At first glance, selecting a color palette for a brand-new room or an aesthetic overhaul of an existing room might seem like a simple endeavor. Check out a few paint samples, test a few swatches, and presto—you’re ready to lay down the drop cloths and get rolling.
The reality of picking a new color scheme is a bit more nuanced, however. Color has a direct influence on our mood, and even a color that seemed comforting in a display can become garish and distracting in the wrong light.
Before deciding on the color scheme that’s right for your mood, space, and lighting, taking a crash course in color theory isn’t a bad idea. Though it’s possible to get lost in the complexities, the basic principles are enough to get you started. Essentially, color theory organizes colors on a wheel that is separated into the primary colors of red, yellow, and blue. Each primary color has its own variations and mixtures—this is where you’ll see your oranges, purples, and greens start to appear.
A color wheel, which you can find online, arranges these colors together so you can see what colors work well with one another. Analogous colors are those that sit side by side on the color wheel such as oranges and reds, and complementary colors are those that sit opposite one another like greens and purples. There are many ways to take advantage of a complementary or analogous color scheme but adhering to these basic tenets of color theory is a great way to get started.
For the more experienced do-it-yourselfers, Park City Interior Designs founder Erika Carlucci provided some more advanced color tips. Carlucci started as a graphic designer in Los Angeles before studying interior design in Australia. “We landed in Park City because it seemed like a good place to start a family,” she says. In 2015, Carlucci founded Park City Interior Designs and has been leaving her mark around the Park City area since then.
As a seasoned interior designer, Carlucci calls out a few color design trends that are going out of style. “Grays are not really in vogue anymore, and the black and white stark contrasts are starting to go away,” she continues. Instead, colors that offer an organic palette are starting to catch on, especially in Park City. “I would say it’s definitely going in the more natural direction. I think with color, it’s probably more earth tones than jewel tones, so caramel colors and camel colors are going strong.”
One best practice for selecting a color scheme is the 60-30-10 rule that suggests a foundational color for 60% of a room, a secondary color for 30%, and an accent color for 10%. These color combinations can come from painting, wallpaper, furniture, wall art, or carpeting, but they should at the very least be analogous or complementary colors. “Even with a more neutral palette, you can always work with blues and greens in accent pieces,” Carlucci says. “Bronze and brass finishes are always popular in Park City.”
It’s not uncommon for DIY home designers to hit a few snags in the process. For family dwellings or communal office spaces, color scheme decisions need to have a little something for everyone. In situations like these, Carlucci suggests taking a pause and revisiting the space’s purpose.
“I ask my clients how they want the room to make them feel or what mood they want to project and who’s their audience,” she explains. After answering those initial questions, building a color concept that is ideal for a living room or a conference room becomes a bit less intimidating.
One pro tip that Carlucci suggests considering is the effect that a room’s lighting can have on its colors. “Exterior colors are so different from interior colors because of the light,” she says. “Light is going to change the color drastically from room to room, and you definitely have to look at a color in your space throughout the day. It will make a world of difference.” She suggests testing out the color/light dynamic in your chosen space by placing a peel-and-stick paint chip sample on the wall. “You can watch how your room changes throughout the day and how the color changes with the light,” she explains.
The colors in a space can give a room a complete transformation. By considering how the room should make people feel or how the room is supposed to function, the DIY designer can use a bit of basic color theory to pull everything together.
