Adding color to a white interior can feel like a massive undertaking. The thought of painting every wall, buying all new furniture, or committing to a bold color scheme for your entire home is enough to make anyone stick with the safety of white.
But what if there was an easier, less intimidating way?
This guide will show you how to add color to your home one step at a time, starting with a single space. We’ll cover how to find inspiration, create a simple color palette, and use it to transform your space with confidence and ease.
Let’s replace the overwhelm with excitement and start creating a home that feels perfectly, authentically you.
Start with a Single space
The most important thing to remember with interiors is not to get overwhelmed. You don’t have to tackle your entire house at once.
Instead, pick just one wall or one room that you want to transform. Focusing on a small, manageable project will make the process feel less daunting and more fun.
Plus, it’s an easier project to accomplish and it will bring so much joy when done.
Here are a few ideas– they are actually projects we’ve done here that felt like they had a big impact.
- Painted arch wall: the yellow arch is the very first project we did in the playroom. We installed basic shelves on the arch for books, but you could also just style a smaller piece of furniture in front of it.
- Living room: a new wall color, a few colorful pillows & some fun coffee table books can transform a space!
- Bedroom: rethink what’s on your dresser– swap out your lamp for a colorful one (or, if you’re like me, paint the base!), stack a few coffee table books with a plant on top and hang some fun art. You could also just lean art against the wall because that’s even easier.
Find Your Inspiration
Once you’ve chosen your spot, it’s time to find your muse. This is the fun part! Pick a single anchor piece that makes you smile.
This can be anything:
- A piece of art that makes you smile
- A colorful pillow that catches your eye
- An interesting wallpaper design: Ok, I know that installing wallpaper isn’t a quick project (and definitely not the affordable route!) but you could incorporate a sample of wallpaper by using it as a mat on a picture frame or even framing the wallpaper itself.
- A unique lamp or piece of furniture
- A specific paint color you can’t stop thinking about
Don’t overthink it. Just choose one thing that genuinely inspires you, and then use this piece to build a color palette.
build a color palette
Once you have your anchor piece, you can start pulling colors from it to guide your choices for other elements in the room, like textiles, other decor, and even the wall color itself. It’s an easy way to create a room that feels intentional and personal.
If you need help pulling colors, check out my guide to building a color palette based on art. In it, I use an art piece to guide the process to picking colors.
This is a good next step because my #1 advice for a cohesive interior design is to pick a handful of colors you love and use them as a consistent palette throughout your home.
Groundbreaking, I know.
But hear me out– I think it’s easy to get carried away when adding color. You start buying colorful pieces without thinking about a color scheme. Color for the sake of adding color. And then… whoops! You have a collection of colorful pieces that feel disjointed.
Instead, start by choosing a curated color scheme. It can be super colorful, but by rooting all of your decorating decisions in this single scheme, you’ll find it much easier to create a home that feels intentional and harmonious.
Here’s the color palette I use for our downstairs:
One additional note on this is: make sure to include a neutral!
School House White is one of my favorite whites to use. It’s a soft off white. We also use Off White in our house– it’s a bit warmer than School House White.
Want to learn more about home color palettes? Check out my article Why A Color Palette Is Your Best Friend to learn how to create a cohesive look. For a deeper dive on our house, don’t miss our comprehensive guide to our home color palettes (yes, we have multiple!)
MY ADVICE FOR WALL COLOR
Once you have your color palette, you’ll need to decide how to use color in the room. While a “color drench”—where you paint the walls, trim, and ceiling all the same color—can be stunning, it’s a big commitment.
For an easier and more flexible approach, consider this: Use a neutral color on your walls and a bold, contrasting color on your trim.
This strategy allows you to:
- Add a pop of personality without overpowering the room
- Define architectural features like doorways, windows, or baseboards
- Highlight key areas and create visual interest
We have done this several places around our home, including a kid bedroom and the living room.
COLORS: School House White (wall), Breakfast Room Green (trim), Babouche (desk)
COLORS: Off White (wall), Card Room Green (trim), Oval Room Blue (lamp base)
layer in the colors
With your walls and trim set, you can continue to build on your color palette with smaller decor items.
Use your color palette to choose pillows, blankets, vases, or other accents that will make your space feel complete and cohesive. This method lets you play with color in a low-stakes way, making it easy to swap things out if you want a change down the road.
A great way to do this is to focus on one color at a time.
Using my palette as an example, since we’ve already used the white and green, I’d next focus on yellow to ensure I’m using a variety of colors. Find art, pillows, candles, books, or some other piece of decor that is close to the color you want to add. You can always paint something like a picture frame to bring that color in.
After that, keep going!
Add in a fourth color, and then a fifth. You can even do so with a piece of decor that incorporates multiple colors, like a patterned throw pillow that includes both the green from your trim and your fifth color.
This layering technique will make your space feel complete and cohesive.
Here’s a fun bonus! If you use the same color palette throughout your home, you can easily swap things around from room to room. It’s really fun when you realized that everything matches (but not in a matchy-matchy way, of course!)
Want a few ideas for colorful home decor?
- Big Night Shop has the most perfect home decor. It’s especially good if olives & tomatoes are on your vision board.
- Speaking of Big Night, their cookbook can definitely be a coffee table book. And you should also pull recipes from it because it’s fantastic. Try the party mix!
- Whistle Pig is one of my favorite whimsical artists. You’ll need to message her on Instagram to see what she has available but she’s always quick to get back to you and will definitely do a custom request! I didn’t ask her about this but… I’m sure she’d love it! 🙂
- And if it really is whimsy you’re after, check Etsy for vintage crewel art. I have to actively stop myself from looking daily because I already have too many. It definitely adds immediate whimsy and personality, though.
- I love Muse Textiles’ colorful pillows! They are one of the first pieces I bought when I started to lean into colorful home decor. Very saturated colors!
- Use sample pots of Farrow & Ball paint to give your picture frames a new look. I have also been known to paint lamp bases with their small pots. If you are feeling wild, paint a lampshade and then let me know how it goes!
- I love the lemon print featured above! If you want more art inspiration, make sure to check out my roundup of fun art prints for your home.
By following this method, you’re not just adding random splashes of color; you’re building a thoughtful, layered design that feels complete. The colors echo each other throughout the room, creating a sense of harmony that is both calming and visually interesting.
Next week’s article will be a follow-up to this one– I’ll break down our living room design into these basic steps to show you how to pull a space together. Until then!
