Creating A Whole House Color Palette And Style
One of the biggest struggles anyone on a budget can have is pulling everything together when you only buy one item at a time. I know this firsthand. Plus anyone who is on a budget, knows it is really important to make every dollar count. Yes, I would love to redo my kitchen, dining room and living room all at the same time…but it just won’t happen on our budget. I am left picking out couches and chairs one year, cabinet colors another year and well, you get the picture. How do you maintain a cohesive theme? The answer is by creating a whole house style and color palette!
I typically choose similar colors and styles, however, I have never formally put everything together! As we continue to move forward with big project on our house, now is the time to create a clear picture of where we are going. Feel the same way? Let’s do this!
Determining Your House Style
In order to maintain a cohesive theme when purchasing items over a period of time, determining your house style is very important. Consider how you would like your home to feel? Furniture and paint colors can all affect how a space feels, so it is important to be aware of that when making decisions. The beauty of style is most times you can merry a couple different looks and create a blend that works perfectly for you.
Not sure what your interior design style is? I found this helpful article from Adorable Home on the Most Popular Interior Design Styles For 2021.
My style is definitely a blend of traditional, industrial and modern farmhouse. So don’t worry if one style doesn’t fit you exactly. Figuring out your style will simply help you create a cohesive look when you buy items for your home…even if that means marrying a couple different styles.
I can’t stress enough how important creating a whole house style is when you are on a budget and complete projects over several years. You want your upstairs bathroom to fit the style of your basement living room, even if you finish them 2 years apart. One project shouldn’t look completely different from the next!
Determining Your Whole House Color Palette
Picking out paint colors without any clear house color palette makes life so much harder! I know, I’ve been there. Then once you finally get it figured out, you are left repainting rooms that just don’t sync with the rest of your vision. Here is what our house looked like about a year after we moved in. I painted the kids bedrooms and the living room right away. I had no rhyme or reason to any of the colors and yes we let our 6 year old son pick out his paint color. Every time I walked down that hallway, I cringed when I saw the lavender and bright yellow rooms next to each other. It was terrible!
So guess what, both of those bedrooms I ended up repainting. We still haven’t touched our master bedroom after 6 years. Soon, my poor ugly brown bedroom, soon I promise!
We are finally beginning to gain some direction with bringing the whole house together. So how do you pick out a whole house color palette? Let’s break it down into a few easy steps.
1) Start with your trim color. Is it white, off white or wood?
Your trim color will set the whole tone for your home. Ours happens to be a slightly off white color, which I love! I like cozy homes and off white goes well with warm color tones. Originally our trim color was Shoji White from Sherwin Williams, but as we replaced our windows, we decided to change our trim color. The color we changed it to is a tad less creamy called Moderne White and matches the new windows better.
2) Pick Your Main Neutral Color.
Picking out the perfect neutral color for your home can be a little tricky. It seems like there are a million grey and tan paint colors out there. One tip that has always worked for me is if you want a warmer grey, pick a grey paint that has a yellow undertone. If you want a cooler gray, look for paints with a blue undertone. Then use samples, samples and more samples. It is important to see how the paint color looks throughout the day with different types of lighting. Tans and grey paints can look very differently from morning to night, so before you start painting try samples!
3) Pick A Second Complimentary Color.
If you want more than one color in your house, picking a second paint color is a good idea. You still maintain a cohesive look, but vary the interest a little. Picking the same color just a few shades lighter or darker will add variety. Another idea is picking a complimentary color. Determine whether you would like to add a bold color or maintain a lighter more neutral feel on all the walls.
4) Pick An Accent Color.
Your accent color can bring multiple spaces together. By having some teal in my living room, some in my kitchen and more in the mudroom, I pull all the spaces together. It gives all those spaces something in common. It is ok to use different accent colors in each room, but try to have one that can be pulled in throughout the house. For instance, I may accent with teal and green in my living room…but in my mudroom I accent with teal and orange. This allows each space to have its own feel, yet is still connected to the colors in the rest of the house.
Have No Ideas Where To Start?
Find an inspiration piece! My entire house color palette came together from a piece of art. I instantly fell in love with this piece and after 6 years of owning it, still love it.
Based on this art, here is my whole house color palette.
After deciding my whole house color palette, it allows me to make sure all the colors I pick flow together. I am so glad I finally put this together! I can see already that a few of the rooms need to be repainted.
Looking over my house now, here is where I want to go. I personally like neutral walls and then adding color in with accents. Neutral walls are great if you like to change your décor with the seasons, which I do! I add orange accents in the fall, and red for Christmas. All the accents look great with a pale yellow, cream or greige colored walls.
Make Sure To Use It
When you are deciding on furniture or a color for a room, reference your whole house color palette and style. Make sure it fits into what you decided for your house. Don’t buy things on sale, just because they are on sale! Pick an item out and then wait for it to go on sale, then you’ll have the item you want and the price you want!
In all reality, this will make decisions for your home much easier. You have a plan and then can stick to it! No more looking at a hundred paint samples. Remember, you can choose varying shades of your color if you want more variety. The best part is you already know they will compliment each other without all the guess work.
I hope this helps…thanks so much for checking out my post!
