Matching Color Palettes with Decorative Styles

Do you have a favorite color and a favorite décor style, but you can’t seem to make them work together? Few elements will have as big an impact on your space as color, but some colors and tones do not work with certain decorative styles.

To help you achieve the color and look you want, the Baer’s Furniture design experts will go over a few of the most popular decorating trends and discuss the color palettes for each.

There are dozens of décor styles — too many to go into each one individually — but by showing you some of the most popular design trends, we feel that you can apply the principles to other styles.

Naturally, with a name like “tropical,” you would expect to find some green in the decorative scheme.

But that doesn’t mean that you need to overdo it with green sofas, chairs, throws, pillows, etc. While nearly every color palette for tropical interior décor has the predictable green element, they also include the bright colors of tropical flowers and exotic birds.

Tropical décor is flexible enough that you can cover your greenery with a few tropical plants and go with other colors for the furniture. Check out these tropical-themed Bali Hai Diamond Cove Swivel Chairs by Tommy Bahama. The seat cushions have a bluish-green hue, reminiscent of a tropical sky. The greenery in the vase ties the look of the room together and makes it a truly tropical theme.

Coastal décor is supposed to be reminiscent of the beach, so coastal color palettes follow suit. Soft ocean or sky blues, seafoam, off-white sand colors, and lighter woods all fit with coastal décor. While you can always justify a color as somehow being associated with the beach — a bright red lighthouse, for example — your main colors should be naturally inspired. 

Consider the color discipline that went into designing this bedroom, featuring the Tommy Bahama Palm Louvered Bed. The whitewashed wood and sand-colored walls complement one another perfectly. All supporting colors are soft pastels.

For industrial décor, colors are derived from the factories of the Industrial Revolution — only a cleaner version. Dark woods, wrought iron, and red brick are a few examples of the deeper colors that are represented in industrial décor.

In the true spirit of the minimalist “less is more” approach to design, minimalist spaces should adhere to a light and neutral color palette. Whites, off-whites, and grays are the rule for walls, while furniture should be monotone and neutral.

This minimalist living room featuring the Mid-Century Modern Sofa from Bernhardt's Colette Collection demonstrates the beauty of a neutral color palette. As you can see, by choosing warmer neutrals, you can avoid the cold feeling that minimalist décor often falls prey to.

From a color standpoint, traditional décor provides plenty of options. For authenticity, you are trying to recreate a color palette that was prevalent in a particular era.

However, if you want an authentic feel, use bright colors sparingly and completely avoid any shade that has the word “neon” in front of it. Like the coastal theme, you can justify just about any color, but few colonials had purple furniture, for instance. Look at how naturally the Martinique Night Stand by Tommy Bahama Home works with the neutral bedding and off-gray-green wall tone of the walls in this image.

It’s one thing to acknowledge that you need to adhere to a specific color palette, and it’s quite another to locate one. One of the easiest ways to locate a color palette is to just enter the name of the décor style into a search engine with the additional words “color palette.”

You should be careful because colors often look different on a screen than they do in person, but this will give you a good starting place.

By using the search bar at the top of this page, you can peruse the styles and colors you want by scrolling through dozens of items that meet your search criteria.

In addition, our knowledgeable sales staff can walk you to pieces that meet your color requirements at any of more than a dozen Baer’s furniture showrooms. Stop in today and talk colors with a member of our staff!