How to Make a Cohesive Color Scheme Work for Your Home

Posted On October 21, 2022

Everyone’s got their favorite colors. Some love vibrant hues—sunny yellow, fiery red, and even neon green–while others prefer neutrals, such as the timeless black and white combination and subtle gray.

Creating a cohesive color scheme is a good idea if you want to fill your home with the color closest to your heart. It lets you show off your style and unleash your creativity while making your home look harmonious.

You may be wondering, “How do I coordinate colors in my humble abode?” Well, we’ve shared some helpful tips on enhancing your home’s overall style with cohesive colors below. Let’s get started!

Take a Close Look at Your Home

Before settling on your preferred color scheme, take a good look at your interiors. Let your eyes evaluate the different parts of your home and visualize your color palette flowing through them.

With a cohesive color scheme for your home, you’d want it to feature prominently along all areas of the space–from your hallway to the living room and kitchen. This method allows your chosen palette to bring a sense of peace and order to your surroundings.

Your home’s style and size are also crucial to a consistent color scheme. Thus, it would help if you considered these when choosing shades. For example, the flow of your color palette may vary if you live in a large, modern, open-space house versus a small, compact townhouse.

Finally, take note of the spaces that connect. This way, your color scheme can flow smoothly. We suggest touring your home, then drawing a floor plan to keep everything organized.

Know Your Style

The mood you’re going for is vital in creating a cohesive color scheme. Think of how you want to feel whenever you enter a space and determine your preference. 

Do you want to create a serene, cozy atmosphere or a lively, bold space? Do you prefer eye-catching pops of color or neutral shades? Make sure you’ve answered these questions before setting your color palette.

Choose Your Base & Complementary Colors

Once you’ve established your home’s overall ambiance, it’s time to create your color scheme. This step involves picking hues that best suit your living space’s mood, style, and size, which can be tricky. To ensure your home has a consistent color scheme, keep these tips in mind when selecting colors.

Use the Color Wheel

Make the color wheel one of your main tools as you build your color palette. This handy instrument shows you the various hues you can work with and how they relate to each other. You can pick the perfect shades from it and see whether they pair well.

Follow the 60-30-10 Rule

Use the 60-30-10 color rule to create a consistent color scheme. It allows for more accessible color selection and helps achieve balance when decorating. Here’s how this rule works:

  • Set a specific hue as 60% of your main color scheme. It’ll be the base color of a particular area or your entire home. It also serves as the backdrop for your secondary and tertiary colors.
  • Make another color 30% of your palette. This hue should be different yet complementary to your primary color to set it apart and add visual interest. 
  • Let your accent color be the remaining 10% of the palette. You can use this color for accents like throw pillows, fancy decor, artwork, rugs, or other accessories.

Now, how do you pick three hues? Start by choosing colors from the color wheel or fabric prints. Whichever method you go with, utilize your chosen colors according to the 60-30-10 rule.

Consider Your Flooring

Your flooring is also crucial to picking cohesive colors for your home. When used correctly, it’ll put your design front and center. Pick tones that compliment your floors to keep your color scheme unified.

Bring in Complementary Colors

Complementary colors are the shades on opposite sides of the color wheel. Combining these tones can make your design look calming and balanced on the eyes. To maximize this effect, match a muted hue to a bolder tone–for example, a light orange shade like pastel orange against a vibrant blue. 

Pick Related Shades for Nuance

Unlike complementary colors, related colors sit beside each other. They’re more subtle than complementary colors, making them ideal for homeowners who prefer softer tones. Related shades aren’t too flashy, so they’re easy to pair and work with.

Add Accent Colors

These tones can help you coordinate everything in your living room, bedroom, or den. When using accent colors, start with a single wall as a focal point. Then, create patterns with black or white or use vivid colors for continuity. You’re one step closer to achieving a harmonious space when you use accents well.

Give Closed Rooms Eye-Catching Color Palettes

A consistent color scheme isn’t just for open areas–you can also bring it to closed rooms in your home to brighten and visually expand them. When adding color to these spaces, choose a vibrant palette. For instance, you could liven up a laundry room with vivid red, radiant yellow, or warm orange.

Grab Everyone’s Attention with Vibrant Accessories

Accessories can help you achieve your desired design scheme, whether you’re after a dramatic look or a sudden color change. Think of how you can add visual interest to a room with the tones in your decor. To create a focal point in a particular space, go with accents in red, yellow, or any other striking hue.

Stick to Simplicity

Most importantly, keep things simple. Excessive colors or patterns draw attention away from the rest of your space. Limit your palette to four primary colors and use two patterns. 

Let Color Flow Throughout Your Home

A cohesive color scheme is a great way to highlight your favorite color and bring harmony to your humble abode. It all boils down to choosing the right tones and using them strategically within your space.

Head to the Cyrus Artisan Rugs blog today for more helpful decorating tips and tricks.