Many new homeowners seek decor inspiration from magazines and social media sites like Pinterest and Instagram. These images often come amateur and professional designers, offering ideas that would suit diverse tastes and lifestyles.
But, while it’s helpful to find inspiration online, sometimes the best source of inspiration is yourself. You could consider your favourite pieces of furniture, the kinds of art pieces you want in your home or the kind of materials you plan to use. But starting with your favourite colours is sometimes the best way to begin your interior decorating journey.
Your favourite shade should be your base. Then you should choose one complementary colour for balance, one contrasting colour to highlight elements, and one neutral shade to bring everything together. With this kind of approach, you won’t be limited to any specific decorating style or colour scheme. Your options are endless, so don’t hesitate to experiment and try as many combinations as possible.
Start with the communal areas in your home.
These communal areas are your living room, dining room, and entrance hall. Choose one colour scheme for these areas first, and then you could mix and match them for the other areas in your home.
You could also use the colours of your furniture as a basis of your colour scheme. Here’s an example: if you have a huge red sofa in your living area, use the colour as a base shade for other pieces. You can use a lighter shade in other rooms. You can use the same principle when it comes to materials. In many Asian countries like Singapore, beds with wooden frames are favourite signature pieces; in such a case, you can use similar wooden frames for your kitchen table and doors.
The largest pattern in the space should use your colour scheme.
Observe your current interior design setup and see if there’s any specific pattern that stands out. It could be an artwork, a rug in bold colours, or a floor tile with unusual geometric patterns. Pick a colour from these patterns and work around it. If you’re unsure of going bold and would prefer to stick to a neutral shade, choose beige or shades of tan or light brown in your chosen pattern.
The views outside your windows can also be a source of ideas and inspiration.
Another popular source of inspiration for the right colour palette is to bring the colours you see outside into your home. Colours inspired by your exteriors – whether it’s the greens from your garden of the blues of that beach – could increase feelings of peace and tranquility. To truly see whether your chosen colour would look best for your space, see how it would look like with different lighting. Observe what it would look like with your curtains closed or open at different times of the day.
Colours are compelling as part of your design aesthetic. You can use it to turn an ordinary house into a true sanctuary. There are so many ways you can use one colour scheme to create the atmosphere you want in your home. You only need to have the right inspiration.
