Top 3 tips to styling with colour!

by Alyce Pham August 16, 2020

Say Hello to colour

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of our 'Plan, Style & Create Incredible Kids Interiors' blog. I'm excited to be joining you to share my top tips to help you select a colour pallet for your nursery or kids room that will bring consistency to the room.

I hear it all the time...Mum's having trouble sticking to a colour pallet for their kids rooms or finding that the colours they have chosen just don't work. So I'm keen to share with you just how simple it really is to create a beautiful, consistent and harmonious room with colour!

Step #1

This part is super simple! Step one number involves picking your primary colour. This is the main colour you will feature in the nursery or bedroom. For kids spaces, I like to recommend using your child's favourite colour as the primary colour in the room since this is a space they will be spending a lot of time. However, if you would prefer to stick to a neutral base or keep their room consistent with the rest of the home, you can easily pick a more muted or neutral colour such as light grey for the primary colour.

Step #2

Once you have your primary colour selected, the next step is selecting your accent colours. I always recommend just picking 1 or 2 accent colours to avoid the room becoming too visually loud and it limits the risk of colours clashing and overpowering each other. The accent colours you select are there to work hand in hand with your primary colour to add a beautiful harmony to the space.

How to pick your accent colours

OK so i totally get it, picking accent colours can be a tough job! How are you suppose to know which colours work together and which colours are just going to end in a hot mess? Well I have the answer for you and it comes all down to the colour wheel.

Picking colours for your nursery or kids room is made so much easier thanks to the colour wheel!

Complementary colours

Put simply, complementary colours are the colour found directly opposite your primary colour on the colour wheel. Its the colour that gives the most impact when teamed with your primary colour. They are colours that will work well together and will compliment each other the most. Selecting complementary colours is a great option if you only plan to team one accent colour with your primary colour.

Complementary colours are the colours directly opposite each other on the colour wheel.

Analogous colours

Analogous colours are three colours found directly next to each other on the colour wheel. This combination can often be seen as a safe way to mix multiple colours as the contrast is usually very minimal, however you need to be careful to not overwhelm the space with too many colours in similar tones. If you choose to go with an Analogous colour pallet, be sure to make one of the colours the primary colour and only feature the other colour as accents.

Analogous colours are three colours side by side on the colour wheel

Triadic colours

Triadic colours are three colours that are evenly spaced on the colour wheel. This is a great choice if you are adding 2 accent colours to your primary colour as it provides a great level of contrast, but less so than the complementary color pallet. A triadic colour pallet can be really versatile and can be one of the easiest ways to achieve harmonious and consistent colour in the space.

A Triadic colour pallet adds great contract but is also very versatile.

Step #3

Ok, so by now you hopefully have a better understanding of how to select colours that are going to work well together in your nursery or bedroom. You may even have a couple colours in mind that you think will work really well together! But how do you know how much of each colour to add?

There are some general colour guidelines you can follow which give a break down of how much of each colour to use. But please keep in mind these are only guidelines, finding the perfect balance comes down to personal preference.

A general rule to get you started is:

Primary colour 60% - This means that up to 60% of the room, including wall colours, decor etc can be made up of your primary colour.
Accent colours 10-30% - Depending on how many accent colours you choose to use, each accent colour can account for between 10-30% of the room. You may even chose to use one accent colour more than the other so the accent colours don't need to be an even split.

Bringing it all together

If you're a little overwhelmed with all the % and numbers there's no need to stress! I'm going to share a real life example with you of how you can bring a room together using colour to help you start identifying the primary and accent colours.

This beautiful room has incorporated the primary colour of sage green in the feature wall and the bedding.
Accent colours of mustard yellow, forest green and navy have been used sparingly around the room (scatter cushions and rug) proving sometimes even the smallest touch of colour can have the best impact!
Natural fibers and textures have been incorporated into the room. These don't count as colours as they are neutral pieces that can work with any colour pallet. Anything white, beige or natural added to the room can work with almost any colour pallet and helps add a warm and earthy touch to the room.

Incredible boys room created by Three Birds Renovations which incorporates a beautiful sage green primary colour and three accent colours.

Once you have picked your primary colour and accent colours, select decor pieces and accessories within that colour pallet for a fail-proof way to creating a consistent space.

Have fun with colour!

So I really hope this has helped make the idea of using colour a little less scary and has answered a few of your questions about how to pick and mix colours to create a harmonious space.

A few last tips:

Have fun! Kids rooms, nurseries and play rooms are a space for fun! Don't let colour selections overwhelm you. If you're not sure where to start, ask your kids! Let their favourite colour be a starting point in selecting your colour pallet.
Remember that colour can really impact the feel and emotions created in a room. Pick colours that makes you feel happy to give you a daily pick me up every time you enter the room!
Not sure what to do with all the bright toys? There's no need to be too tough on yourself when it comes to sticking to the colour pallet. If your children's favourite toys don't suit the pallet you have chosen, get yourself some cute storage baskets or tubs so all the other decor and toys can be packed away after play.

Share you style

If our blog and tips have inspired you or helped you to create your own colourful paradise, I'd love to see it! Please tag us @hopeandjadeinteriors or share your photos with us.

A big thank you for joining us for our latest blog. We hope you will join us again next month as I share some more tips and ideas on how you can create beautiful and practical kid friendly spaces in your home.

Have a question of topic you would love us to cover? Comment below or send us a message, we would love to hear from you!

Much love