The use of a range of colors in an interior space.

Helpful Advice

There are several online tools to help begin a color palette. Sherwin Williams has “ColorSnap,” snapyourcolors.com, and Glidden and PPG developed “Visualize Color,” www.visualizecolor.com

Any discussion of the use of color in a design setting is sure to elicit strong opinions from a number of sources—how do you start; what is the point of color choices when rules are made to be broken; no one sees color the same, so why should we bother? There are a number of solutions to working with color that are important to the interior design process. The next principles on color address some of the concerns that the wide range of knowledge in the field of color have researched, tested, and tried to quantify. Ideally, the designer starts with color theory, which leads to the developments of a color direction or scheme, which is finally refined into a color palette.

Once a direction for a color strategy has been decided on, the conversation moves to the idea of a specific color palette. This is the fine-tuned exploration of a specific range of colors selected from an agreed-upon strategy.

For example, as a designer you have chosen an analogous color scheme as the basis of your project. If the base color is a pale blue, then the next iteration will be the selection of a specific hue of blue to begin assembling your palette.

Other considerations include the texture of objects you choose, their glossiness (reflectivity) or absorptive materiality, and how much additional light they bleed into an environment. For instance, a highly reflective blue wall will throw a blue-toned color to adjacent, lighter surfaces. This can be used to great effect when thinking of a series of interiors as a whole.