With unlimited color choices, swatches can be overwhelming.
You're ready for a color change, but picking colors for your entire house is tricky. You want each room to stand out individually but also blend together seamlessly, creating a comfortable flow throughout your home. Go bold and beautiful or calm and serene. Reflect your personality, as well as the mood you want for your family, in your color scheme.
Cues From Nature
Find inspiration from nature. Look through pictures of your favorite place, whether it's your backyard or the beach, and pick out your color scheme from the image. A landscape rarely has only a blue sky and green grass. Find your neutrals in sand, rocks, tree bark and clouds, perfect for flooring, trim and baseboards, countertops, furniture, cabinetry and even wall color. Pick subtle hues from the sky, grass, leaves and flowers for wall, tile, accent rugs and artwork colors for a soothing and calm effect. Choose from the bold end of the spectrum, with the brightest blues, greens, yellows and flower colors to pack a punch with the wall, furniture and artwork colors, or just for accent vases, blankets, pillows, rugs and candles. By choosing colors from the same scenery for your entire home, you will have a natural flow, but vary the tones and accent colors to create individual looks for each room.
Monochromatic
Using the same color throughout a room, or even your whole home, does not have to be boring. Pick a color you love and vary the tones of the color throughout. Add a twist by mixing in a hybrid of the color. For example, if your favorite color is blue, use gray-blue for the walls, a very pale blue for your trim, a navy or bright blue for simple accents and a twist with blue-green or blue-violet for artwork, rugs and accessories. Think of the spectrum of the color, from the palest to the darkest shades, as well as different hues of the color, such as the blue-green in the example. Differentiate between rooms by changing tones.
Contrast and Balance
Balance color with contrast. Pick colors opposite on the color wheel for a balance between warm and cool colors. Pair a bold color with neutral accents. Contrast dark tones with light tones. Balance a red kitchen with white cabinetry. Warm up a blue room with yellow and orange accessories. Liven up a neutral beige or tan room with bold, saturated colors, such as red, teal, purple or blue, in the furniture, drapes, rugs and accessories. According to HGTV, the "60-30-10" rule is a good principle to follow for a balanced room. Your color scheme should include three colors, with 60 percent of your room one color, 30 percent a second color and 10 percent the third color. The 60 percent is usually your wall color, the 30 percent your cabinetry and furniture and 10 percent your accessories.
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