Choose Your Perfect Color Palette for Home Decoration

Estimated reading time : 4 min 
Written : 27.03.2026

In 2025, we printed miles of wallpaper. And if there’s one question that comes up every year in our conversations with you, it’s the choice of colors.

How do you find the right color for your home? How do you compose a harmonious palette? And above all, how do you create a colorful atmosphere that truly feels like you?

Choosing a palette, mixing shades, and matching hues with patterns (whether floral, graphic, or minimalist) can quickly make your head spin, especially if you're new to interior design.

So, take a deep breath, grab a cup of tea (or your preferred pick-me-up), and get comfortable. Here is our simple, accessible guide to choosing the right colors for your home, with zero stress and plenty of fun.

The Color Wheel: Your Best Decorating Ally

How does it work?

Before we dive in, we felt we had to demystify one thing: interior designers aren't magicians. They simply rely on a few fundamental principles. Color follows a logic that anyone can learn to use (yes! Even you!)

The color wheel is a visual tool that helps you see the relationships between colors. It consists of:

• Three primary colors: Red, yellow, and blue.
• Three secondary colors: Green, orange, and violet (created by mixing primaries).
• Six tertiary colors: Created by mixing a primary and a secondary color.

Understanding this wheel is the first step toward building a balanced color palette for your interior.

Warm vs. Cool Colors

If you draw a line down the middle of the color wheel, you’ll find two main families:

• Warm colors: Red, orange, yellow.
• Cool colors: Blue, green, violet.

This distinction helps you immediately understand the "vibe" a color will bring to a room.

Choosing Interior Colors Based on Personality and Space

Picking a color isn't just about aesthetics; it’s about emotion. Before you start, notice which colors you are naturally drawn to. If you’re still unsure, ask yourself: How do I want to feel when I walk into this room? The answer will almost always lead you to the right choice.

Harmonizing Colors with Emotions

Warm colors bring energy, conviviality, and warmth. They work beautifully in a kitchen or a lively dining room.

Cool colors evoke calm, serenity, and freshness. They are perfect for a bedroom or a home office.

Every Color Has a Personality

Generally, we associate different colors with specific feelings:

While some associations are universal, perception is personal. Alternatively, red can mean "cozy" to one person and "intense" and associated to "anger" or "danger" to another. In decoration, your personal feeling is what matters most.

Getting to Know Your Space

Before falling for a specific shade or pattern, take a moment to observe your environment. Three elements will guide your choice:

Follow the Light

Light drastically changes how we perceive color.

North-facing rooms get cooler light: Opt for warm tones to cozy up the atmosphere.

South-facing rooms enjoy warm, intense light: You can get away with cooler or deeper, darker colors.

Pro Tip: Always test a color sample on your wall first. Watch how it changes from morning to night as the light shifts.

Architectural Style and Colours

In her book Master the Art of Colour, Tash Bradley explains how interior palettes have evolved over the decades:

• The 50s favored cool, bright pops.
• The 70s popularized earthy oranges and natural tones.
• The 2000s saw the rise of muted, "greige" neutrals.

Understanding the architecture and era of your home can help you build a coherent style. Though there’s nothing stopping you from putting an ultra-modern twist on a classic Victorian-style apartment!

Let Your Furniture Lead the Way

Unless you’re starting from scratch, you already have a sofa, a table, or some favorite decor. These pieces are a great foundation. Choose wall colors that "talk" to your furniture and make it pop.

How to Mix Colors: Methods and Inspiration

The 60-30-10 Rule: Interior Designers' (Not So) Magic Trick

Well, we told you at the beginning. There is nothing magic about decorating. Just rules and a bit of creativity. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, go back to basics with this simple designer rule for visual balance. Here is how you should use colours :

• 60% Main Color: Usually your walls.
• 30% Secondary Color: Furniture, textiles, curtains, or rugs.
• 10% Accent Color: Decor, patterns, a single wallpaper strip, or trim.

Three Color Combinations That Always Work

When you are just starting out in decoration, you don't need to look for overly complex harmonies. Here are three simple and effective combinations, illustrated by examples from our customers.

The Monochromatic Palette: A Gentle Touch for Your Interior

A monochromatic palette involves using a single color, available in several shades. For example: beige – sand – caramel, or camellia pink – powder pink – very light pink.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not just a camaieu of black and white.

In this photo, Nina de Witte redecorated her toilets with a palette ranging from deep red to an almost white pink. The Grid wallpaper in Chili Charm and Warm Linen creates a dynamic but gentle atmosphere. Instead of using a pure white that would have crushed the space, Nina chose a very light pink that unifies the entire room. The red, used sparingly, brings character without becoming too stimulating.

Analogous Colors: A Joyful Decoration

Analogous colors are those that sit side-by-side on the color wheel. For example: Blue / Blue-Green / Green.

These associations create harmonious, natural, and fluid atmospheres.

Justine (@poupeerousse) chose a mixture of green and blue stripes. A very current combination, both classic and bold.

Another idea with these two trendy colors: Pink and Orange.

Jantine (@vrolijkhaakmeisje) and Cathie (@wildeandco.interiors) offer a beautiful example with their choices of colorful stripes. It's a great way to bring energy to a room without taking too many risks.

Complementary Colors: A Dopamine Decor Shoot

Complementary colors are opposite each other on the color wheel: Blue and Orange / Green and Red / Purple and Yellow.

These combinations create contrast and a lot of dynamism.

Vanessa (@missberry_loves) chose a very energetic palette for her son's bedroom, using several complementary colors.

The link between the elements is made through intermediate analogous colors, which maintains a certain coherence.

Unless, like Vanessa, you want the colors in your room to serve as a vitamin shot for the rest of the day, this combination should be used with a little moderation: one dominant color, and the other in small touches.

Our Favourite Colour Combos

Here is a selection of some easy combinations that we love:

• Almost Mango + Whipped Cream: A warm, soft, and luminous association.
• Black & White: Graphic, chic, and timeless.
• Milkshake + Turmeric Tango: A subtle and sunny contrast.
• Misty Moss: Natural, calming, and very elegant.

These associations work particularly well when you play with textures, materials, and a few well-placed patterns.

FAQ – Choosing Interior Colors

Which color to choose to enlarge a bedroom?

While light and bright shades tend to visually enlarge space, we will avoid too pure a white, which might reflect shadows and make the bedroom look dull. Off-whites, beiges, light grays, or pastels reflect light more and give an impression of volume. Darker and bolder colors are, however, not to be banned from small rooms and can even bring a lot of comfort and conviviality.

How many colors to use in a room?

In interior design, the use of three to five main colors is often recommended. The 60-30-10 rule allows these colors to be distributed evenly between walls, furniture, and decorative accents.

How to find a harmonious color palette for decorating?

The color wheel is an excellent starting point. Monochromatic, analogous, or complementary palettes allow you to create balanced and easy-to-live-with color combinations.

Can we mix several strong colors?

Yes, but it is preferable to keep one dominant color and use the others in lighter touches: on a cushion, a decorative object, a wall border, or a section of a wall.

In Summary

Choosing colors for your interior consists of:

1. Understanding the basics of how colors work.
2. Thinking about the atmosphere you want to create.
3. Observing the light and existing furniture.
4. Respecting good proportions in color distribution.
5. Daring gradually.

Decoration is not an exact science. It’s an exploration. A game. A way of telling your story through colors. Sometimes, just one well-chosen shade, on a wall, on the ceiling, in an alcove, or a decorative strip, is enough to transform the entire atmosphere of a room.