerful. Often underestimated. That is, until it has its chance to shine. Get inspired by the many breathtaking sides that this rich and creamy color can offer to a home.

Photography by BRITTANY AMBRIDGE

Violaine Carrère embraced a

monochromatic palette

while renovating her Paris flat.

Carrere outside her apartment, located near Paris’s Montmartre district.

Photography by BRITTANY AMBRIDGE

In the living area, soft sheepskins and potted plants warm up the edited palette.

Photography by BRITTANY AMBRIDGE

Carrère describes her apartment’s aesthetic as a reaction to the visual overstimulation she experiences as a photographer and studio owner. “I was just feeling fed up with color,” she says. “I felt that I needed a Zen place just for myself.” So, determined to fashion her home into a creative refuge, she bought some cans of

white paint

Photography by BRITTANY AMBRIDGE

A fresh coat of your favorite shade does wonders. For her apartment, Carrere painted end tables, shelves, and frames to fit her aesthetic- and budget. (Even exhausted thrift-shop pieces look better in white!)

Photography by BRITTANY AMBRIDGE

Modern spaces can lean on suprising shapes and styles to add visual interest. Dining chairs by Philippe Starck add sculptural elegance.

Photography by BRITTANY AMBRIDGE

A cushioned window seat doubles as a foldout bed for guests.

Photography by BRITTANY AMBRIDGE

When Carrère first moved, there were five different types of flooring throughout the apartment. She discovered that limiting her palette to white lent continuity to her surfaces- and also saved her the expense of replacing them!

Photography by BRITTANY AMBRIDGE

Bare walls and neutral furnishings are an opportunity for building an art-house atmosphere. “Think of your home as a gallery,” Carrère recommends.

Photography by BRITTANY AMBRIDGE

A low bed frame gives the room an air of rock-and-roll elegance.

Photography by BRITTANY AMBRIDGE

Her space is filled with artwork, furnishings, and accessories- many handpainted by Carrère- in a nearly all-white palette, resulting in a soothing sanctuary from color.