I’ve Been Using This (Free) Color Palette App for Years, and It’s Perfect for Every Room
As an artist, I’m constantly inspired by the colors around me, from a blooming plant at a local botanical garden to a vintage portrait in an antique mall to a fun print from a favorite fashion designer. I’m known to take pictures and screenshots of everyday things and then pull from their palettes, whether I’m painting or choosing yarn for my next crochet project. But in addition to plucking ideas from my surroundings, I’m also obsessed with an online color palette generator called Coolors.
The Coolors site is a free, user-friendly app that empowers you to create your own palettes for various projects. I’ve used this for years and love its simple, user-friendly experience, which makes anyone feel like a color-picking pro. While I usually turn to the platform for my arts and crafts, it’s also a fantastic tool for choosing colors at home — after all, a color palette can totally make or break your space.
Creating your own scheme on the Coolors app is a breeze. Simply visit its website and click the “Start the generator!” button. The app will instantly create a five-color palette, and you can browse through various pairings by clicking the space bar. If you see a specific color you like, lock it into your palette then continue to experiment with different combinations until you’re satisfied with the final results.
You can also create a color palette from a picture, which is super helpful for picking out home decor. Say you want to complement a piece of wall art, for example — just upload a photo of it to the image picker, toggle over the areas you’d like to highlight, and let the site coordinate a color scheme with up to 10 shades. Or, if you need inspiration for your next home project, you can check out the app’s trending palettes section to see some of the most popular color combos, too.
I’m currently in the process of refreshing my bedroom with new bedding and throw pillows, so I used the Coolors app to help me curate colors that looked good together. I landed on a combo of minty celadon, creamy vanilla, retro mustard yellow, fiery red, and a deep purple that reminds me of the Lincoln Park After Dark OPI nail polish color.
With this palette in mind, I was then able to curate a Pinterest board with a creamy white comforter set, fun floral throw pillow, cream and mustard shams, deep purple striped pillow, floral ruffle throw pillow, and minty green striped throw pillow (all pictured above). For a layered effect, I also included the Anthropologie Sophie faux fur throw blanket in plum.
Whether you’re choosing art for a gallery wall or considering the colors for your entire space, utilizing a palette generator can help you achieve a design that feels intentional, cohesive, and, of course, colorful. Consider Coolors the perfect starting point for deciding on everything from wall paint and upholstery fabric to smaller accents like throw pillows and floral arrangements.