Creating Your Home’s Fall Color Palette

Whether it’s for the seasons, holidays, or just in general, the first step when it comes to decorating your home is to come up with a color palette. I often get asked about how I style spaces. Have you ever been curious about my thought process when it comes to designing a space in my home? Then this blog post is for you! Today I’m going to walk you through how I create all of my seasonal color palettes for my home’s decor.

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Your Quick Guide to Color Schemes

Before we can get into how to create your perfect fall color palette, you need to understand the different types of color schemes that you can work with. As with anything, there’s a million-and-one ways to do things – but here are what I lovingly like to refer to as ‘the big three’.

• Monochromatic: A monochromatic color scheme is a favorite among neutral lovers everywhere. When using this color scheme in your home, different shades of the same color are used in the color palette. (Think: Ombre!) For my neutral lovers, your color palettes would consist of a variety of shades between dark grey and white throughout the room.
• Analogous: A analogous color scheme is one in which colors next to each other on the color wheel are used. (To keep it safe, I’d recommend sticking to just 2 to 4 colors!) You could stick with all warm colors, stick with all cool colors, or mix a warm color into your cool palette (and vice versa!)
• Complementary: When it comes to finding complementary colors to your primary color, simply look directly across the color wheel. Every primary color has a complementary color that creates a vibrant pop of contrast when used together. Colors directly across one another on the color wheel will always compliment each other.

Ask Yourself: How do you want your space to feel?

When it comes to decorating a space, there’s a big question you must ask yourself before you even start. The first step to decorating any space is to think about how you want it to feel. For example: When it comes to my home, regardless of season, I want it to have a relaxed and cozy vibe. I want it to feel like a cozy retreat from the outside world when people walk into the door. This is why I focus on neutrals in a more monochromatic color scheme. Once you figure out how you want your space to feel, deciding on a color palette will come much more naturally.

The Easy Way to Create a Fall Color Palette For Your Home

1: Identify Your ‘Main’ / Permanent Colors

When it comes to your main / permanent colors, these colors are just that – pretty permanent. Start off your color palette by identifying those main colors that are not easily changeable. For example, you’re probably not going to be changing out the wall color, floors, furniture, drapes, rugs, or other major fixtures every time you switch up the decor in a space. If you have the money and time to do that every season, I want to come to your house. (Just saying!) For the sake of the color palette, my home’s main permanent color is definitely the paint on my walls. (Sherwin Williams – Reflection)

2: Identify The Color That You’re Inspired By 

One of the first things I learned from my mom about interior decorating was something I swear by to this day. When purchasing your ‘investment’ furniture pieces or choosing those main / permanent colors in your home, neutrals are your budget’s best friend. She always told me to “start with neutrals and add color from there.” By having ‘neutral’ furniture, the easiest (and most budget friendly) way to change up a space is by adding pops of color and switching out accessories. Is your mind blown? Because mine was!

From this neutral starting point, you can create a color palette for any season by channeling a color that you’re currently inspired by. For me, I am currently obsessed with sage greens. I have always been a lover of greenery and white at weddings, and it’s something I loved channeling into my home this past spring and summer. As someone who isn’t a huge fan of all the orange that comes with fall, I decided to continue on that inspiration by incorporating sage into my fall color palette. One of my favorite sage colors right now is definitely ‘Clary Sage’ from Sherwin Williams.

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3: Choose A Darker Accent Color To Your Main Color

This step really depends on the type of color scheme that you have decided on for your home. Since I like to stay true to my neutral monochromatic color scheme while channeling pops of color, I choose a darker accent color to incorporate with my main / permanent color. You can see this with my dark gray table runner and the black in my linen napkins, chairs, and the candle holders in my centerpiece. My favorite dark gray is definitely ‘Peppercorn’ by Sherwin Williams.

4: Choose A Lighter Accent Color To Your Main Color

Once again, this step depends on the type of color scheme that you have decided on for your home. Depending on the vibe you want to create for your home would depend on how much of each accent color that you use. Since I like to keep my home more light and airy, I limit my darker accent color to smaller details and use more a pure white as my other accent color.

Note: If you were to choose to do a complementary color scheme, you would choose accent colors for steps 3 and 4 by simply looking at the colors across from your inspiration color on the color wheel. For example, if you were looking for a complimentary color for sage green, you’d look for more of a red-violet accent color. If you were to choose to do an analogous color scheme, you’d channel accent colors next to sage green on the color wheel – like yellows and deeper greens. While keeping a monochromatic range of neutrals in my color palette, I also channel a monochromatic vibe with inspiration color by using just more slight variations of the color in the greenery and floral of my centerpiece.

You shouldn’t feel like you’re stuck in a box when creating a color palette for your home. Combine different methods from the ‘big three’ and channel what inspires YOU. 

5: Add Textures And Patterns

Adding texture is a great way to give a space more dimension. When it comes to textures, go back to what you’re inspired by and the type of vibe you want for your space. Different textures give off different vibes. I love more natural elements and woven textures when it comes to creating a cozy vibe for my home. I channel this through seagrass placemats and baskets, natural and finished wood elements, as well as jute rugs.

My last step to creating a color palette for any space is to add in some sort of pattern. When it comes to adding in patterns, I believe that less is more. Patterns should be used intentionally and feel like a natural addition to the space. I like to break up spaces and colors for the eye by using patterns as an accent. For my fall color palette, I decided to incorporate the current buffalo check trend with my linen napkins. It channels the cozy, rustic vibe that I have in my home without being overwhelming.

Well there you have it, friends! I hope this little sneak peek into my thought process will help you create your own dream color palette for your home. Tell me, what is your home’s fall color palette? Let’s inspire one another by leaving a comment below!