Color has the power to inspire, transform, and create ambiance. When selecting for your home, it’s important to choose a palette of colors that complement each other. Like putting together a great outfit, great coordination makes your home look its best. You wouldn’t pair a heavy brown bag with a pink blazer, and similarly, a hunter green velvet couch may not coordinate with linen peachy pillows.
If you’ve never selected a full color palette for your home before, you may have questions like “How do I start choosing colors for my palette?” and “Which colors may clash in my home?” Our designers at Clarity Homes share below our recommendations on choosing a color palette for your home.
Fundamentals of color
- Remember the color wheel you learned about in school? The basics still apply. A color wheel can be a useful tool when pairing colors in your home. Choose colors that are next to each other for more cohesion, or opposite one another for more contrast.
- Take time to understand the psychology of color. Color can actually have an effect on our moods. Choose colors that relate to the emotions you want to evoke in your space. For example, you might consider blue for a calming, luxury bathroom.
- Colors also have tints and tones. Experimenting with different tints and tones can help you create softer, more subtle colors, or bolder, more dramatic ones. Some colors will also have similar undertones, which make them good pairs, while other undertones may clash.
How your home affects color
- The structure of your home can impact the colors you use. Consider lighting: if you are designing a room with limited lighting, a dark color may make the room appear even darker and smaller. Natural light also affects the colors in a room differently than artificial light. Spend time in each room prior to finalizing your color selections to make sure they look the way you want.
- Your home’s overall design style should impact the colors you choose as well. Contemporary homes often feature bright, bold colors, while modern farmhouse designs feature light and bright shades, with a lot of white. Consider the style you are trying to create to ensure a cohesive look throughout.
- If you have an open floor plan, you can use color to distinguish areas of your home from one another.
Decorating with a color palette
- Decorate vertically from dark to light. Feature darker shades on the floor and lighter tints on the ceiling. This mirrors the light color of the sky and the darker colors of the earth.
- Choose one colorful statement piece and build the rest of the space around that color. Think a bold green couch or stunning slate blue built-in cabinets. If your statement piece has a pattern, you can use a neutral color from that pattern for a great wall color.
- Try a monochromatic scheme by selecting different tints and tones of one color to decorate with.
A certified Master Builder, Clarity Homes believes everyone should have access to the life they want – without being in over their heads with debt. The luxury homes we design and build offer a better way – life simplified. If you’re interested in our available homes or have a question for us, contact us today.