Whole House Color Palette

***The products featured in this post were gifted from SmithHonig. All words and opinions are my own.

Whenever I’m working with clients, or people ask me about selecting colors for their home, I’m always a big advocate for a whole house color scheme. That doesn’t mean that you’re only going to use certain colors in your home and never have any variety, it just means that you’ll have veins of specific color families that run throughout the house.

What does whole house color scheme even mean?? Well, it means that you have a few colors that will be in every room in your home, in some way. It helps tie the spaces together, and allows you to have a lot of flexibility with your decor and accessories. You’ll often get more life out of pieces if you can use them in more than one space, or way, in your house, than if they only work in one spot or room.

I normally start with choosing which colors I naturally gravitate toward. You can do this yourself by looking at home decor and accessories that you already own, that you’ve shared to inspiration boards, or even those you’ve saved to boards on Pinterest.

You can also look beyond home decor and accessories, though, and find inspiration from your clothing and jewelry. I am personally drawn to a lot of bright colors, but only those in a certain colorway. I love color, but not all of it…and I don’t want it to be too saturated or to take over my entire outfit.

My style for our house works the same way! I love color, but I like to layer it over white walls and plenty of blank space. This goes for pattern too. I like to have just the right balance that is pleasing to my eyes. When there starts to be too much, all the colors and patterns that I normally love, and that make me so happy, begin to overwhelm me and make the space feel like it’s trying too hard.

Once you’ve looked at your inspiration boards on Pinterest, and have searched your closet and jewelry box for the colors that keep making appearances, you’ll be ready to start selecting the ones that will work best in your home! When you think about using a whole house color palette, there are lots of ways you can and will use it while working on and decorating your house.

YOU CAN USE THE COLOR PALETTE WHEN:

-Deciding what paint you want to use on the walls, or even, to paint certain pieces of furniture or cabinetry.

-Picking out furniture that will work well with the different colors, especially if you have a few colors that you want to incorporate.

-Adding decor and accessories. Not everything has to match exactly, but you want them all to at least work well together.

-Selecting flooring or finishes. There are certain styles and colors that will work better, depending on what your palette and aestetics are.

I think we can agree that we all have a budget, especially when it comes to extra things for the house that are more “fun-to-haves” than “need-to-haves”. I love to accessorize our home—changing decor out regularly with the seasons or for a new look!

While I do thrift shop and bargain shop for most things, Jason and I decided several years ago that we would start spending more money on certain items, when we wanted to know that they would last, and that they were made with better quality and care than other, more throw-away pieces.

That’s why I am so impressed with the pillows I’m sharing throughout this post from SmithHonig. They are made from luxury materials and have a quality feel to them. I know that I will be able to keep them for years to come…not just use them for a season and get rid of them. When certain home decor pieces and accessories carry a larger price tag, I always want to know that I will be able to use them for a long time—a cost per use type of thing.

The other part of spending a little more money on decor and accessories for your home, is having the confidence that they are going to work with what you already have. The way to (almost always) guarantee that they will is…ding ding ding…by having a whole house color scheme.

Our house definitely has a very distinct color scheme—with a whole lotta colors included. While there are a few stand-out pieces and finishes that don’t completely jive—I’m working on that—the colors that consistently run through each of the rooms, are obvious. I knew when I picked out the decorative throw pillows and tassel from SmithHonig, that they were going to work in our home, because I have a whole house color scheme. Not only that, but I knew that they would work in several rooms—and they do!

In just this post, I’ve been able to show you how the throw pillows work in our mudroom, living room/family room area, and our master bedroom. I wanted to show you them in my home office, but our corgi pup, Cooper was sleeping in the chair…and he was too cute to move! Maybe I’ll update the post later so you can see!

You can find the throw pillows I have HERE and HERE—and the tassel HERE.

The pillows and tassel from SmithHonig even work in our master bedroom, which has a bit of a lighter-take on the whole house color scheme.

Whether you’re just getting started on your home journey, or want to refresh the space you’re already in, I hope you’ll consider creating and using a whole house color scheme. I’m going to get dramatic here and tell you that I promise it will make decorating and shopping for your home so much easier!

You will get more life out of the home decor and accessories you buy for your house. You’ll be able to use them in so many more spots within your home, because the colors will work throughout!

Remember to look at the decor that you already own. Is there a throw pillow that you’re drawn to over and over? Or maybe it’s a favorite shirt that you’ve held onto forever. Is it because you love the pattern and color so much?

These are the cues that will help you to build your own whole house color scheme—making your decorating decisions so much easier once you do!

Love the blue on our mudroom lockers? Read more about our Mudroom Painted Locker Makever.

You can really see how blue and pink weave a strong thread throughout our home. Our whole house color scheme also includes yellow, green, and healthy dose of white!

Be sure to check out the other beautiful colorful design home decor products that SmithHonig has to offer.

If you decide to create a whole house color palette for your own home, I would love for you to share it on Instagram and tag me so I can see! You can find me on Instagram at @hilaryprall.