Dear Friends,
Dear Readers,
Today’s post is going to be about selecting a color scheme for your home, but first, I want to thank you all for sticking with me through this journey. As you may have noticed, I’ve made a few missteps along the way as I learn the ins and outs of this new technology. If you’ve encountered any hiccups—whether it’s formatting issues, broken links, or anything else—I appreciate your patience more than you know.
I’m committed to improving and fine-tuning everything as we move ahead together. Your support means the world to me, and with your continued encouragement, I’m confident things will only get better from here.
Now, let’s talk about one of my favorite topics: decorating. Well, it’s one of my favorite topics, but I’ll be honest—I neglect it way too much in my own house! So, let’s talk about how we can work on that together.
A lot of people struggle with where to start when choosing colors for their home. Should you begin with the walls? The furniture? What about the floors? Here’s an idea you might not have thought about: you can create a cohesive and personalized color scheme for your home by drawing inspiration from a painting you love. Let’s explore how to pull colors from your favorite piece of art and turn them into a palette for your home.
6 Steps to Creating a Stunning Color Scheme For Your Home From Your Favorite Painting
1. Start with the Painting’s Palette
The first step is to spend some time with your painting and take a close look at its colors. A painting can have a variety of shades, tones, and accents that you can use to inspire your room. For example, my Kangaroo painting from the Embellished Species Series includes a range of hues like light seaweed green, deep seaweed green, garnet red, metallic gold, and a moody blue-black background. Any one of these colors could be the jumping-off point for a room’s color scheme.
2. Choose a Dominant and Secondary Colors for Each Room
Let’s say you’ve chosen dark seaweed green as the dominant color for your living room. Now, look at the painting again and pick two secondary colors that stand out. These will become your décor accents. For example, with seaweed green walls, you could add a black credenza and place a burgundy vase with gold flowers on it. Most of the accent colors in the room—like pillows, artwork, or smaller furniture—would be burgundy and gold.
In the next room, you might choose gold as the dominant wall color, with seaweed green and perhaps orange as the accent colors. You could bring these in with cushions, artwork, or even lamps and curtains. This method creates a unified flow throughout the house while still giving each room its own personality.
3. Where to Place the Main Painting
Where is the painting that’s inspiring your whole color scheme? Do you have to hang a print of it in every room? Absolutely not—that would be silly! Instead, place the main painting wherever it looks best. This might be the living room, but it doesn’t have to be. Then, as you move through the rest of your home, each room will feature its own art, which coordinates with the colors from the main painting. Does this mean you can’t have other artwork that looks completely different? Of course not! We’ll dive into how to mix and match different art styles in a future post.
4. Accent with Complementary Colors
While you want one color to dominate each room, you can still pull in complementary shades from the painting to add depth and variety. For instance, in a seaweed green room, garnet red accents (such as cushions or throws) can add warmth and contrast. In a garnet red room, touches of metallic gold could bring in an extra layer of elegance. And if you want to brighten up a space, pulling creamy whites from the reflections in the gold stencil, for example, could work beautifully as accent colors for a fresh, clean look.
5. Match Textures to the Mood of the Painting
Just as colors can influence the feel of a room, so can textures. If your painting is bold and textured, like Kangaroo, consider mirroring that by choosing furniture or fabrics with rich, tactile elements. In a room inspired by the garnet red of the painting, for example, you could introduce velvet upholstery for added depth. In a room where seaweed green dominates, linen or silk could create a more natural, calming atmosphere.
6. Let the Painting Guide Your Décor
Your painting will not only guide the color scheme but also the overall mood of the room. Think about the feeling the painting gives you—whether it’s peaceful, dramatic, or vibrant—and let that influence your choice of furniture, lighting, and accessories. In a room based on my Kangaroo painting, you could play with the painting’s earthy tones to create a grounded, nature-inspired space. Use natural wood accents, earthy textiles, and simple décor to let the colors and mood of the artwork guide the room’s style.
By starting with a painting you love, you can create a home that feels cohesive, personal, and full of life. A piece of art isn’t just something to hang on the wall—it can be the cornerstone of your entire décor. Take a look at your favorite painting, and let its colors guide you toward your perfect home palette.
Here’s a relevant article about home color schemes:
How To Create A Whole House Color Scheme (Even If You Love Color)
Would you like to learn more about this Kangaroo Painting?
Check here!