Hi all - I was hoping to get some opinions on decorating theories : )

As a bit of background, we embraced the red, gold, green and beige trend when we first decorated our house about 10 years ago. We painted a red accent wall and light yellow and gold on the rest of the walls, chose red accent chairs and a med brown/slightly gold toned sofa, a green area rug in the dining room and red curtains everywhere. I've got to say, 5 years in I was ready for a change but as major elements were in a saturated color (the chairs, the curtains and the paint on the first floor), wanting to change or refresh one thing pretty much caused me to realize I'd have to change everything. It's now another 5 years later and I'm definitely over it.

My question is more general than my specific situation, though....when you decorate, do you think it makes more sense to pick all major furnishings, carpets, curtains and paint in neutral colors and add color with accessories and pillows? Would you be more inclined to choose a colorful paint/window treatment/rug/art/accent chair to add interest with the realization that a refresh may cause you to have to repaint or replace some of those bigger items which involves cost and time investment?

I'm at the point of wanting a change and I'm leaning towards choosing very neutral elements so I don't have to make a major change in 5-10 years again, but everything ends up looking very one-note and bland when I do that. Do I need to just pick one element and add color and just accept that I'll need to change it out later? It seems kind of wasteful but I'd love to hear your thoughts. Refreshing seasonally and every couple of years seems fine but I'd want to avoid major changes.