Do you wish you could successfully develop an interiors scheme using different colours? Do you shy away from colour because you’re concerned you won’t be able to pull it off?

Well here’s the guide you’ve been looking for! A step by step approach to developing your own scheme using colour.

Where do I start? 

Start with the brightest colours. You can pretty much start anywhere with a colour scheme. Now that’s not particularly helpful, so here’s some ideas to start creating your own dream colour scheme. 

Your favourite colours 

Think about the colours that you LOVE. These are the ones you have always gravitated towards. Everyone does it. Whether they realise it or not. If nothing springs to mind, take a look in your wardrobe. What colours do you feel amazing in? What colours do you see most of in your wardrobe? You might also need to consider your partner’s wardrobe and colours too. If you can’t agree perhaps it’s a combination?

Where do you love to travel? 

Now, think about the places you love to travel to. Is Santorini your happy place? Perhaps a white and blue scheme is for you? If you enjoy more of a Tuscan vibe, beautiful earthy tones like mustards and terracotta might feel more at home. Whichever it is, the key is to think about the places you feel most happy. Aside from the fact you’re on holiday, it’s likely you’re attracted to these places because of the way they make you feel. Often colour is responsible for the mood and feeling of a space. 

Use an artwork or floor rug

Do you have an artwork or floor rug that you love and will set the tone for the entire home? That one feature piece that you absolutely love. The beauty here is, someone else has already paired these colours together so you know these colours work well as a scheme. It takes away the risk of getting it wrong. Take a photo of the piece and upload it to https://coolors.co/ Select your 2 or 3 favourite colours from and set those colours as your secondary and accent colours. 

If you follow all of the above, it will give you a series of colours to choose from. I usually go into Bunnings and pick the colours I like from the paint colour cards. It gives you a good spectrum of colours and you can select specific tones. Lay them all out in front of you and narrow it down by looking at the colours you have chosen and select the one colour that you could live without. Do this until you’re down to 2 – 3 colours. You now have your secondary and accent colours!

Final step in making your colour scheme feel cohesive

This is the most important part, use the rule of 3 or 5. I LOVE this trick because it just finishes a room perfectly.

How this works - always repeat each of the colours in your scheme 3 or 5 times in the room. This will ensure the space feels balanced and harmonious. Place the colour at different heights around the room to draw the eye. This method absolutely works and will have you styling your home like a pro!! So make sure when you’re buying items for your scheme you think about where the colour will live and how you will bring it through. You might have a bright blue book spine, a dark blue plant pot and an artwork that features blue. Strategically place each element so it takes your eye on a journey across the room. Your artwork might be in the center of the room, the book on the left and the plant pot on the right. Each pop of blue sits at different heights. When you look at the room, it will feel balanced and the blue will feel right at home.

How much of each? 

Your base scheme should consist of about 60% neutrals. Your neutrals should match the secondary and accent colours and should be selected after you have decided upon your colours. Dulux describes A neutral as ‘a colour that acts as a subtle background hue, which can easily be layered with other stronger colours’ These will consist of your whites, beiges, greys, taupe, nutmeg, sandstone and lighter wood tones.   

The secondary colour might feature the floor colour, or larger pieces such as the rug, the sofa, a statement armchair, a large artwork or the dining chairs. This should make up about 30% of your scheme 

Accent colours should be limited to pops of colour and make up 10% of the scheme.
Accents might feature in vases, artworks, decor, cushions, as an accent in a rug, the spine of a display book, a plant pot or in the floral arrangement. Use different shades of this colour throughout the house too. You don’t have to stick with the same shade. This allows you to make your scheme feel cohesive without feeling too staged or forced.

Now you can sit back and enjoy the space that you have created. You’ll be the envy of your friends and they’ll all want to know who your decorator is!! ;)

https://www.renovatingmums.com.au/6-top-tips-for-colour-confidence-in-your-interiors/