A guide to choosing your interior colour palette

With a lot more time on our hands than normal, many households around the world are making the most of spending time in their homes by giving them some TLC. When it comes to choosing your interior colour palette, you might have a colour or two in mind already, but finding the right shade can sometimes be a challenge.

You may have already seen our blog about how interior design affects mood, so you need to think about this when choosing your new colour scheme. A cohesive look is all about linking materials and textures such as wood, metals and surfaces. You don’t want to choose a bright pink colour for your kitchen that doesn’t match your granite worktops.

Colours and wellbeing

Different colours can alter the way you feel. Earthy colours such as green and yellow can make you feel energised and ready to live a healthy lifestyle. Is that the vibe you want in your home though, or do you need something a bit more relaxing and soft such as blue or pink?

Be careful painting rooms white too. Whilst white helps to brighten up a room and will make it feel more airy, you may find it very uninspiring. High contrast colours can make some people feel energised, whilst it can make other people feel stressed. You need to think about what colour combinations work for you.

How colours make you feel

Leading on from the previous point, you need to think carefully where you place your energising colours. Do you really want your bedroom, your haven and place of rest to be painted bright yellow to give you an energy boost?

It is always a good idea to work out your reaction to patterns, and how they affect your feelings. Interior design can have an impact on your mental health, so you should put together an unique colour palette that makes you feel the way you want to in each room.

Using a colour wheel

In a colour wheel there are primary, secondary and tertiary colours. You should use these colours to help create a colour scheme that suits your personality and style.

After you have chosen your specific colours, there are 4 types of colour schemes:

1. Monochromatic - using tones of the same colour with the addition of white or black to lighten/darken the colour.
   
   
2. Analogous - using colours that appear next to each other on the colour wheel, to create a soothing palette.
   
   
3. Contrast - for a dramatic colour palette use colours that are contrasting, as they will introduce more energy into your home.
   
   
4. Complementary - this is when you bring two opposing colours together to create a dramatic effect.

Once you have decided on your colour palette, it is always best to not start with selecting your wall colour. Wall paint is fairly inexpensive, and can be easily created in any colour you desire. Soft furnishings, however, can be much more difficult to find in the shade that you require. If you can’t find many accessories in your chosen colour, you may have to rethink this choice.

Enjoy the process

Choosing colour for your home should be enjoyable and not stressful. Take the time to carry out some research, create a mood board of ideas and don’t feel rushed into anything. Accessories are always a good place to start as you can add bits of colour without making any drastic changes - feel free to have a browse through our collections for some inspiration.