Whether you are visualising changing all the rooms in your home, a single room, or a piece of furniture, choosing a colour palette is one of the most important parts of the design process.
Colour inspires every element of design and although it's easy to say 'identify a palette' how does the process really work?
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Below, I am going to share with you my step by step guide on choosing a colour palette for your interior project!
Image by House Beautiful Magazine
INSPIRATION
The most perfect colour combinations are found in nature.
Choose a calming scheme colour palette it could be inspired by the beach – fresh greens, muted blues and sandy beige tones.
You can apply this concept to anything such as a forest, mountains or even a sunset.
Translate these colours into interiors by consulting an interior magazines or start a Pinterest board – you’ll be surprised at how quickly a pattern of your personal taste and style will start to emerge.
Whichever way you seek inspiration, don't be afraid to get out of your comfort zone and mix it up!
Interior & image by Bali Interiors
PERSONAL
Gather items that you like, inspiration from a holiday photo or from keepsakes such as sea shells and trinke
Collected souvenirs and mementos that call to you, could even become a decor element in your styling.
Image by House Beautiful Magazine
PATTERN
Once you have looked through your inspiration items and images, think about what they have in common?
Did you pull a lot of images with natural products in them?
The fabrics that you like, are they plain or patterned?
Do you lean more towards bold colours or muted tones?
Do you prefer vintage prints over modern ones?
EDIT
As you pull your colour palette together, don't be afraid to eliminate elements of your design.
It's perfectly normal to start with an idea and end up somewhere completely different, but be sure to get rid of any 'deadwood' along the way.
MOODBOARDS
Once you have your ideas together, start building a mood board, in either a physical or digital capacity.
Use mood boards to stick all your ideas, room designs you like, looks that inspire you and colours that you are drawn too.
Get samples of fabrics and surfaces that you plan to use and see how they fit in with the rest of scheme.
I love a mood board as I feel its a space where you can bring elements together and see the overall feel and personality of the space you want to create.
Image by House Beautiful Magazine
PAINT COLOURS
Once you have identified your colour palette start with looking at paint colour swatches and start to pair these with other elements in your design, for example furniture, art and textiles.
IMPLEMENT
it's time to make your colour palette come to fruition.
Depending on the size of your project, this may be arranging new furniture throughout the space, replacing the fabrics on cushion covers or even simply choosing paint colours for the walls.
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Interior featured in LivingETC
You will likely find that during the process of designing your space that you will need to slightly adjust the colours that you have chosen for various reasons like the colour looks different once painted on the walls.
You may need to go lighter to make an allowance for a dark space or you discover a nicer tone in the same colour.
Whatever happens, just remember to have fun with you design and go with your gut, you are more than capable of selecting the perfect colour palette for your interior project!
jx
