How to Easily Jump-Start Your Room's Color Palette
When designing a room, one of my favorite ways to easily decide on a color scheme is to start out with a multi-color pillow that I love. I look for ones that preferably have 5 or more colors, although those with as few as 3 colors can work also.
Once I decide on that one pillow, I look closely to identify all the colors within the fabric. Then I start looking for other pieces (throws, lamps, art, books, trays, decorative boxes, rugs, furniture, etc) that have those same colors.
Doing this makes it so much simpler to sort through all the options and easily decide what will and won't work. Of course, it doesn't have to be an exact color match and you can bring in as many neutral pieces as you'd like, but by using the pillow palette as an overall guide, you'll ensure you are creating a cohesive look.
You can also do this with a piece of art or a rug, however what I love about pillows is that they're small enough to take along with you when you go out shopping for other pieces (tip: remove the insert and take only the cover).
Doing this makes it so much simpler to sort through all the options and easily decide what will and won't work. Of course, it doesn't have to be an exact color match and you can bring in as many neutral pieces as you'd like, but by using the pillow palette as an overall guide, you'll ensure you are creating a cohesive look.
You can also do this with a piece of art or a rug, however what I love about pillows is that they're small enough to take along with you when you go out shopping for other pieces (tip: remove the insert and take only the cover).
Below is a visual example of how a pillow, in this case the Sinhala Linen Jewel, can be used as a starting point for a room's palette:
Interior design by Shay Geyer of IBB Design
Product sources: pillow - Arianna Belle Sinhala Linen Jewel, rug - Nourison, sofa - Article Sven in Grass Green, art- Wendover Art, fabric on wall- Genesis Shay Blue by Shay Geyer
To recap:
(1) find a multi-color pillow you love
(2) identify all the colors within the pillow to establish a color palette
(3) stick to that color palette when sourcing other pieces for the room
Once you bring everything together, you'll have a beautiful cohesive look!
Here are other multi-color pillows you can use to kick-start the color palette of your next decorating project (click right arrow to view more):
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