Back to Basics

When things get hectic and life feels crazy, what do you do? You strip the stress, you break to breathe, and you vow not to let the frenzy frazzle your frame of mind.

The same can be said about the spaces in which we live. There's something profoundly perfect about a place of purity and unadulterated good taste, where thoughts can be cleared, worry put to rest, and when all is said and done, where simplicity trumps stimulation.

What better way to create this kind of domestic calm than with the most perfect color palette of them all? When black meets white the design stars align in flawless formation -- a match made in heaven, a soul-mate kind of love, a palate cleanse to rock your world (no pun intended).

But it begs the age old questions -- are black and white colors in their own right or the lack there of? What do you say? Scientists and artists tend to disagree.

Regardless, I yearn for a little 'back to basics' bliss in my life these days. Deadlines loom, to-do lists never end, and anticipation is so high I can hardly breathe. So shall we vow to slow down together and remember to pause to play every now and again as the days continue to unfold...?

*images via simply seductive, shelter pop, and maire claire maison, elle decor