Colour Schemes
THE TILE SOURCE Colour Scheme Ideas and Tips

Different finishes can be used to create your colour scheme, paintings, furnishings, rugs, towels, curtains, ornaments, floors, painted walls and of course tiles!

  • Your possessions and furniture will both limit and suggest possible colour schemes.
  • Colour schemes should always have a dominant colour.
  • Colours should be used in different quantities.
  • Camouflage blemishes like pipes by colouring them to blend with the background.
Consider adjoining rooms colour schemes, and link them with common colour. Perhaps have the same dominant colour but vary the accent colours. Using the same ceramic floor tiles in several rooms is one way that this can be achieved.
  • Use accent colours to emphasise a room’s positive features.
  • Use strong colour schemes if the room’s furniture is bare and uninteresting.
  • A large area of colour has the effect of intensifying its shade. Consider using a shade slightly lighter than you think you need if covering a large area.
Light affects colour!
  • Artificial lights change colour, use samples to see how your scheme looks at home.
  • Natural light also effects colour. Check how the passage of the sun changes the colour.
  • A dismal day in England will change the bright colours of your Mediterranean inspired look!
  • All white rooms can look grey in bad light.
Further ideas can be found in Colour Scheme Ideas or alternatively go straight to Bathroom Tile Ideas and Kitchen Tile Ideas.
You have probably seen a style that you would like to replicate, perhaps from a home interest magazine or you have been inspired by a friends house or showroom. Before you blindly copy others first check that the colours will harmonize with adjacent rooms and your pictures, furnishings and ornaments. If necessary use your new skills with colour wheels to amend the design so it works with your house. Pay particular attention to lighting, both natural and artificial (see below). Current style trends are often very neutral or minimalistic, these can look fantastic in the showroom or magazine but can appear very bland and monotonous, so consider using some stronger accent colours.

To make a room feel larger:
  • Use colours from the ‘cool’ side of the colour wheel.
  • Consider a monochrome colour scheme.
  • Tiled floors should be a darker shade.
  • Light ceilings will make them appear higher.
  • Furniture will appear smaller if it is the same colour as the wall.
To make a room feel cosier or more stimulating:
  • Use colours from the ‘warm’ side of the colour wheel.
  • A darker coloured ceiling will make it appear lower.
Use colour schemes that match your personality and likes. Consider the mood of the room, should it be stimulating, relaxing, cosy, inviting? Try to incorporate colour that matches the mood, for example use cool colours for relaxing moods or warm colours for more stimulating and cosier moods.
Get more colour scheme ideas here!