How to Build a Color Palette for Your New Home

Once you’ve made the big leap of choosing a home, the next big decision is decorating it, McGuinn Hybrid Homes asked our designers for a little help. Here’s what they offered for how to build a color palette for your new home.

Seek your inspiration.

What excites you? What color can you just not get enough of? Think about the places and things that make you smile just by looking at them. Maybe it’s a bouquet of sunflowers, a room you keep going back to on Pinterest, or a piece of artwork on your wall. 

Take a look inside your closet. The colors you like to wear show your preference, so why not outfit your home in the same palette as you use for yourself?

If you’re in love with a patterned piece of multiple colors, choose one or two that are most pleasing to you. 

Start softly.

You might be ready to leap into a bold palette for your home, but hold off for now. Designers suggest you start with neutrals and build on that. Use the subtlety as the foundation and then add two more colors from your inspiration palette. Carry the neutral tone throughout your home and feel free to play with your choice of two other colors as you move from room to room. Put all of the colors together and see how they complement one another.

Consult the color wheel.

This is a vital tool when planning colors. The wheel is made up of 12 colors, like a rainbow bent into a circle. There are several ways to use a color wheel for decorating.

Monochromatic colors are various shades of one color.

Analogous colors are next to one another on the wheel—for example, blue and green or red and orange.

Contrast colors are found when you separate the color wheel into 3 equal pieces, as if you’re slicing a pie. As the name implies, the combination creates an interesting contrast, like light orange, turquoise, and reddish-purple. 

Complementary colors are directly opposite, combining a cool with a warm color, like blue and orange or green and red. These opposites often play off each other and create a pleasing balance. A cool color is relaxing, while a warm one adds energy. 

Remember, you can go from deep the pale shades within your choices.

Follow the 60-30-10 rule.

Use your color choices in the right amounts to achieve balance in each room. The 60-30-10 rule for decorating is 60% of the dominant color (walls), 30% for furniture, and 10% for accessories. Remember, it’s a lot easier to change accessories than repaint a room!

Know your lighting.

If you’ve ever chosen a paint that looked perfect in one section of a room, only to realize it took on a different appearance elsewhere, you can appreciate the impact of light. One color can become lighter, darker, or bolder, depending on how the natural light filters into the room. Before you commit to the paint, buy a sample and paint it on a piece of white poster board. Once it has dried, place that board in various places to see how the color “performs”.

Whether you are color-shy or fearless, take the time to explore your options before you commit to a color palette for your home. The design professionals at McGuinn Hybrid Homes are always happy to work with our homebuyers to achieve the perfect palette. Contact us to begin the journey to a new home.