Understanding Color Hierarchy for Cohesive Space Decorating
Want a Cohesive, Collected Home? Use This Simple Color Trick to Create a Cozy, Curated Home
Table of contents
How Color Impacts Your Space
Your home should feel like you—a reflection of your tastes, the pieces you love, and the colors that bring you joy. You don’t need a complete overhaul to create a beautifully layered space; instead, you can work with what you already have, adding elements that enhance the cozy, curated feel of your home decorating. By thoughtfully layering colors, you can shape your space into one that feels both intentional and effortlessly stylish.
A well-designed room starts with a clear understanding of color hierarchy in decorating. Establishing a structured approach to color allows for an engaging, layered space that feels intentional and harmonious. Rather than overwhelming a room with competing hues, using an anchor palette and a secondary palette helps create cohesion while allowing flexibility for seasonal and stylistic changes. By having these two palettes to work around, you can easily make decisions on what to bring in or let go of as you update or refresh your space, ensuring that every new addition complements the overall design.
Quick Guide
5 Steps to Mastering Color Layering
Quick Guide
5 Steps to Mastering Color Layering
- Pick Your Anchor Palette – Choose 4-6 dominant colors for large elements like furniture, rugs, or walls.
- Establish Your Foundation – Repeat anchor colors in key pieces to create a cohesive base.
- Add a Secondary Palette – Select a few accent colors to bring depth and personality.
- Use in Swappable Décor – Incorporate secondary colors in pillows, artwork, and accessories.
- Refresh Over Time – Swap out secondary colors seasonally or as your style evolves.
Anchor Palette: The Foundation of a Room
Building a Strong Foundation with an Anchor Palette
The anchor palette is the core of your room’s design, consisting of the dominant colors that tie the entire space together. This palette serves as the foundation for your decorating, establishing a sense of unity and cohesion. When selecting your anchor colors, think of them as the backdrop for everything else in the room—these are the tones that will appear most frequently and create the overall mood.
In practice, the anchor palette often manifests in larger furniture pieces like sofas, rugs, or curtains, as well as primary textiles like throw pillows or blankets. These elements set the tone for the space, allowing other, more accent colors to play off of them without overwhelming the room.
To ensure the anchor palette truly anchors the space, consider how the colors interact with the natural light in the room. Lighter shades can make a room feel more open and airy, while deeper tones can add warmth and intimacy. The balance between these hues should reflect the room's purpose—whether you want it to feel calm and relaxing, energetic and lively, or cozy and inviting. By thoughtfully incorporating your anchor colors into the room’s key elements, you create a space that feels both intentional and harmonious.
Secondary Palette: Adding Depth and Contrast
Bringing It All Together: The Secondary Palette
While the anchor palette serves as the foundation, the secondary palette introduces variety and personality into the room. These colors complement and contrast with the dominant tones, offering depth and interest without overwhelming the space. Think of the secondary palette as the supporting cast to your anchor colors—it provides balance and harmony, allowing for smaller pops of color that bring the space to life.
What’s exciting about the secondary palette is the opportunity to introduce colors you may not have considered for your anchor pieces. For instance, a fun coral or turquoise could make a statement in smaller elements like pillows or vases, adding unexpected flair to the room. Even if these colors aren’t repeated throughout the space, they can create a sense of continuity as you keep returning to them in different ways.
The secondary palette is also a great place to experiment with bolder shades, like a vibrant mustard yellow, which can add interest when paired with a more neutral gold from the anchor palette. By placing the mustard yellow strategically—perhaps in throw pillows or artwork—it creates a striking contrast, while still tying back to the overall design and adding another layer of depth.
These colors are the ones that can change and evolve with the room. Since they’re not as permanent as larger elements like flooring or paint colors, they offer more flexibility and are less of a commitment. This makes it easy to play with different shades and switch them out as your taste or the seasons change, keeping the space fresh and dynamic.
Decorating with bold colors? Check out our soft cotton throws
Prefer neutrals? Shop our cozy neutral throws
Shop the Space
Love the look?
Here are a few pieces we’ve used in our own space! These aren’t affiliate links—just some favorite finds from our own homes. ✨🏡
Plaid Rug: Ours is a 9x12 and ordered through Bed Bath and Beyond, but they are out of stock at the moment. We love it because it's wool, a flatweave more durable than a hooked rug.
Yellow Checkered Pouf: These pieces are a great way to carry the checkered/plaid pattern throughout the room while adding style and texture. With yellow as one of our secondary colors, this ottoman brings in both function and a vibrant pop of color.
Joybird Leather Sectional:We love our Eliot sectional for its warm camel color and easy-to-clean leather. It’s a durable and practical choice for homes with big dogs, offering both style and functionality.
Tuxberry & Whit Throw: Our mid-century modern-inspired throw is a key addition to the space, influencing much of our secondary color palette while adding warmth and texture.
Cantilever Lamp: While this isn’t the exact lamp in our space, it’s a similar option available at Target. If you have the room, it’s a great way to add lighting from behind the couch, providing both function and a clean, modern look.
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