Choosing a palette and matching those colors between objects in the room seems like something that should be easy. Just pick a few shades and get started, right? Unfortunately, it can be harder than it seems. From wood flooring shades to interior trim colors, there’s a lot to think about — even in one space.
That’s where TikTok comes in: Interior stylist Julie Sousa (@the_avantgarde) breaks down one way to successfully coordinate interior colors in the now-popular video. Sousa offers a method to make sure your room doesn’t fall out by going a little too coordinated.
“One of the most common decorating mistakes people make is matching things in a room,” she says. That’s right – repeating the same color or trio of colors over and over again in a room, according to Sousa, is mistake. Too much repetition can result in a monotonous look. instead of that, she advocates creating a “more complex color palette,” namely by adding tints and shades of the main colors of your palette. So if you start with, for example, three main shades in your palette, you’ll want to build from there one to two variations of each of these main shades, usually by going lighter or darker.
Take a bedroom in Melbourne, for example. The main color palette at work here is peachy pink and mustard with a hint of blue. But to create a nice, layered look, the homeowner chose a darker coral quilt to add some saturation to the mix. The blue color on the printed bedspread gives way to the artwork that hangs above the bed, which is framed in natural wood that also echoes the finish of the side table.
Designer Lynn Stone, co-founder of Hunter Carson Design, is 100 percent on board with this method of pallet construction. “They can help define the mood of a space and influence how people feel when they’re in it. Layers of shades can take a space from ‘just another room’ to something truly personal, customized and inspiring.”
Laura Williams, owner and lead designer of ATX Interior Design, points out that there are other ways to make a matching color palette work. You could go in a completely different direction by altering your original palette with accessories in complementary shades. Popping in a shade that’s on the other side of the color wheel can add just the variety you need to create a well-appointed space.
Regardless of how you decide to create the palette (whether it’s some variation of the color-matching strategy discussed here or some other method), Stone offers one final piece of advice: Think like a designer and order samples so you can see your shades in reality life.
“You need to see how the color swatch works with the sofa, rug, pillows or whatever else you’re designing,” she says. “Think about the undertones of the colors and how they interact. Then make sure it works in the space you’re creating.”