Dear Jean and Richard, When someone describes a home as tastefully decorated, whose taste is it? I’ve all but decided that “tasteful” means boring. How do you define tasteful? Toni, Asheville

Jean: Hi Toni. Is this a trick question? After all, good taste is in the eye of the beholder, and not everyone has an eye for design. As you imply, “tasteful”—as a general description—can mean quiet and conservative. But what you are interpreting as dull and unimaginative might actually be a reflection of someone’s personality, though most of our readers know how I feel about “beige.”

Richard: Please don’t go there. Beige and quiet and simple all have their place. But I agree that fear of stepping out does not translate as tasteful. It’s more important to select a quality piece that works well in the room than something that “makes do” and happens to match.

Jean: And that’s even assuming you’re trying to match. Sometimes people just simply don’t feel comfortable working with color. I submit that most people can make wardrobe choices involving color—interiors benefit from the same reasoning and sense of style.

Richard: Don’t you think a lot of people see home furnishings choices as more permanent, and are afraid to commit to color for the long term? It’s easy to rely on the myth that “neutral” defines good taste. In my opinion, they would be better off forgetting the idea of neutral and remembering the idea of uncluttered.

Jean: Uncluttered is good. We could put that into a category called “always in good taste.”

Richard: Yes, and also in that category are pronounced colors trimmed in softer shades, such as cream, gray, or white. White is usually a safe bet because it’s so classic.

Jean: As long as those pastels are clean—nothing is worse than something that’s meant to be crisp but is smoke-stained, yellowed with age, greasy, mildewed, cobwebbed, dusty or just plain dirty. In the same vein, “always in good taste” is glass rather than plastic, wood rather than resin, leather rather than vinyl. And real flowers over fake ones. And fresh flowers over dried ones.

Richard: OK, always in good taste is to display your recent purchase without commenting how little you paid for it, or what a good deal you got. Don’t serve guests on paper plates. In other words, don’t be proud of being lazy or cheap.

Jean: Is that experience talking? Just kidding—I actually think you’re getting closer to a universal meaning of good taste, and it has everything to do with pride in self and placing value on your surroundings. If you can apply that attitude to your home, tasteful décor will naturally follow. In a nutshell, choose real over fake, clear colors over muddy ones, and lovingly selected accessories over clutter. I don’t think there’s a formula for good taste, but your home is a reflection of who you are. Your goal should be to make it match your higher self, not your “that’s good enough” self. If your budget is limited, start with a few nice things. Fill that empty corner with a real plant—preferably in a ceramic pot.

Richard: Tasteful doesn’t mean dull or matchy. It means remembering to remove the bar code sticker from the plant’s ceramic pot. Seriously.