Craft a Color Palette for Your Home That Coordinates Beautifully
There’s nothing quite like stepping into a home with a pleasing color palette. When a coordinated color scheme appears to ebb and flow gracefully from room to room, it creates an inviting atmosphere that just feels right.
However, if you’ve made design decisions by focusing on one room at a time as most people often do, you may now find that you’ve inadvertently created a jarring, unsettling effect. For instance, if your living room’s airy coastal blues seem to be in a heated disagreement with the trendy merlot walls in your dining area, it’s time to reassess!
The best place to start is by narrowing down the color palette for your home and then applying it throughout your space. Fortunately, it’s not as challenging as it seems. And I may be a bit biased, but selecting colors for your home can be an enjoyable experience, especially with my expert tips to guide you.
How to Select a Color Palette for Your Home
Follow this step-by-step process for perfecting your home’s color palette. I’ve included the exact color rules I follow as a designer to help you create a space that reflects your personal style and creates a blissful, harmonious feel for your home!
Draw Inspiration from Your Personal Style
Before I create a design plan, I often advise my clients to share their color preferences. I like to know which colors they gravitate to and which ones they prefer I avoid. So, ask yourself these same questions. Which colors appeal to you? And which shades are not your vibe?
Now, if you’re struggling to pin down your answers, know that it’s common to feel a bit all over the place with the colors that resonate with you most. However, you may already have a color preference without realizing it. Try one of these ideas to discover your preferred colors.
Look in your closet and seeing if you have a dominate color. Are you drawn to earthy tones or vibrant pops of color? Pull out a few garments that you love to wear, and consider how those colors could translate to your space.
Walk around your home and take note of the colors already present. What’s there that you want to highlight? Sometimes it’s as simple as enhancing what you already have instead of starting from scratch.
If you have a patterned piece in your home, such as a statement rug or a bold fabric on a chair or sofa, pick out the dominant colors and consider how you can integrate them throughout your space.
Use platforms like Pinterest and Instagram, which often overflow with color inspiration. Create boards or save posts that catch your eye to spark new ideas you may not have considered.
Apply Color Theory
Once you have a small collection of color preferences you’d like to see throughout your home, use the color wheel to understand how these colors mix and match. This visual tool can help you explore different color combos, such as the following common color scheme categories.
Monochromatic uses variations in lightness and saturation of a single color. It's a great way to create a soothing, cohesive look throughout a space.
Analogous refers to colors that sit next to each other on the color wheel, like blue, blue-green, and green. This combination can create a serene and comfortable ambiance, perfect for dining or living areas.
Complementary involves using colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel, like blue and orange. This scheme can add vibrancy and energy to a space, making it feel dynamic and lively.
Triadic uses three colors that are evenly spaced around the color wheel, such as the primary colors of red, yellow, and blue. It creates a balanced yet playful palette that can add a joyful quality to your rooms.
Also, consider the temperature of your colors. Different shades influence our mood and emotion, either to uplift and invigorate or calm and soothe. Warm colors, including reds, oranges, and yellows, add energy to a space, while a cool color scheme that uses blues, greens, and purples creates a peaceful ambiance. Sticking within the same temperature family is another easy way to bring a lovely, cohesive feel to your space.
Finalize Your Palette
Take stock of the colors you’ve selected so far and focus on three to five for your final palette. If you find working with colors challenging, stick with the rule of three. Limiting your palette to three main colors can help streamline your choices and keep your home looking cohesive. Why only three? More than that can risk your home giving off a confused, disorganized vibe, and going with a single color often results in a bland effect.
Next, I recommend prioritizing your top three shades into their specific roles. First, assign a dominant color that sets the tone for the space. It’s the foundation upon which you’ll build your dream aesthetic. From there, introduce a secondary shade, which may be a lighter or darker version of your first color. And finally, assign the third color as an accent hue for that extra pop.
Create Balance with This Helpful Ratio
Now that you’ve selected three color choices and assigned how each one will contribute to your scheme, it’s time to come up with a plan of where and how much you use of each color. I prefer to apply the classic 60-30-10 rule to create a harmonious balance with your color palette. You can play around with the ratio to adjust to fit your home’s aesthetic. But try to stay as close as you can to these percentages.
Apply your dominant color to about 60% of the space and use it to establish the overall tone by featuring it on your walls, area rugs, and larger furniture.
Use around 30% of the secondary color to add depth and interest, ideally on items such as upholstery, curtains, or an accent wall.
Reserve the last 10% for your accent color, which you can sprinkle in through accessories or art to create pops of visual interest and charm.
For instance, if you’re crafting a nature-inspired vibe, use a soft cream as your base on your walls, a rich brown as your secondary on your furniture pieces, and a cool green in your accent touches, such as a vintage ceramic vase.
Account for Sightlines
Talk a walk around your home and pause in each room to pay attention to what you can see from each vantage point. If your living room opens up to the kitchen, dining room, and foyer, those spaces need to harmonize. Having wildly different colors in each room can create a visually chaotic effect. To remedy this situation, select which of your three shades you’ll use as your flow-through color. This exact color will appear in each room to create a cohesive effect. You can simply use your base color to tie everything together seamlessly. Or, you can consistently incorporate your secondary color subtly within each space. Or choose to rely on the impact of an accent color to pull it all together.
Consider Room Features
Adjust your color scheme based the size and scale of your rooms. I often recommend lighter colors and softer tones for giving spaces the illusion of openness, making the area feel larger and more inviting. However, embracing darker hues can introduce a cozy ambiance to your rooms. Also, consider the lighting. It’s fascinating how a color can shift dramatically depending on whether it’s basking in bright sunlight or cloaked in dim evening light. I always recommend that my clients test out potential shades and note how they look at various times throughout the day.
Allow for Personal Touches
One of the delightful truths about color is that it evolves while you live in your space. I like to think of each room as a lively backdrop to the daily moments we cherish, such as fresh flowers gracing your kitchen island or throw blankets when the weather turns chilly. It’s all part of the charm! I encourage leaving some room in your chosen palette for holiday decorations or seasonal shifts that will naturally bring new life into your home.
On Final Tip for Selecting a Color Palette for Your Home
I hope you feel inspired and ready to create a harmonious color palette for your home that resonates with your style. Deciding which colors to use when and where doesn't have to be overwhelming. With the tips and techniques I’ve shared, you can now transform the flow between your rooms from jarring to blissful!
If you’re still feeling a bit stuck or unsure about your choices, I would love to help you coordinate your color home’s palette. Together, we can create a stunning, cohesive look for your home that tells your unique story.
Contact JGI today for our comprehensive Interior Design or convenient E-Design services.
