Choosing the Right Color Palette for Your Home
Color is one of the most powerful weapons in interior design because it can transform a space and influence mood.
When designing your home, of course, you have the freedom to choose whatever color palette resonates with you. However, you’ll want to keep your home from looking like something a clown put together. Instead, you want a harmonious color palette that creates a cohesive look, elevates your living space, and evokes the right feelings.
This guide will show you how to choose colors that not only harmonize with your style but also complement each other and enhance the beauty of your home.
Overview of color theory
Color theory is the study of how colors work together or interact and how they affect our emotions and perceptions. Some combinations can be chaotic and make you cringe. However, certain combinations can create a beautiful, harmonious look.
Understanding how colors work well together is key to finding color combinations that create the wow effect.
Also, colors aren’t just pretty to look at. They have the power to affect our mood. For example, a room with vibrant yellow can energize you and spark creativity, while a space featuring cool blue generously can invite calm and relaxation after a long day.
Color theory helps you create beautiful spaces and choose colors that give the vibe you want for each space in your home.
Components of color theory include:
The color wheel is a diagram showing the colors of the visible spectrum and their relationship to one another. It shows:
- Primary colors: Colors that cannot be created by mixing other colors. These are Red, Yellow, and Blue.
- Secondary colors: Colors that are created by mixing the primary colors. These are orange (red + yellow), green (blue + yellow), and purple (green + blue).
- Tertiary colors: Colors created by mixing a secondary color with a primary color. These include red-orange and yellow-green.
Color harmony
Color harmony focuses on the different ways the colors of the color wheel can be combined to create visually pleasing designs. Some of the ways it describes include:
- Complementary color schemes: Complementary colors are colors appearing on opposite sides of the color wheel (such as green and red). Their high contrast can create vibrant designs. Just don’t overuse them.
- Split-complementary color schemes: Split complementary colors involve using one base color and any or both of the two colors adjacent to its complementary color. An example is combining red with green-blue and green-yellow. Split-complementary colors provide contrast without the tension that pure complimentary colors can create.
- Analogous colors: This involves using three colors next to each other on the color wheel. An example is using green, green-blue, and green-yellow. An analogous color scheme creates a comfortable design.
- Triadic color schemes: Triadic colors are three colors evenly spaced on the color wheel, forming the three corners of a triangle. This creates a more balanced yet colorful design.
- Square color schemes: Square colors are four colors evenly spaced on the color wheel, forming the four corners of a square. It creates an even more balanced and colorful palette than triadic colors.
- Monochromatic color schemes: This involves using variations of the same color. A monochromatic color scheme creates a cohesive color palette for a very unified and serene look.
Warm and cool colors
Colors can be classified as warm and cool colors based on their psychological effects (the emotional responses they evoke or how they influence behavior).
Warm colors tend to stimulate and energize, making them excellent for creating inviting spaces. Warm tones include:
- Red: It represents passion and energy and can create excitement.
- Orange: It creates enthusiasm and can spark creativity.
- Yellow: It can evoke feelings of happiness and optimism.
Cool colors are colors we associate with calmness and tranquility. They evoke the same feelings as water, sky, and nature, making them excellent for creating spaces that promote relaxation and reduce stress. Cool tones include:
- Blue: It creates calmness and serenity.
- Green: It symbolizes nature and balance.
Understanding the feelings that colors evoke will help you combine warm and cool colors appropriately to make your space give the vibe you want it to give.
What is the golden ratio of interior color palettes?
The golden ratio is a mathematical principle found in nature that is applied in interior design to create visual balance. The principle calls for using a base color in 60% of a space, a secondary color in 30%, and an accent color in 10%.
The golden ratio is important when choosing a color palette for your home, as it helps you avoid doing too much. Stick to the 60:30:10 principle, and you’ll create an aesthetically pleasing space without having too much of one color and overwhelming the eye.
The dominant color usually covers the largest areas, such as walls, flooring, and architectural elements. The secondary color adds variation to the color scheme and is typically added via some wall paint colors, upholstery, rugs, curtains, and furniture pieces. An accent color is used sparingly to create focal points in the space and is typically incorporated through accessories, throw pillows, small decor items, and artwork.
Pro tip: Use accent colors that contrast with the dominant and secondary colors, as this helps capture attention and create visual excitement.
For example, see how this wood-colored accent Arbor Round Wall Mirror stands out against the surrounding neutral color palette and adds playfulness and charm to the space.
There’s no strict rule about how many colors you can use in your whole house color palette. However, don’t be tempted to unleash your inner Picasso with a rainbow explosion, as that can make your home overwhelming.
Following the golden ratio, a good guideline is to limit your palette to three colors—a dominant color, a secondary color, and an accent color. However, you may sneak in additional shades of these colors for depth and variety. But remember to maintain harmony and balance while at it.
Steps to choosing the right color palette for your home
Choosing the right color palette for your home can feel like solving a Rubik’s cube, especially if you’re not an interior designer. But with the steps below, choosing the right color palette for your home is easier.
When choosing a color palette, it’s important to choose colors that reflect your personality and create an environment where you feel comfortable and happy.
Take time to assess the colors that resonate with you. Elements in your current home and even your wardrobe can help you identify your preferences. Also, familiarize yourself with the different design styles, such as minimalist, rustic, bohemian, and more. Identify which styles appeal to you, and pay particular attention to how they incorporate color.
Interior design magazines or platforms like Instagram and Pinterest can help you find inspiration for what you want to achieve. Scroll through these resources and take note of colors that grab your attention and how they are incorporated.
Note that these resources are only for inspiration. Your goal should not be to identify and follow the next trend. However, trends come and go. So, it does not make sense to go with trendy colors you’ll love for a moment but that can make you cringe in a year. Instead, go with colors that make your heart sing. Think about the colors you are drawn to, and build from these.
How your space is, significantly affects how colors will appear and how they affect the atmosphere. For this reason, choosing a color palette should also involve assessing your space. Some things to consider include:
Size
Consider your space’s dimension. Is the space big or small? Does it have low or high ceilings? Lighter colors can make smaller spaces feel larger and more open and give low ceilings the illusion of height. By contrast, darker colors can make a space feel smaller and make ceilings appear even lower. So, the dimensions of your space should dictate the colors you choose.
Function
Since colors affect mood, how you use a space should dictate the color palette you choose. For example, colors that tend to energize do not work well in bedrooms where you need relaxation. Consider using calming tones that promote relaxation in bedrooms, warm tones that spark creativity in study rooms and offices, vibrant hues that create excitement in playrooms, and more.
Lighting
Colors present differently under different natural lighting conditions. That is, the amount of natural light that enters a space affects how colors appear. For example, pale blue wall colors may appear lighter and more serene in a bright room. But they may look more muted or dull in a dimly lit space. So, when assessing your space for the right color scheme, consider how much natural light comes in.
It is always good to start from what you already have on ground, especially if you will use these elements in the space after designing. This ensures the color palette does not clash with existing elements you will use. So, identify a key feature or element in your space and use this as the visual anchor of your color palette.
Existing elements that can be the focal point of your color palette include:
- Architectural features (like large windows or a fireplace)
- A significant piece of art
- A standout piece of furniture (like a bold sofa or a unique dining table)
- A vibrant rug or curtains
To choose a focal point, look around the room and determine the element that draws your eye first. Once you have your focal point, think of how colors will work with it. You can choose colors that complement it or contrast with it but ensure harmony throughout the space.
For example, if you have a striking sofa with a bold color like the Buddy Sofa in Dijon, you can choose softer, neutral wall colors to allow the sofa to stand out.
However, with the Elysian Sofa pictured below, using medium to light gray colors can create a cool and charming monochromatic scheme.
Having considered your personal style and an existing element you will use in the design, choose your colors.
Start by choosing a base (foundation) color that will serve as the primary hue for your room. This base color will feature on walls and large spaces and is also the color you’ll build your palette around. So, choose one that will not have you questioning your choice every time you walk into the space.
People often commit to a color and find out it doesn't look as they imagined. To avoid this happening to you, test paint swatches before committing to any color. Grab a color you love and put samples of it on your walls. Live with the sampled paint color for about 48 hours and see how you feel about it.
After choosing a base color, use this as a reference point to select complementary and accent colors. For example, if your base color is beige, you may select earthy tones for accents to create a cohesive look.
If you listen to most interior designers, the go-to base colors are neutral tones like whites, beiges, grays, and taupes. They create a subtle backdrop for vibrant accent colors and complement various interior design styles.
To create a cohesive palette, you should work with the color wheel to identify and use tones within the same color family.
Use color relationships to choose what colors go well together. Consider colors that sit on opposite sides of the wheel for a beautiful contrast that adds a dash of invigoration. For example, if you have teal as your base wall color, you may choose coral as a secondary color for a vibrant look.
You can also consider using colors next to each other on the color wheel for an analogous scheme. With the colors next to each other, they can create a beautiful, harmonious scheme.
When it comes to how many colors you can use, follow the golden ratio (or 60:30:10) rule to avoid drowning in a color mess. With this rule, creating a balanced, harmonious look requires working with three colors. If three is too restrictive, you may use additional shades of these colors as accent colors.
Consider a bedroom with light beige wall colors (60% dominant color), dusty blue bedding (30% secondary color), and soft coral decorative cushions (10% accent color). You may use beige variations like deeper taupe for furniture pieces or light cream for curtains. You may incorporate dusty blue variations like navy or light blue in throws or a rug. Coral variations like bluish-pink can come in via wall art or small decorative accents.
When it comes to creating a whole house color scheme, it’s important to ensure a cohesive flow between different spaces.
Flow ensures that colors create a sense of continuity from one space to another. This means selecting colors that harmonize with each other so the transitions from one space to another feel smooth. A well-thought-out flow with colors transitioning seamlessly from one space to another helps create a unified look.
Color flow is especially important in open-concept spaces, where a distinct area of the house is visible from another area. You don’t want to be in one area of the house, and the colors from the other areas feel jarring. While closed-off rooms allow for more round-about color choices, you still need a unified look so it doesn’t feel like you’ve stepped into a different planet when you move into the room.
An easy way to create a harmonious flow is to use a common color. For example, if you use a soft beige in the living room, consider using it again in the hallway to tie the spaces together.
Another way to create a flow is by using colors within the same family or that have similar undertones. For example, a light gray can transition into darker versions, allowing for variation while maintaining harmony.
Takeaway: Create a beautiful color palette for your home with belle aura
Creating a color palette for your home shouldn’t feel like finding your waythrough an impossible maze. Follow the steps in this guide, and choosing aharmonious color palette will be a whole lot easier.
belle aura provides high-quality furniture and interior decor elements forincorporating color and glamorizing your home. We have a wide variety offurniture and larger decor items like area rugs to incorporate secondarycolors. We also offer tons of interesting accessories, art, and smaller decoritems for adding pops of accent colors.
Ready to create a harmonious color palette and bring your space to life?
Explore belle aura store today!