How to choose a colour palette (warning: may incite happy dancing & heart singing)
I am sharing with you today the 2nd instalment in our ‘Decorating with Colour’ series, today - my tips on how choose a dreamy colour palette…
- Choose colours you LOVE You are going to live with these colours every day, they need to uplift & make you smile. Why not simplify things & make the starting point of your collour palette your favourite colour? (This method will only be tricky if you have multiple favourite colours like I do - which is when my next tip comes in handy…)
- Use a key piece for the space as a starting point… It might be a piece of artwork or a rug, gorgeous curtain fabric you plan to use, a multi coloured bed throw or even a cushion - it may be something you already own or a piece you have your eye on. Pulling 1 or 2 colours from this piece & repeating them throughout the room is an easy way to creative a cohesive colour palette.
- Forget the trends… Unlike fashion, your homewares purchases need to last longer than 1 or 2 wears, so take magazine articles directing you to ‘Give your Home a Pastel hit this Summer’ with a grain of salt - if you love pastels then go for it, magazines are great for ideas & inspiration but don’t let the trends completely dictate how you decorate your home.
Once you have chosen an accent colour, you might want to balance the space with another 1 or 2 colours (I will share more about how to actually apply these colours to a space later) At this point, it is helpful to refer back to basic colour principles from the colour wheel & classic, never fail ‘go-to’ colour combinations. I will share a selection of these today & over the coming weeks to provide some inspiration & perhaps get you thinking about colour combos you might never have considered!
Yellow & Aqua
A light & bright combo that I chose for our main living/dining space - yellow & aqua blue contrast beautifully to create a fun, cheerful vibe. If you want to add a 3rd highlight, a tiny touch of bright pink works well - I have a touch of fuchsia pink pattern in a cushion & in a kantha quilt, which is just enough to add that extra layer of depth & interest to the scheme, without overpowering it. Alternatively you could mix in some deeper turquoise as a third accent.
Yellow & Purple
Purple is such an underrated colour; in the home - I like to steer away from the bright purple/violet shades & go for gorgeous grape, deep berry & dusty orchid tones. They work beautifully with bright yellow or deep mustard, mix in some brass or gold decorative pieces & you have a really sophisticated palette, perfect for a guest room, living or dining space. If you want to add a 3rd accent, a soft, muted green ties in well here.
Green & Pink
This is an exciting & fun colour combo - using green as the dominant accent, then adding a splash of pink means these 2 strong colours will complement rather than ‘fight’ for your attention. Most shades of green & pink work well, although I love the pea green & melon pink combo pictured above. Add a splash of burgundy or deep berry pink or if you are feeling daring, a tiny pop of sunshine yellow as a 3rd accent. I like this palette for a guest room, playroom or kids bedroom/nursery.
Live bright,
Natalie
