If you're starting a new project and want an exceptional color scheme, think about creating a color palette based on the things you already love.
When faced with a design project, as big as decorating a new home or as small as finally updating that neglected guest bedroom, it's hard to know where to start — where to go to find inspiration? One method is to establish a color palette and build from there. But, color is tricky. The best interior designers often combine unusual, sometimes even clashing, colors to create brilliant spaces.
How do you find those special colors? I say, let your favorite things inspire you. Maybe it's your favorite city, or a dress you love, or a furry friend, it doesn't matter. Just open your eyes and notice what makes you smile and then use whatever that is to inspire your next project. Once you find your inspirational item, take a picture of it and upload it to one of the many free color palette generators on the internet. I prefer Color Hunter, but there are plenty to chose from. After you upload your photo, the program generates a scheme based on the colors in your picture. You can get some pretty wild combinations that are truly unique. Some programs include the hex value, making it easier to identify the exact color. It's so much fun!
Images: 1. Art by Anna 2. Bijou Living 3. Love Meow 4. 1photoblog's Webblog 5. Rent the Runway: Shoshana Dress
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Great coloring technique. The place most amateurs go wrong is that they fail to keep the colors in proportion to how they exist in your inspiration piece. The first scheme would look completely different if the brown were the predominant color and there was only a touch of the white.
Does anyone know where I can get a print of the first picture (of the tree)? I have just planned those colours for my living room and think it would make a great addition!
Julia,
The first tree picture is a painting by Van Gogh and is called "Mulberry Tree". You can find a print of it at ...
www.art.com
www.allposters.com
www.vangoghgallery.com.
I like this idea. The pink and yellow palette above is exceptional.
Hahahahaha! A few homes ago, I had a Siamese cat that I loved to bits. As I went through the process of redecorating my home, I noticed that I was leaning toward a lot of creamy whites, coffee browns and turquoise/aqua/seafoam as accent colours. Turns out I inadvertantly decorated my house as an homage to my cat.
The bright blue is totally missing on pic #4
I agree with natte.
Yep, ditto, natte. Eye-dropper tool would actually work better in some instances.
Love Your Palettes you showed! I actually made a color palette for the Italy Image as well :-)
It's interesting to see the different colors that stood out to you.
You can check out my color palette of that image on my blog ColorDrian.
http://colordrain.blogspot.com/2010/10/italy-country-series.html