As you may have realised, choosing the suitable colour palette for your custom home is not as simple as repeating the same colour everywhere! The art of curating a colour scheme is much more subtle and multi-layered but will play a huge role in the whole look and feel. Colours can inspire you, calm you or excite you. It’s all about creating the right mood for each room.
Putting together a cohesive yet unique colour palette for your home requires careful thought and planning. Before finalising the chosen colour scheme, view colour samples in different lighting to see how they interact with various materials and finishes throughout your spaces. Work with experts to determine a palette that enhances your architecture, matches your vision, and creates the perfect ambience in every part of your custom residence. With a tailored colour scheme, your dream home will feel cohesive, reflecting your personal style in each uniquely designed room.
Colours 101
A basic design rule is known as the 60-30-10 rule. In other words, your primary colour makes up around 60% of the colour in the room, while two complementary accent hues make up 30% and 10%. You can also use darker or lighter versions of your colour to give it more variety rather than the same hue being repeated. The 10% can be that pop of colour for that final touch to add your pizzazz to the room.
Start From The Bottom – Then Work Upwards
What colour is your floor? This will affect everything else in the room and how it works together. (It is also probably the most complex colour to change in the future!) From here, you can add a contrasting, colourful rug or a feature wall. If you’ve decided to have a feature wall, it’s a good idea to use the same colour throughout the whole house rather than having multiple colours. This will keep your home unified, forming a sense of continuity and avoiding clashes.
Collect Examples of Things You Like
Whether it’s a friend’s living room or the colour of the chairs at a local cafe, take note of things that stand out to you in different places. You can take a quick photo with your phone! Pinterest or interior design magazines are also great sources of inspiration to help you visualise how a certain colour would look in context.
Tie in Architectural Details
If your custom home will have special architectural accents like stonework, wood beams, or tile, make sure to coordinate colours with these permanent details. You want your colour scheme to complement and enhance the built-in elements rather than clash.
Have You Thought About Lighting?
When putting together your home's colour palette, take a minute to think about how both natural and artificial light will impact the way the hues appear. The same bold cobalt blue that inspires you in the paint sample may take on a whole different look in your living room, depending on the lighting.
Natural light from ample windows or skylights often has a cooler, bluer tone, while artificial light can skew redder and warmer. Where the colour falls on the colour wheel also affects how it changes. Light really brings out vibrant yellows and oranges, but soft sage greens can appear washed-out and dull if not appropriately illuminated.
So make sure to view your colour samples at various times of day and with the lighting you plan to use in each space. Ask yourself if that sunny lemon yellow you love will work in a bedroom only lit with table lamps at night. Taking light into account ensures your colour scheme looks stunning on your walls, not just on the paint chip!