How to Create the Perfect Colour Scheme

Want some tips on how to create the perfect colour scheme? Well, I often get asked questions about interiors, DIY and where to find great products. I don’t mind at all, and because I live and breathe this area every single day, I often have more ideas and inspirations than others. I’m not an interior designer though, and my ideas are simply that, my ideas, often driven by my own personal taste rather than the ‘best or right way’ of decorating your home.

So I’m putting this post together after a friend asked me for ideas on how to find other colours that would coordinate with the main one she had chosen for a decorating project. I had a few tips to offer, and thought that they might be useful to lots of other people too, and so here we have today’s post, how to create the perfect colour scheme.

How to Create the Perfect Colour Scheme:

If you have some ideas for the kind of colour you might want to use in your next room makeover, how do you go about putting together a colour scheme when you’re not an interior designer. Well I’m in exactly the same position as you, so let me show what I would do.

#1 Pinterest Inspiration

Image: Karolina Barnes Interior Designer

Pinterest is all about searching for answers and finding them in the most unexpected places. If, for example, you type ‘colour palette inspiration’ into the Pinterest search bar, the guided search options (those little boxes underneath) will show you how to narrow down your search and help you find exactly what you’re looking for. You could add ‘moodboards’, ‘grey’, ‘bedrooms’, ‘interiors’ and so on to your search to really select the answers you need to see. It’s a great way to find the right kind of search for exactly your kind of question. I talk lots about this in my free Pinterest course too by the way, ideal for businesses and bloggers.

The search results will take you to a myriad of pins and ultimately content, so why not create your own Pinterest board of the pins that really jump out at you. It’s the best way to see what kind of colours you’re drawn to. Get to about 25 or 30 pins on the board, sit back and take a good look. You’ll be surprised at the choices you’ve made, and I bet a ‘theme’ starts to come through. You’ll instinctively be drawn to colours and palettes that you subconsciously adore, so why not use this as the basis for creating the colour scheme in your next decorating project.

#2 Discover Design Seeds

Moodboard: Design Seeds || Image: @lax_akl

Ever since I started blogging I’ve been following the design seeds website. It’s essentially a collection of incredible colour palette ideas, each one based on a beautiful image. They might follow a theme or a look and the site is searchable by colour so you can find exactly what you’re looking for. I’ve used them in all kinds of projects from home decorating to blog design and more. If you spot a colour you love, maybe the basis for your next project, find a matching shade on Design Seeds and then hunt for more colour palettes containing your favourite. It’s the perfect way to be inspired, for all colour lovers.

#3 Paint Brand Ideas

Image: Dulux Trends

You might not think to look online when you’re choosing paint, but it’s actually a great resource. If you’re doing all the work yourself, or even if you’ve called in your trusted painter and decorator (and do check out this page if you’re looking for someone to help you), you’ve probably been to the local diy store to see what they have, and to find some inspiration. I actually think the online paint stores can be incredibly useful when it comes to creating your colour palette. So take a look at places like the Farrow and Ball website, which has a huge inspiration section and ready made colour schemes which you might like, and places like Crown and Dulux have room visualisers where you can ‘colour’ you room in your chosen palette to see how it will look. They’ll even show you them in different lights at different times of the day. Genius! (If you click those links, I’ve set them up to take you right to the inspiration and visualiser pages – enjoy!).

So there you go, 3 easy ways to create the perfect colour scheme without leaving the comfort of your armchair. Isn’t the internet a wonderful thing?

Pin this image to come back to later…

Seriously though, is this helpful? Would you have used any of these ideas in creating a colour palette for your latest project, or do you look elsewhere? I’d love to know, so leave me a comment below, and maybe you’ll help another prospective decorator too.

Jen x

Collaborative post