Choosing colours for a room from nothing is hard. There are thousands of shades, and it is difficult to know which will agree. Designers have a short cut. They start with one thing that already contains a good set of colours, and take the scheme from that. A rug will do, or a fabric. A piece of art is the best starting point of all, because an artist has already done the work of making the colours get on.
This is how to do it.
Why it works
- The colours are already balanced. A picture that looks good has colours in proportions that work. Borrow them and the room inherits the balance.
- The art looks as though it belongs. When a colour from the picture turns up in a cushion across the room, the eye links the two. The picture seems chosen for the room, and the room for the picture.
- It makes decisions for you. In the shop, you need only ask whether a thing is one of your three colours.
Step 1: find the colours in the picture
Stand back and half close your eyes, so that the detail blurs. Ask three questions.
- What is the main colour? The one that covers the most area. Often it is the background.
- What is the second colour? The next largest.
- What is the accent? A colour that appears in small amounts and catches the eye: a light in a window, a pair of eyes, a streak of sky.
You can also photograph the picture and use a free colour-picker app or website to pull out a palette. It will give you the exact shades.
Step 2: choose which to use
You don't have to use them all. Two or three is enough.
- The accent colour is the best one to borrow. It is small in the picture, so a little of it in the room goes a long way. It is usually the most interesting colour as well.
- The second colour is good for medium-sized things.
- Be careful with the main colour. If the picture is mostly navy and you paint the wall navy and buy a navy sofa, the picture disappears. Use the main colour sparingly, or in a lighter or darker version.
For a calm room, borrow the quieter colours. For a lively one, borrow the brightest.
Step 3: decide how much
The 60-30-10 rule is a helpful guide.
- 60 percent: the main colour of the room. Walls, floor, large furniture. Usually a neutral.
- 30 percent: a second colour. Curtains, a rug, bedding, an armchair.
- 10 percent: the accent. Cushions, a vase, a lamp, a throw, and the art.
The colours you take from a picture usually fill the 30 and the 10. The 60 stays neutral, so that the picture can stand out. See the 60-30-10 colour rule with wall art.
Step 4: place the colour
- Repeat each colour three times. Once looks like an accident. Three times looks like a plan. An orange cushion, an orange book spine and an orange candle.
- Spread them round the room. Put the repeats on different sides and at different heights. The eye then travels round the room and back to the picture.
- Vary the size. One medium thing and two small ones.
- Vary the texture. The same colour in velvet, glass and paint looks richer than three matching cushions.
- Don't put all of it beside the art. A cushion in the picture's colour on the sofa directly beneath is fine. The link is stronger when the colour also appears across the room.
Where to put accent colour
- Cushions and throws
- A vase, a bowl, candles
- A lampshade or lamp base
- Books, turned to show their spines
- A plant pot
- A rug with the colour in its pattern
- Bedding or a single pillowcase
- A painted chair, shelf or door
- Flowers
- At a desk: a desk mat, keycaps, a cable, the colour of the lighting
These are cheap and easy to change. Start small. You can always add more.
Get the shade right, roughly
- It doesn't have to be exact. A slightly lighter or darker version of the colour looks natural. A perfect match on every item can look stiff.
- Keep the undertone. A warm, orange-leaning red and a cool, blue-leaning red are different colours. Stay on the same side as the picture.
- Take the picture shopping. Carry a photo on your phone, and hold things up against the print itself before you take the labels off. Screens are unreliable for colour. See why colours look different on screen and in print.
- Check under your own lamps. Colours shift under warm bulbs.
Worked examples
Hand of the Stars
Hand of the Stars shows a glassy violet-pink hand against a sky that runs from red to indigo. Main: indigo. Second: violet-pink. Accent: warm red. In a white or grey room, bring in the pink with two cushions and a throw, and the red with a single small thing, such as a candle or a book. Leave the indigo to the picture.
Japanese City Punk FX.2: Koi Attack
Koi Attack sets orange and violet koi against a blue city. Main: blue. Accent: orange. Blue and orange are opposites, so the pairing is lively. A grey sofa with one orange cushion, an orange lamp and a blue throw picks up both. See how to match wall art to your couch.
Blue Mountain Fog
Blue Mountain Fog is teal pines in pale cloud. Main: pale blue-white. Second: teal. There is hardly an accent, and that is why it is so calm. Use teal in bedding or a rug, with white and pale wood. If the room needs lifting, add a small amount of a warm colour of your own, such as terracotta or brass. See warm vs cool colours.
Stone Angel Vaporwave
Stone Angel Vaporwave is ultramarine and acid green. Both are strong. Borrow one. A single lime green object in a white room is enough. More than that is hard to live with.
With neon art
Neon pieces contain colours that are hard to find in furnishings at full strength, and you would not want them at full strength anyway. Use a softer version in the room: dusty pink for hot pink, teal for electric cyan, plum for bright purple. The picture keeps the intensity. The room echoes it quietly. See neon art in a warm, neutral room.
With more than one picture
Choose one piece to lead, and take the room's colours from that. Other art in the room should share at least one of those colours. See using art to mark out zones.
Common mistakes
- Borrowing every colour. The room becomes as busy as the picture.
- Using the accent once.
- Matching the wall to the picture's main colour. The picture vanishes.
- Everything matching exactly. It looks like a catalogue.
- Buying the cushions first. Choose the art you love, then the accents. It is much harder the other way round.
For the wider question, see should art match the room or contrast with it. Browse the canvas art collection.