During the process of building our home I have taken an
inventory of all the decisions that need to be made. They are endless and during this process I
realized that having to pinpoint my answers can be frustrating.
This is basically because I really have no idea what I want. We haven’t lived in a traditional home for 5 years and the idea that we can create something we want to live in has really been an alien concept.
Well, that was true until recently when I decided to focus my answers on color. I have always been drawn to unique color palettes and I also love to take outdoor photos.
So, to get over this slump of not having the answers, I decided to look through my photos and seek colors that might inspire the finish look of our new home.
This brought me to creating my own color palette and I’m going to share how you can do the same.
Begin with a Photo
For me it was all about beginning with one of my photos and I have many. Most are in files, so it was easy enough to sort through as I traveled back.I took this picture almost a year ago towards the end of winter, it’s a favorite because it's a time we often miss, the early transition into spring. The sun was beginning to set, and the colors spoke to me.
I honestly never thought that when I captured this image, I would later use it to create a color palette.
Color palettes can be used for so many things and I bet you have a large inventory of your own photography. You might be surprised but when you go back and look through them, you will probably see what's important or what sort of makes you tick.
For me it’s a combination of the two because I have a creative spirit that never sleeps.
You may have also noticed that I recently made some changes to my blog and I’m still seeking one more color for my link highlights. So, I’m using this color palette to possibly help me select that third color.
Palettes can be used for so many things, creating a piece of art, outdoor spaces, designing a room or an entire home in my case.
But who would have thought they could also be used for creating a website or blog.
Creating that Palette
Once you have chosen a photo, let’s walk through how I came
up with the following colors. Now, I
could have played around with my paints, but I didn’t want to do that.
Instead, I uploaded this photo to Canva, which is one of the
easiest graphic programs and its user friendly. If you don’t have access to
Canva they do offer a free trial.
- Simply open a “new project” which is like a file.
- Next upload the photo of your choice.
- Tweak the colors if you want the image to be brighter or saturated.
- Add a shape graphic, click color and you will see your palette options.
It’s that easy and you can highlight the color #hex to dive
in deeper for further use.
Other ways to Create a Color Palette
If you don’t like the idea of making your own color palette,
then I do have a few other ideas. The simplest would be to visit a paint store
and walk through the swatch aisle and mix and match.
Browsing through Pinterest could be helpful, if you’re after what’s in season or trendy because they will always be on target.
I’ve actually started adding color palettes to my Watercolor board because I plan to expand on this concept at a later time.
Another place I found is Paper Heart Design. This is a fun dive in where you just browse and everything is done for you, here’s my favorite. So, there you have it, I hope you found creating your own color palette to be a good idea for your next project.
See the Good,
Carole
NOTE: since the writing of this post, you'll notice I changed up my color pallet again.