When thinking about color, do you have a favorite? If one comes to mind, do you ever wonder why you prefer it, and furthermore how this favorite color of yours may affect your mood? Colors and emotions are very closely linked, more so than you may even think. Believe it or not, colors can make us feel happy or sad, calm or anxious, and they can even have an impact on whether we are feeling creative or unmotivated throughout the day. Color is very significant in many aspects of life, but particularly in relation to your home as it is often where you spend a great majority of your time.

Whether you are updating an existing home, moving into a new blank slate, or simply looking for a little home refresh, deciding on a color palette for home projects should be a fun and exciting process! If choosing one paint color for a single room is intimidating then you may ask yourself how it’s possible to pick a color palette for your entire home, but we’re here to give you some ideas on where to get started to alleviate this color selection journey, and how to ultimately end up with your dream home!

Understand Color

In our blog on the monochromatic color scheme, we talked about terms associated with color and we suggest reviewing that, but first it’s important to really understand color and how it’s created. Primary colors are blue, red, and yellow. Primary colors are considered pure colors and they cannot be created by mixing any other hues together. Secondary colors are green, orange, and purple. Secondary colors are created when two equal parts of two primary colors are combined to make a new hue. Lastly, tertiary colors are a mixture in varying parts of primary and secondary colors combined to make different hues.

This may sound like common sense, but it’s crucial to understand color theory before making a color choice for a project that’s as big as an entire home palette!

Different Types of Palettes

• Monochromatic: A monochromatic color palette is derived from a single base hue and extended using its shades, tones and tints. Tints are achieved by adding white and shades and tones are achieved by adding a darker color, grey or black. You can refer to our article on how to select a monochromatic color scheme here.
• Analogous: Analogous color schemes are created using colors that appear next to each other on the color wheel. Simply put, it means the color grouping has similarities. These color scheme types have close relationships to one another. Here are a few examples of analogous color schemes: Red, red-orange, orange or blue, blue-violet, violet.
• Complementary: Complementary color schemes are created from using colors that are on two different sides of the color wheel. For example, red and blue, as red is from the warm side of the color wheel and blue is from the opposing cool side. 

Get Inspired by Your Surroundings

You can pull inspiration for the perfect color palette for your home by observing anything from the type of clothing you wear, to your favorite space to sit and relax outdoors. When picturing your favorite form of fashion, whether it be an article of clothing, a bag, or an accessory, think about what makes it your favorite? When envisioning your favorite outdoor space, consider what you enjoy so much about it. Are you surrounded by greenery? Do you prefer mountains or a beach? Determine where you most like to enjoy your time in nature and try pulling a color palette from that visual image.

You can also opt for pulling inspiration from instagram, pinterest, or a magazine for some of the latest color trends. Pick out some of your favorite images of interior paint colors or home decor and make a mood board then determine what is linking all of them together. Are you drawn to a specific type of wood? Do you find yourself hopping on the colored tile trend? Whatever it is you’re leaning towards it is important to understand that your home should be a representation of yourself and your personality so don’t be afraid to get creative with your home color palette!

Now that we’ve covered the basics let’s move onto how exactly to decide on the perfect color palette. 

Start With A Plan

If you’re not sure where to start, we suggest mapping out your space with a floor plan or a list of rooms. Then you should list out all of the existing belongings such as rugs, artwork and home decor that will go in each of the rooms within your home.From there you can create mood boards and start to visualize how you want the space to look and what type of paint palette would tie everything together. When it comes to how to choose furniture color, it’s important to take into consideration how these pieces will compliment your interior color palette. This can also give you a much better idea of what you’d like to keep or move on from and that will ultimately lead you in a more clear direction on what color you want to start with. 

If you’re still not sure, you can find focal points from your list of items within each room and weigh the pros and cons of each. Consider what rooms are adjacent to each other and determine how you’d like them to flow, using common areas and hallways as a means of a neutral connection. We suggest planning out the house one room at a time, starting with the areas that are most important to you or highly trafficked. 

Use the 60-30-10 Rule

When decorating your home, utilizing the 60-30-10 rule is a great way to ensure proportions of color look correct, and balance your space. This is a well-known rule in designing that helps create a color palette for a space. The 60-30-10 rule states that 60% of your room should be a dominant color, 30% should be a secondary color or texture and that 10% should be an accent color. divide the colors in the space into components of 60 percent of a dominant color, 30 percent of a secondary color and 10 percent of an accent color. 

To break it down into more detail, the 60% is most likely going to be walls and large accent pieces such as furniture or a rug. The 30% will be used half as much and can be used on things such as draperies, smaller accent furniture like a side chair, or artwork. This color should be used to support and enhance the main color in the room. The remaining 10% should be used in much smaller forms on pieces like throw pillows, table lamps, or decor items. 

Separate Upstairs & Downstairs Palettes

If deciding on one single palette for your entire home does not seem manageable then it is okay to look at the upstairs and downstairs as separate spaces. In doing so, you can keep the visual flow by utilizing the same neutral color in hallways or areas that connect the spaces like the stairs. If you take this route, it’s also a good idea to make sure the colors compliment each other but don’t be afraid to experiment with multiple options

Consider Lighting

Last, but certainly not least, always factor in lighting when deciding on an interior color scheme for your home. Light both reflects and deflects color and changes constantly throughout the time of the day. A room’s truest colors will be seen during the hours of peak daylight however the hues will change depending on not only time of day but also things like weather and seasons. Make sure to test colors within the room, and in extreme cases, in the exact spot in the room where they will be used to make sure you are happy with the colors throughout the day.

Follow all of these tips above and we’re sure you’re going to come up with a stunning home palette that will certainly impress your family and friends when it comes time to show off your refreshed space! Still looking for that pop of color or texture? Become familiar with how to mix patterns into your decor pieces to achieve that bold look today at Inside Weather!