How To Choose A Color Palette For Your Home
Home is a place you anxiously await and cherish. There are many ways to personalize it, but the paint on the walls is one of the most important. It sets the mood, blends the rooms for a harmonious flow and serves as the backdrop to your life. Often, picking colors is the hardest part of creating your space, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are some ideas to point you in the right direction.
Consider Your Floorplan
You’ll want to start with formal areas, like the dining room, living room or entryway, to see what other rooms are visible. If you see the walls of other rooms, you might consider using some of the same colors to tie them together and create a natural continuity from room to room. You’ll start building your color palette here.
Another way to get started is to paint the room you want with the boldest color first and let softer hues of that bold color spill into other areas of the house. It will give your home depth and you’ll be sure the colors go well together.
A Space Divided
When decorating, divide the space into components of 60% of the dominant color, 30% of a secondary color, and 10% of an accent color. You’ll need to pick these as a minimum:
- A shade of white– Use this on your trim: baseboards, molding, door frames, etc.
- A neutral shade– Think of tans, grays, blues and apply to stairwells, hallways or other connecter spaces. You can experiment and mix some with your bolder choices to mellow it out and add a hue to blend the rooms.
- The Chosen One– Your main color. This is the color you love and want to be the main focus.
- Accent– Pops of color that shows your personality.
The Color Wheel
In general, the color wheel shows you at a glance which colors blend the most and which ones are the boldest combinations.
CASUAL/RELAXING EFFECT: This is referred to as Analogous. Color combinations include colors that are next to each other on the wheel, like blue and green. Perfect for a bedroom.
BLENDED EFFECT: This is Monochromatic. This is using the same color, but with different tones. Often gives a warm vibe. Popular in bathrooms and cozy spaces to wrap you in the color scheme.
DRAMATIC/BOLD: This is Contrast. It’s pairing colors such as yellow and orange, or purple and blue. Often used in kitchens.
ALERT: This is Complimentary. These colors are across from each other on the color wheel. Combinations like yellow and blue or green and purple. Ideal usage in the spaces you want high energy, like the home office or foyer.
Inspiration in the Closet
If you’re having a hard time determining which colors you should start with, take a look in your closet. When choosing clothes, you choose the colors and textures you like. If it’s a color you wouldn’t wear, it’s not recommended to integrate that into the paint scheme. Determine which colors you wear and like, then go from there.
Mimic Nature
There’s no denying the beauty of nature. The richness of the soil, the blended hue of the trees and the light of the sky. It naturally draws your attention and makes the room look bigger. Taking a page from Mother Nature’s handbook, paint in the same fashion. Darker colors at the bottom and lighter colors at the top.
Focal Point
The eye tends to naturally follow the largest object in the space. It could be a family heirloom, upholstery, pattern or work of art. Use the colors from objects that attract the eye to pop throughout your paint scheme. A subtle and natural way to blend the room.
Testing, Testing 123
As you begin to hone in on the colors you want, consider buying test pots of paint. The color could look great on the sample card, but not so much on the wall. You’ll get a chance to try out your color combinations to make sure it comes together as expected and can be confident in your final decision.
The MOST Important Part
That would be you. You are the most important part because it’s your sanctuary, your space and it should be an honest reflection of you and your style.
Letting your personality show in your color and design will make you feel…well, right at home!!
If you need help transforming your home to better reflect who you are, consider choosing The Painting Company who offers a free online color consultation. Let their experience and expertise take the guesswork out of it for you. Licensed, certified and insured. Professional, courteous and considerate. Nevada Painting Company aspires to have 100% customer satisfaction. Nevada Painting Company is available to help customers in Nevada.