London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Sep 12, 2025

How to Choose the Right Colors for Your Home, According to an Interior Designer

How to Choose the Right Colors for Your Home, According to an Interior Designer

Ditch the neutrals! Interior designer Corey Damen Jenkins shares his strategy for choosing the right colors for your space.

Energizing a room with color takes courage: It can feel safer sticking to neutrals. Boost your confidence by considering interior designer Corey Damen Jenkins' trusted sources for statement color schemes. "History, nature, and fashion are great litmus tests for how to use color," he says. For example, if you've decided green walls will get top billing, a historical color-most paint companies curate a batch-comes with the assurance that it's time-tested. Nature is also rife with dependable colors. "If you like a color combination in nature, chances are you'll like it in your room," he says. And your favorite patterned shirt? It's a safe bet those colors will harmonize in a room too.



In his first book, Design Remix: A New Spin on Traditional Rooms ($45, Barnes & Noble), Jenkins reveals his tips for using bold color, creating powerful pattern play, and adding drama: "The book teaches the building blocks of design."

He says you should think of choosing colors for your home as if you're casting a movie: You need to pick a star and supporting players. For example, in this family room, peacock feathers inspired the palette, with vibrant blue walls getting the spotlight. "Cobalt blue drives the space and electrifies it," he says. Teal, green, tan, and a shot of yellow for contrast complete the ensemble.

Accent colors can support your vision or steal the show. The key, Jenkins says, is to balance rather than compete. Here are more of his best tips for choosing the right colors for your space.

How to Decorate with Color




Use Pattern


Don't be afraid to use pattern, especially when paired with a solid wall. Jenkins referenced the bold blue wall color in disparate patterns in this family room. The patterns coexist happily thanks to a visual hierarchy: The largest one fills the most space; as the others shrink in size and scale, they fill less space.



Build a Bridge


Contrasting colors are often a better choice than a monotone design. In this color palette, cobalt blue walls pair well with vibrant yellow because they're both primary colors. Softer tones of each smooth transitions.

Paint colors, clockwise:


Beacon Blue P510-7
Butter Rum PPU4-03
Saffron Strands PPU6-02
Buzz-In P300-6
Bella Vista P470-6

Tie a Thread




Use multiple shades of a color to give your room some color and tie the look together without overwhelming the area. In this example, raspberry accents in the pillows and upholstery tie the statement pink walls and ceiling to the candy colors pulled from a dress fabric.

Divvy Up




When combining several contrasting colors, choose one main color and use the others sparingly. In this color palette, small doses of turquoise, sunshine yellow, and raspberry punctuate an expanse of equally vibrant bubblegum pink.

Paint colors, clockwise:


Cat’s Meow 1332
Feel the Energy 417
Fuchsine 1343
No-Nonsense 361
How Blue Am I? 752

Creativity is Key


Staying busy keeps creativity afloat for Corey Damen Jenkins. His top motivators: Sketching, a good playlist, and floral arrangements.

He says sketching pencils ($6, Michaels) are one of his most valuable tools, because new ideas come to him as he sketches. "I doodle a lot," he says. "Drawing 3-D renderings and motifs for new collections by hand has produced many et voilà! moments."

He also recommends finding your design soundtrack and jamming out as you work on your space. "A fantastic 1990s R&B/pop playlist bouncing off the walls while I work" is one of the things that inspire his creativity the most.

And if you find yourself in a rut, he recommends heading somewhere that inspires you, like a flower shop, farmer's market, or anywhere outdoors. "I spend hours meandering around the NYC Flower District looking at flowers for unusual color combinations," he says. "Ranunculus and dahlias are favorites."



A Balancing Act


Jenkins sometimes gives color costars equal billing, like the blue and orangey spice tones in this family room. Follow his lead and commit to a combo throughout a room.

1. Artwork


Framed children's art takes pride of place in this family room and inspired the blocks of cool and warm colors.

2. Walls


Golden tan (Applesauce Cake by PPG) establishes a cozy backdrop and echoes the gold picture frames.

3. Ceiling


Because it evokes the sky, light blue is a trusted ceiling color. Jenkins guaranteed a hit by choosing a color from a historical collection (Buxton Blue by Benjamin Moore).

4. Sofa


Blue spans the spectrum, from light on the ceiling to dark on the sofa. "When there's variation in tones, it looks more curated," Jenkins says.

5. Throw

"The best design is usually a medley of solid color blocks and layers of texture and pattern." Jenkins layered this suzani over the sofa for its vivid embroidery in colors from the artwork on the wall behind it.

6. Armchairs

Tangerine upholstery channels the vibrancy of the artwork and throw without replicating the colors exactly. "Not everything has to match. These colors are close to each other, but there's a range so it all flows together. It can be perfectly imperfect," Jenkins says.

7. Table Lamp & Curtains

"Committing to color means splashing it on pieces throughout the room," he says. Rather than defaulting to white as a neutral for accents, he carried light blue onto the table lamp and drapery.

8. Rug & Ottoman


Large-scale plaid upholstery and a small-scale pattern rug unite the palette. "Patterns that summarize the majority of colors in a room are the ties that bind and anchor a space," Jenkins says.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
×