Color Palettes for your Home
Are you struggling to figure out which colors will look best in your home? Do you try samples only to be disappointed in the outcome? Creating a color palette for your home can be challenging, especially for first timers. But it isn’t an impossible task. I’ve put together a list of tips that anyone can use to determine what colors will look just right in their home. (Hint: Consider buying a paint fan deck from your favorite paint store. Fan decks are relatively inexpensive and are a great color source when trying to create a home’s color palette.)
Fan Deck
- Think about the colors that you already use in your home. Do you have a particular painting that you love or an antique hand-painted chest that really speaks to your design style? Focus in on those cherished items and see them for their colors.
- Don’t have any household items that have great color? Then head to your closet. Often times the colors that we choose to wear are also colors that would work in our home. You wouldn’t buy a sweater in turquoise if you didn’t love that color, right? Make a list of the colors in your wardrobe and hone in on the colors that you buy most often or that visually appeal to you the most.
- What style is your home? Do you live at the ocean or in a trendy loft? The style of your home can help you determine the color palette. For instance, if you live at the beach and spend a lot of time outdoors, use nature’s palette of cool blue, creamy white and sandy-taupe. However, if your home is an upscale loft with a great nighttime view, you might consider a bold chocolate brown and white scheme with red and silver accents (see below samples).
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Narrow down your favorite and least favorite colors. Does black depress you? Is yellow too chipper and flirty? Is pink just as girly as you are? Make a list of what colors inspire you!
Blue Color Combo
Brownie a la Mode
Each room in your home will react differently to paint colors, depending on the light, the time of day and the other items you have in the room. Paint large swatches on multiple walls and live with them for a few days. As the paint sits, pay close attention to how the color changes and what you like and dislike about each color. After a few days you should have a good idea about which color will work perfectly in your space.
A few tips before you paint:
- Prep the walls by filling holes, sanding out rough spots, and priming. (If you are using red wall paint, prime with a grey tinted primer to get the purest red color on the walls.)
- If you aren’t the greatest painter, take the time to tape off the baseboards or moldings with BLUE painter’s tape. It’s worth the hassle.
- I generally go for an eggshell finish instead of a flat. If you have kids or pets, the scrub-ability of eggshell finishes will be your saving grace. You can use high gloss paints for all trim work.
- Want to add a little extra spice to your awesome new wall color? Consider a glaze or candlelight finish atop the paint. Just adds that little extra drama!
Choosing a color palette for your home is not an impossible endeavor….just takes some patience and some practice. I hope these tips give you the confidence you need to start a new painting project. Now get out there and color up your world!!
Hi and thank-you for your tips on painting projects. All very helpful. Being a big Ben Moore fan including their glaze for doing faux finishing, I thought I would ask for your input on a new project: painting our very traditional Hindu-ish yoga shala. Currently, it is all white in a big space-one room but very high ceilings with cross beams and interesting angular walls. The owner/teacher loves slate and has a slate wall at one one near the entrance. I faux-finished the waiting area in a soft cool blue colorwash. The limited furniture-small tables, screen, bench, and alter are dark East Indian wood tones. I have explored the idea of strong warm colors such as in the Indian flag but also deep peachy pinks which are prevelant in many temples. Also, thought about picking up a palette from the slate. Some of my fellow yoginis have championed the idea of strong warm inspirational colors, specifically “safron”. I cannot find that color in BM. I am looking at BM’s passion fruit, pearly pink and tumeric right now?? What do you think?
Thank-you so much for your help and Namaste.
Hi Jeanne!
Sounds like a wonderfully interesting project…..thanks for the question! Here are my thoughts on the color scheme.
The slate and blue color washed colors that you described are most definitely in the cool color family. In order to keep harmony and cohesiveness throughout the space, I would recommend using cool colors to complete the paint scheme.
Cool colors tend to give a space a larger, more airy feeling. Did you know that blue is often called the calming color? I can’t think of a better feeling for a great yoga class!
I understand the need for “energy” in the space, but I think using a warm color like red, yellow or orange, will compete too much with the cool slate. Try using a deeper tone of slate in the space. Or incorporate deep midnight blues or navy to add drama and sophistication.
Hope this helps give you some color direction! Best of luck!
~Cecilia
what is the perfect white paint color to paint the interior of my home?
I like that colour palette pretty well. It seems very balanced, and while it has a very bold red it is not overwhelmingly bright. I would be interested to see some examples of how to use these colours or how people have used them in their homes.
Wow Peggy….what a great question! Without seeing your home, it would be very hard to answer your question! There are hundreds of white paint color options and despite being labeled as “white”, they are all very different. Whites can have any number of “base” undertones. Some whites may appear to have a slightly gray cast while others may seem to have a pink or yellow undertone.
My recommendation would be to look around your home and make a list of the color used in your textiles, like pillows and draperies. Also note colors in floor coverings, lighting and art. And finally, take a look at the trim work (moldings) around your windows and doors…..if possible, write down the color used. Once you have a list of your main color palette in hand, take the list to your local paint store and ask the professionals there to help you narrow down white paint choices.
Best of luck!!
~Cecilia