Sometimes it can be difficult to understand which colours will work well together in your home. Before adding colour to a room, it is important to plan what you want to achieve and to build a colour scheme. This will also make your design decisions easier, as when you start adding items to the room such as furniture, you can refer back to your plan.
One of the reasons an interior designed room can look so good is because the designer can ensure that the colours work well together and that they are balanced. They understand that you need to use a limited number of colours and apply them in different ways across a home. Striking this balance will impact how the room is perceived and registered within our brain. So are you ready to learn how the interior designers do it?
Monochromatic Colour Scheme (shades of blue) from AD
Here are 6 steps to find you colour scheme:
1. Pick the preferred colour.
Start with a colour you love. It does not need to be a saturated colour, but it needs to be something that is not a natural or a white colour (unless you want the room to only contain natural and white).
To create a home that represents you, make sure that you start off with a colour that you really like and would like to see replicated in your home. Be aware of what kind of emotions a colour also evoke. For example, pink will bring more of a soft look and black will bring more of a hard look.
Triadic Colour Scheme (blue, yellow, red) from House and Garden
You do not need to pick a colour that is completely opposite of what you have today. The key to getting the colours right is more about removing “colour clutter” in the room. Picking a colour that is already represented in your home, such as furniture can also help save re-design cost. Using and understanding the undertones to your furniture, you can incorporate this to decide which colour you want to go for.
Complimentary Colour Scheme (Red and Green) – From Struct home
2. Add the second (and third) colour
There are a few ways you can find your supporting colours and build a colour scheme; monochromatic colour scheme, harmonious colour scheme, complementary colour scheme, split complimentary colour scheme and triadic colour scheme.
If you are a bit afraid of adding colour to the room and you want to keep the look quite modern, a monochromatic colour scheme works well. A monochromatic look is when you use different shades of the same colour.
Monochromatic colour scheme
Another way to enrich your design pallet with additional colours is to use a harmonious colour scheme. This colour scheme has a relaxing feel since it leverages similar colours with similar tones which do not conflict. This can work well because the colours are almost the same, for example, If your main colour is green, then the supporting colour could be teal.
Harmonious Colour Scheme
If you love high contrast contrast colours, a complementary colour scheme can work for you. The complementary colours are the opposite colours in the colour wheel. Using these colours will make them stand out since they are not from the same base colour. For example, if you main colour is teal, then the supporting colour will be dark orange.
Complementary Colour Scheme
An alternative way to choose supporting colours, is to use split complimentary colour scheme. A split complimentary colour scheme combines the harmonious and the complementary colour scheme. This can work for you if you like using more colours, but also want a softer look.
Split Complementary Colour Scheme
The last option is a triadic colour scheme. In the triadic colour scheme, three colours are split evenly across the colour wheel. This is a high contrast colour scheme that provides greater visual stimulation and variety. Applying this scheme can deliver more dramatic combinations as all the colours are equally visual strong.
Triadic Colour Scheme
3. Have an accent colour
Consider applying an accent colour to some rooms to create more variety. An accent colour will support the colours that already exist within the room and are usually close to the existing colour in the room.
4. Pick a white
To break up the colours, you will need to bring some white into the equation. Choose white based on the undertones of your colours and the items you have already aded to the room. If you have a harmonious colour scheme, a yellow undertone can work or an off white. If you have a complementary colour scheme, try a cool white that has some grey or blue in it.
5. Pick a natural colour
Pick a natural colour that can go in the background of more dramatic colour schemes. This could be colours that are already on the walls and can also be a good technique to help connect different rooms. This does not necessarily need to be a beige or a grey, it can also be a muted colour that works with your chosen colour in step 3 and 4, so feel free to return to this colour.
Harmonious Colour Scheme (green and yellow) From Pinterest
6. Visulize it on paper
Make sure that you add all the colours on a piece of paper before starting. How does it make you feel? If you feel that something is not completely right, try to make some adjustments until you are happy with your plan.
What colours have you tried to add to your home?
