Once I’ve used the color wheel to identify what color an item is where do I go from there? For example, I believe my walls are green grey so does this mean that the majority of my decor in this room (at least 80%) should also be cool colors or they should have a green undertone?
~Rebecca
That’s such a great question! And the answer is no. But you’re asking that question because that’s all you have in the room right now.
Or, you don’t have any furniture or furnishings that actually relate to your wall colour.
So let’s look at this room I decorated for a client, see all the before and afters here.
The walls in this room are SW Agreeable Gray which is a green grey in my system. And you can see that it’s been repeated in the area rug and the throw pillows. That’s the colour balancing method that I teach in my live workshops here.
And it IS useful to identify the undertone of any neutral you have in your room. This is because when you ARE adding additional neutral pieces, whether furnishings, paint, decor or hard finishes like a new countertop for example, it’s a good idea to stick to the same neutral undertone.
A good rule of thumb is that a room should have one neutral undertone or a max of two.
In no way though – and I can’t stress this enough really – does it mean that you should continue choosing everything in your room in the same neutral undertone.
Decorating is not about choosing everything in coordinating neutral undertones either. (Creating neutral colour combinations with the wheel is not a thing. The wheel is for comparing and identifying neutrals, and it’s for seeing all the possible undertones together).
Instead, choose some COLOUR. Like I did in this room above. Most colours will work with almost any neutral undertone as long as there isn’t a conflict of clean and dirty colours (this too I teach in my workshops).
The neutral undertone in my open layout kitchen, dining room and living room is green beige. There is some green grey in the marble and marble look elements. But the rest is happy colour!
My green beige chenille corner sofa (above) was chosen to coordinate with my green beige kitchen cabinets (below), green beige complex cream walls and Calacatta gold marble backsplash.
The rest is colour! And off white millwork.
Colour and contrast are so important to the success of a room that they can even cover for mistakes with the neutrals.
A room that is 80% grey is usually not going to be beautiful. And I want you to have a room that gives you joy!
The way to create a beautiful room is to start with mood boards. You can play around with colours and pieces until you find a look that you love. That’s exactly how I decorated my new house! I started with sourcing a mural or wallpaper, I knew my yellow sofa was part of the scheme (that I’ve used in several versions of my living room in the last 12 years!), and some of the pieces I chose in my collaboration with Ballard Designs for updating my previous living room (that’s where all the fun leopard print comes from that goes perfectly with my yellow sofa).
Creating a beautiful room is a process. And my Learn to Create Mood Boards self directed course is a simple to follow guide to creating your own!
Hope this helps Rebecca! Thanks for the question.
xo Maria
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The sofa is green beige, so are there also medium and small pieces to make it a complete accent color? The large, medium, and small rule?
That’s a great question, green beige is not an accent colour so I am not concerned about that. What I am concerned about is that my neutrals are the same which is why my sofa is the same undertone as my kitchen cabinets. Maria
That light fixture over your kitchen island is stunning!
I notice that your accent colors are green, blue and yellow are all close to the undertone of your neutral (green). Would you think it weird to use a contrasting accent color? Say red accent color with a neutral that has a green undertone
No that is not odd I still plan to add orange to this room the colour has nothing to do with the neutral you choose to paint the walls. The neutral is found in the furnishings. These are all questions people ask when they don’t have an inspiration piece to start with. Great question, Maria
What paint color is your trim?
I received my beautiful color boards. I have 50 SW neutrals and 50 SW colors. I noticed that Sea Salt was in the group of neutrals.
Are you considering Sea Salt a neutral? If so, does that mean you think Sea Salt will look soft enough to pair with other colors? Other blues, greens and neutrals?
Hi Gail, I’m Tricia, Director of eDesign here at MK. SW Sea Salt is a muted blue green. It is such a popular paint colour that it was included in the collection. It’s a lovely wall colour that is almost as versatile as a neutral yes. Especially if you plan to decorate with blues and greens 🙂