It’s me again! And it’s time for part three of the Home Decor for Beginners series! This time we will be talking all about how to choose a color palette.
If you have been following along in the series, we have already talked about Interior Design Tips and Decorating with Colors. In the previous post, we went over how important colors are to a room by asking the two questions we are focusing on in this series: How does this make me feel? How does this reflect my personality?
But maybe your having trouble nailing down the right colors? Because it can be a difficult decision! Obviously I can’t choose colors for you, but I can help explain how to choose a color palette and the process of turning a color palette into a room design.
How to Choose a Color Palette
As someone with a fairly chaotic head space, I can’t tell you enough how important creating a color palette is for me! It helps keep me focused and eliminates distractions so that my designs keep from being overcrowded or overwhelming.
Maybe after the last post, you understand the importance of colors but you’re still not sure what color palette will give you the design you’re looking for. The easiest place to start is with an image or piece of art you are attracted to. If that image gives you the feeling or mood you’re looking for in the space you’re designing, you can pull colors from it to create you’re color palette. Let me show you what I mean with some tips on how to choose a color palette.
Tip #1: Take A Closer Look
Okay, I realize that doesn’t sound like a tip. But here is what I mean, color palettes can be hard to spot. Sometimes our eyes trick us into simplifying what we are looking at. Take for example this image:
It’s a piece of wood, right? Wood is wood. It’s the color of, wood.
But if you actually stop and look at it, you will start to see a color story. It’s not just one color, but several colors working together to create an image. And maybe that image is the one you are obsessed with. The picture you love but don’t know how to use. Well, here ya go:
See! I only pulled a few colors out and you can already start to see how they work together. And the closer you look, the more colors you’ll find. And I usually find that black and white are present in almost every image. Which means you’ve already got two neutrals to start building your palette around.
Tip #2: Everyday Inspiration
I would also encourage you not to look past you’re everyday experiences as you think about how to choose a color palette. The things we do everyday, and what we choose to include in our lives are part of who we are. They are the pieces of our story, and there are colors we can find in them.
Maybe you have a favorite food or drink that you want to be inspired by. Find an image of it you like and see what colors you can pull out. Another great everyday item to design around are plants! Here’s a post I have just on Potted Plant Color Palettes.
If you know me well enough, then you know I’m a pretty big coffee lover. So obviously I had to include a coffee theme example! (Hmm…there may be a Coffee Color Palettes post headed your way soon!)
Tip #3: Accessories
Sometimes finding an art print you like can be a challenge. And art can get expensive. Or maybe you just don’t like things hanging on your walls. That doesn’t mean you should give up on finding a color palette! Try walking through a fabric store and see if any textiles call your name.
Fabric can be a great resource on how to choose a color palette. If you love patterns and color combinations and want a statement textile in your space, you can use complimentary colors from the fabric to pull the room together!
Tip #4: Add a Little Life
Making a space feel alive can be a design challenge. Colors play a major role in how designers accomplish that. An easy place to find colors full of life is outside!
Go for a walk and snap pictures of what draws your eye. Or search online for nature pictures that inspire you!
Tip #5: Tell Your Story
We talked about this a lot in the last Home Decor for Beginners post, but I want to emphasize it again here. Your home design is all about you! It’s about your story and what you want the feel of your space to be. Your design sends a message about you, so don’t be afraid to include pieces of yourself in it. If you love to travel, try finding inspiration in the places you’ve been or want to go.
Or maybe you want to incorporate where you live or have lived in the design. There are many beautiful locations around the world that tell amazing color stories worth sharing.
Tip #6: Don’t Compete
The last tip I have on how to choose a color palette, before I give an actual example on how to design around one, is try not to compete with any elements already present in your space. A common design hurdle are parts of the room that cannot be changed or easily removed such as fireplaces. Rather than compete with it, see if you can incorporate it into your design.
I love including natural elements in a design. If you’re working in a space with a stone feature, don’t fight it, embrace it! Stones are usually full of color options you can pull from. Or maybe your stone matches one of the colors in your palette.
Designing Around A Color Palette
Now that you’ve read through all the tips on how to choose a color palette, hopefully you’re comfortable enough to find the one that’s right for your design. If so, then you’re ready for the next step, putting that color palette to work! To explain the process of turning a color palette into a design, I picked one of my FAVORITE images. And I’m going to give an example of how I would use it as a color palette to create a room design.
First, I want to point out one thing. In my color palette I have both light and dark shades. That does not always have to be the case. Moodier designs tend to have more darker tones. While lighter (as in weight) designs are, well, more light (as in color). But, it is my personal preference to keep them balanced.
Right away, I can tell this palette has a clean or calm feel to it (at least for me it does). So I’m going to keep with that and work from a minimal design style. But I will also need to know what kind of space I’ll be working with. So for the purposes of this example let’s say we’re designing a kitchen.
How to Choose a Color Palette: Kitchen
I would start off by creating the contrast I want as the foundation. So I would begin with the darkest shade, black. I love the movement and feel of the fabric background in our image and would like to incorporate that as well. For that reason I would choose a black marble tile as the flooring for our design.
Then let’s create a little contrast by painting the walls the light grey color (second from the left). It will compliment the marble veins beautifully and draw your eye to it.
Now you’re probably wondering why, if I love contrast so much, I didn’t do white for the walls? Well here’s my answer. Because I want to use white for the cabinets. When you’re working in a kitchen, most of your color real estate is in the flooring and the cabinets. Not necessarily in the walls. So the grey walls help add layers, while the white cabinets give us the contrast!
Alright, lets add more dimension by using the third color from our palette, medium grey. As I mentioned earlier, I love having balance in a design. And right now, our design is pretty heavy with white! Which means let’s use our medium grey with a super modern and unique concrete counter!!!! I’ll take any chance I get to include some concrete in a design. It gives it a hint of industrial and grounds the softer colors or textures.
But wait, we don’t have any soft textures yet. So, let’s throw up some white cotton curtains paired with black fixtures to keep with our contrast theme and stay in the color palette.
Finally, the last color we haven’t used yet, is the AMAZING eucalyptus green. Eucalyptus is definitely having a moment in the home decor world, FOR GOOD REASON! So why not incorporate our eucalyptus color with an actual eucalyptus bouquet! It is so beautiful and adds character to a space with such a minimal simplicity. We are out of colors, so I would put it with a clear glass vase (which is probably what I would have chosen anyway). Throw in some candles and you’re done!
Voila!
Our room is complete! We just made an entire room design, from only five colors! Now, there are obviously other elements in a kitchen we didn’t discuss. Such as the back splash, light fixtures, or door knobs to name a few. But I’m pretty confident you can add some personality to this design and decide on how you want to use our color palette for those aspects of the room yourself.
Why Color Palettes are SO IMPORTANT!
This is obviously only one quick version of this color palette room. You could make changes to add your personal touch like, green cabinets with black counters, and white walls. Or maybe even do black cabinets, green walls, and white backsplash and window treatments. Another great option is grey cabinets, white counters, and green window treatments.
There it is! The reason I love color palettes so much. Once you have a set of colors that work well together, you can make an endless amount of design choices.
Because, you are now a color palette master! Don’t be afraid to get creative and start designing for yourself. It may take a little trial and error (I rarely like every design I put together), but I’m sure you will be able to put together the perfect design for your space!
Thanks so much for reading through this post! Hopefully color palettes aren’t a scary topic for you any more, and you’re ready to start putting them into action.
For more color palette inspiration, check out some of my inspiration posts on Color Palettes!
And if you haven’t already, catch up on the other posts from the Home Decor for Beginners Series
Feel free to pin any of the images in this post for inspiration later, or follow along on social media to hear about new posts or content! Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter.
Talk to you soon!!
