The colours within your home have the power to completely transform its atmosphere, making it feel warm, inviting, and uniquely yours. Whatever your style or decorating goals may be, creating a harmonious colour palette is key to creating balance and cohesion. Read on for some of our expert tips for choosing your best colour palette.
1. Think about the mood you want to create within the space: First thing’s first—you need to ask yourself what you’re looking for from your design. The colours you choose for your palette will have a strong impact on the overall mood of the room. If you want a space to relax in, you may opt for blues, greens, greys, or neutrals. If you want a space that’s more punchy, bolder colours like yellow and red may be just the ticket.
2. Consider anchoring your room with a neutral: Using neutral paint shades as a foundation creates a versatile and timeless backdrop for your home. Shades like Delicately Dark, East Village, and Picnic Basket are all excellent options for a neutral base paint. You can then add more colour and vibrancy with complementary accent colours and accessories. Neutrals also work well across rooms, helping to unify the space and create a consistent flow throughout the home.
3. Follow the 60-30-10 Rule: You may have heard of this popular rule in interior design, used by many to achieve a balanced space. The basics of this are as follows:
- 60% of the room’s colour should come from a dominant colour (often the walls or large pieces of furniture).
- 30% should come from a secondary colour (think rugs, curtains, or smaller furniture items).
- 10% should be your accent colour (cushions, artwork, or decorative objects).
4. Turn to the colour wheel for guidance: The classic colour wheel is a vital tool for selecting complementary colours. Analogous colours (colours next to each other on the wheel) offer a soft, harmonious look—think blues and greens or reds and oranges. For a bolder, more energetic look, choose complementary colours (opposites on the wheel), like blue and orange or purple and yellow.
5. Look to Mother Nature for inspiration: Surely there’s no better designer than Mother Nature herself? Look to the colours around you to find what shades you are drawn to and incorporate those into your home. If you’re partial to a day at the beach, you may wish to bring blues and sandy beiges into your home. Or, if it’s a walk through the woods that delights you, you may wish to bring varying shades of green and brown into your spaces.
9. Enhance your palette with pattern and texture: Introducing patterns and textures into your design through elements such as fabrics, rugs, cushions, or curtains is a great way to add interest without clashing with your established palette. Patterns and textures will also help to break up the monotony of solid blocks of colours, adding interest and dimension.
Ready to start beautifying your home? If you’re looking for a fabulous paint colour to build upon, our Colour Samples make the process seamless and enjoyable. Our A5 Real Paint Swatches are premium paper samples coated with real paint, allowing you to test colours mess-free at home. They’re adhesive-free, portable, and fully recyclable. Choose up to 5 samples per order for £3.99; for more, place separate orders. For everything you need on your decorating journey, call into your local Crown Paints Stockist!
