Color Flow Theory

When I moved into my very first apartment, I couldn't wait to start decorating it.  Since I've lived with a bright pink bedroom since high school, I was excited to experiment with some different colors.  I thought the best thing to do for each room was to bring in as much of a single color as possible.  And this meant making everything the same shade of the same color.  So I quickly designated a turquoise room, an orange room and a bright yellow room.

What my 19 year old self did not realize, is that living in a Crayola box was not a good look.  My first attempt made walking from room to room very jarring and uncoordinated.  Choosing just a single color to dominate each room is not attractive, and won't allow the rooms of your home to flow seamlessly together.  My apartment didn't feel like a coordinated home, it felt like a bunch of color stained rooms shoved next to one another.

I have learned that a home looks its best when you don't feel you're walking into a completely different home when going room to room.  Since then, I have learned a lot about putting together a space.  I know that I prefer to have more than one color in each room's palette, and that those colors do not have to be represented on every. single. object. in a given room.

I have also realized the necessity of flow from one room to another.  I want my home to feel like a cohesive unit, where each room complements and fits with every other room.  With this in mind, I started mapping out a plan for my apartment's color schemes.  While looking at the colors I picked for each room, I noticed a pattern.  Each room had at least one common color with each of its adjoining rooms.  A light bulb went off, and my "Color Flow Theory" was officially born.

Here is how it works:

I'll start you in my kitchen.  The current color scheme in there is yellow and green (although I have recently been inspired to change it up a bit...stay tuned!).  Since there are no windows in my kitchen, I wanted a very light and happy color scheme to combat the lack of natural lighting.

PS. the paint colors shown are not actual colors in my rooms, just swatches to give you an idea of that room's color scheme.

SW Jolly Green, SW Lemon Twist

My kitchen leads right into my living room area.  I brought in the yellow from the kitchen, and added in some blue and coral.  Since this room is larger I knew I could play around with three fun colors and not have it be too overwhelming.

Coral, SW Lemon Twist, SW Slick Blue

Finally, my living room is open to my dining room.  I brought in the coral from the living room, but kept the rest very neutral.  The only other colors I'm planning on using are white and silver.  I hope this will have a slightly glamorous effect, while still keeping it fun and young.

Coral, SW Stamped Concrete

So that is how to plan your home's color palette using my unofficial "Color Flow Theory".  I still have a few rooms to add in to my plan (bedroom and bathroom), but for now I'm happy with where I'm headed.  Since I haven't done much yet to put my plans in action, this theory is still untested.  But I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out, and if it works as well as I hope.  If not, there's always the next apartment :)

How do you pick colors for your home?  Do you use basically the same color palette from room to room?  Or do you like adding different colors throughout?  Do you have any unofficial decorating theories?  I'd love to hear them in the comments!