When designing a space, one of the first and most important decisions you will make is the selection of your color palette. Once chosen, these colors should be repeated in their various shades throughout the room in rugs, upholstery, window treatments, wall coverings, paints and accessories such as throw pillows, lamp shades and matting on art work. This repetition of color is fundamental to creating a beautiful, well balanced room resembling the professionally styled interiors you find in national decorating magazines and television shows.

To help you with your palette, I recommend using a “generator” to provide inspiration and guidance with your color selections. The generator can be a focal point piece of art or a treasured antique, but if you have decided to incorporate an oriental rug in the space, your rug is the perfect place to start. This is another reason why I always advise purchasing your oriental rug first.

Most oriental rugs have a dominant color in the field and a secondary color in the border. The accent colors in the corner spandrels, medallion and design motifs may or may not impact your color selections and will usually depend upon the percentage of a particular color used in the overall rug design.

Once you have your generator, you can easily make a color chart matching the colors in your oriental rug or any other item with paint chips easily found at home improvement centers.  This convenient color chart is an extremely useful tool for your design decisions such as shopping for furniture or fabrics. 

By using the same shades of color, you can also vary the texture of the materials incorporated in your room. I am particularly fond of textured grass wallpapers and faux paint techniques such as Venetian Plaster. The light play on large surfaces adds richness and depth, subtle changing throughout the day. Even monochromatically designed rooms benefit from shade and texture variations. 

Whatever your color preferences, there are hundreds if not millions of shades from which to choose. Color is often the most significant element in a room with the ability to elicit joyful and calming emotions. When designing your home, I hope you find your shades of happiness.
Happy Rug Shopping!