After deciding on a floor plan, the most time-consuming, yet fulfilling activities associated with planning a new home is selecting the interior finishes. When you choose flooring, doors, trim, countertops, and cabinets, you make a personal statement of your unique style. Beyond the design elements, selecting the right color palette sets the overall tone of your home. While you can get ideas from walking through one of the homes for sale in DeKalb County, IN, our short guide explores the basics of choosing a color palette for your new home.
Be Wary of Trends
While it’s tempting to choose colors based on trends, it’s better to choose colors you love today. People often go with trends when they’re concerned about increasing their home’s value. There’s nothing wrong with anticipating the future, but you can’t know whether the terra-cotta floor tiles or cool gray walls in the latest home for sale you walked through will stand the test of time. New homeowners also choose trendy colors because they love them! If that’s the case with you, you’re on the right path. If you plan to live in your new home for the next several years, choose colors that make you happy.
What Inspires You?
Go have fun at the paint store. Collect all the swatches you can fit in your hands. Look at the color wheel. These are all worthwhile activities, but they don’t make the ideal starting point for choosing your palette. Relying solely on what you see at the paint store cuts short an opportunity for inspiration to come from the color of your favorite flower or a cherished vacation photo. For example, if you fell in love with the red and brown hues of a canyon where you hiked last year, why not use the colors in your home? Look at your favorite clothing pieces or decorative accents. Think about the feeling you’d like in your home. Are you hoping people feel warm and welcome, energized and creative, or calm and tranquil? Use all these ideas as a starting point for inspiration.
One Neutral and Two Colors
Now that you have a point of inspiration, you’re ready to choose the first few colors in your palette. Start with three. Select one neutral shade and two colors. Each color should reflect those in your inspiration piece. Your neutral color should go in every room. Forget the ‘80s accent wall or the decade after when people painted every room in their home a different color! Once you have the first three colors, go ahead and add a few more to the palette.
The Art of Repetition
Be subtle, but make sure you use repetition. If red is the dominant wall color in your living room, use it as an accent color in the dining room or foyer. Refer to the 60-30-10 color rule. Apply the primary color, in this case, red, over 60% of the surface of one room. A secondary color will cover 30%, and the accent color covers 10%. Now you’re using color in a balanced way that’s pleasing to the senses. Use splashes of remaining colors from the palette for interest.
Now that you’re inspired, you’ll notice even more how the interior designers for single-family homes for sale in DeKalb County, IN, use color palettes. If you’re ready to put your personal touch on a new home, contact the team at Lancia Homes today. We can’t wait to introduce you to your dream home!
