On a daily basis, our furniture and décor experts encounter tons of questions from customers about color coordination – i.e. mixing and matching the colors in their interior space. Whether you’re redecorating your whole home, shopping for new furniture or area rugs, or just browsing accessories for your next seasonal shift in décor, it’s important to get the colors in your home just right.
However, this is far more difficult than it might sound for many shoppers. “What colors are right for me?” and “How do I decide on the colors for this room?” are questions we hear all too often. Thanks to a little something we call the “paralysis of analysis”, consumers often put off complex decisions if there are too many options. In other words, there are just too many hues, tints and shades to choose from and many folks don’t know where to begin.
So we called up real-life color consultant Noreen Vickless for some pro tips to help y’all get started on your color journey! Join us as we explain a few key color theory concepts and terms, followed by a discussion on 5 questions that you must answer for yourself to find the right colors for your home’s interiors. Let’s go!
A Quick Note on Color Theory
Before we get to our 5 key questions, let’s lay some groundwork. When many people first dive into this topic, they often end up going down the long and treacherous rabbit hole known as color theory. Unfortunately, this can be overwhelming.
Frankly, most consumers aren’t looking for a university-level course on color theory. They just want to know what colors will work for their space, and the basics on how to coordinate them. As a result, our goal today is to start you down that path.
Even though the internet is flooded with statements from experts confidently dictating tons of rules for how colors should interact in the home, we must remember that color theory is not color law. There is absolutely enough wiggle room to create your own unique atmosphere. After all, it’s your home!
Ultimately, playing around with color should be freeing, not limiting. Instead of focusing on strictly adhering to some set of made up rules, ask yourself the key questions below. Your answers will help you discover the exact right colors for your home – and that’s a great first step!
5 Questions | Finding the Right Colors for Your Home’s Interiors
1) How color sensitive are you?
Are you comfortable with tons of color? This question is critically important if you’re to find the just right color palette for your space. But what do we mean by this?
Do you generally consider yourself to be artistic? Are you visually inspired by wild patterns, bright hues, and lots of contrasting elements? If so, you’re probably not overly sensitive to color in your environment. However, if you prefer more muted neutral colors, earth tones, or monochromatic aesthetics, you’re likely much more sensitive to color. For those with higher color sensitivity, anything too colorful or visually complex may feel loud, distracting, or unsettling within the interior space.
Your answer here will have strong implications for the colors in your preferred palette. That being said, if you’re highly sensitive don’t be discouraged as even the most color sensitive people can experiment with small splashes of color – even if it’s just with a few decorative pillows or accessories.
2) Do you have a strong aversion to any colors?
This one should be easy. Are there any specific colors that you find yourself repulsed by? For instance, maybe you just know on an instinctual level that bright orange or yellow is a color you can’t stand. Or maybe you have a visceral dislike for gray, black, or darker earth tones in your home because you prefer to keep things light and airy.
Just go with your gut. Feel free to take inspiration from your wardrobe too. Are there any colors that you almost never wear and can’t imagine prominently displayed in your home either? If so, congratulations, you’ve just narrowed the field of color options considerably.
3) Do you prefer cool colors or warm colors?
Next, we need to figure out which ends of the color spectrum you are drawn to. In a world with endless hues, tints and shades, there are warm colors and cool colors. Generally speaking, blues and greens are considered cool, while yellows, reds and oranges are considered warm.
For instance, take a basic color wheel and draw a line straight down the middle. Do this right and you’ll end up with warmer colors on one side (red, orange and yellow) and cooler colors on the other (green, blue and violet).
However, when it comes to secondary, tertiary, and especially neutral colors, it’s possible to have warmer and cooler variations within the same color. This is most obvious with neutral colors like gray, brown, or taupe as some shades can be very cool and others very warm. When you look at warmer and cooler colors side-by-side, the vast majority of people have a noticeable preference one way or the other.
4) How important is it for your space to be on-trend?
Design and décor trends come and they go. That goes for colors too. After all, brands like Pantone and Sherwin Williams put out their hot colors every year for a reason.
Are you someone who wants the hottest new thing? Or are you the type of person who likes what they like regardless? Individuals can be very, very different in this regard. Ultimately, the most important thing is that your color and décor choices are on-brand for you, regardless of whether your tastes are more cutting-edge or conservative.
One final consideration here. How long are you planning on keeping your current decorating scheme? If you plan on redecorating or refurnishing the room every few years, you have nothing to fear with hot trends. By contrast, if you want the space to last considerably longer, you may want to steer towards more classic design and color schemes.
5) In the space you’re decorating, are there elements that you absolutely love – or things that you can’t change?
Finally, this is where the rubber meets the road for your new interior space. These two factors are different, but the end result is the same. Whether by choice or by necessity, are there other other elements in your space that you need to be aware of and plan around?
A popular piece of interior design advice dictates that you should start with your area rug of choice and build the room from there. You can use the different colors in the rug to inspire the rest of your colors in the room. Here’s the secret though — it doesn’t have to be a rug. Whether a favorite piece of art, a rug, a piece of furniture, or literally anything else you adore, you can build your room’s color palette around it.
Similarly, there are likely things within the room that are out of your control. Things like the placement and size of windows, where the natural light flows into the room throughout the day, the color of the brick or stone in your fireplace, or the finish on your kitchen cabinetry (unless you’re planning a full kitchen renovation). These are elements that you may not be able to control, but that you must consider and work around.
Get Started on Your Color & Décor Journey with Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet!
If you’re shopping furniture or redecorating and need advice on finding the colors, patterns, finishes or upholstery for your space, we’d love to help you take the next step on your color journey. Browse our massive selection of whole-home furnishings online, or swing by our North Georgia and Atlanta area furniture stores in Woodstock/Acworth, Dallas/Hiram, and Rome and chat with our in-house design specialists. Don’t forget to use our convenient live webchat feature right here on our website to speak to a furniture or décor expert today!
Finally, many thanks to our friend Noreen Vickless over at SwagNV Color Consulting for her expertise in helping us put this article together for our readers! As we discussed above, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with so many color options, and having an expert in your corner can make all the difference. If you’re in need of color consulting for an interior design or home painting job and are in the Woodstock, GA or Acworth, GA area, be sure to visit SwagNV.com and like/follow Noreen on Facebook!
