How to Build a Color Palette
Are you trying to update the aesthetic in your home and want to add color, but not unsure where to start? Deciding how to bring colors into your home is a process. Below we will walk you through how to build a color palette, so you can easily make design decisions.
This guide is FREE, and anyone can use it if you have a camera phone!
STEP `1: WHAT DO YOU ALREADY HAVE?
The first step is deciding what in the space you are keeping. That fabric, pattern, or color (and yes, color is black or white) then needs to be incorporated into your palette. For example, let’s say you have a black leather chair you’d like to keep and you want to keep your white wall paint–you can then determine that the starting point of your color palette is the black from the chair and the white from your walls.
For a quick design hack that doesn’t cost a penny, you can screenshot or take images you already have of the products and throw them into a photo album on your phone to see how they look together. Just make sure to crop out other colors that might be in the background of the stock image or in your photos from home by zooming in on the actual color/texture.
STEP 2: SOURCE NEW PRODUCTS THAT YOU LIKE, AND SEE HOW THEY LOOK WITH THE PALETTE
Next, you’ll want to start sourcing materials and products you need for the space and laying the materials next to each other to build a board or input into your quick and dirty iPhone album for an overall look. For example, let’s say you want a fairly neutral living room with a new couch, rug, throw pillow, and planter bag.
LIVING ROOM PALETTE #1
LIVING ROOM PALETTE #2
You can see the main difference between the sourced products for your potential new palette are the Uashmama Planter Bag in option 1 and the Planter Bag in option 2. See how your mood board can quickly change based on different product selection. We love how the metallic adds a pop, but the palette still stays neutral. These Uashmama Bags also add a lot of texture and interest!
STEP 3: ORDER SWATCHES TO DECIDE ON YOUR FINAL PRODUCTS
Order swatch samples of the products you want to purchase if possible. Bring them all into your space to see how they look with the paint, floors, etc. You’ll want to look in daylight and at night to see how you feel. Remember that a variety of textures will make the overall look feel more elevated. Then, order!
Don’t forget that paintings, wood cabinets, flooring, prints, throw blankets, books, etc. all add to your overall color palette look. Every piece of what you have you should look at together to see how it works. I constantly move pieces around and look at how the colors are coming together to see if I like it.
In these color palette options we provided to a client, we pulled colors from an image of their bedroom view (mountain view pictured in above palette) and their favorite vacation spot that they had a custom painting of in their space (beach pictured in below palette). We also used other products they were interested in to provide a starting point to source products from.
Now building a color palette can feel overwhelming, but we hope that this guide helps you as a starting point. Are you looking to expand these ideas into professional design services? We offer a more sophisticated and hands-on approach (that’s beyond a photo album in your phone) to build your dream color palette and source the perfect products. Send us an email if you are interested in hiring us!
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Read our other blog post, How to Add Color to Your Home, for a more in-depth guide.
Affiliate Disclosure: Teal and Wendy hand-pick every product they recommend. Some product links are affiliates and may provide a small kickback to T&S at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, they earn from qualifying purchases.
