Creating a Cohesive Home with Color // A Home Tour

One of the best compliments I receive about our home when guests come over is “Your home feels so comfortable.”  And it is something that I pride myself on.  Yes, I want my home to look nice.  Yes, I want to have beautiful things.  But in the end, I truly want everyone who enters our home to feel comfortable.  Over the years, our modest home has gone through numerous transitions but I have to say that in it’s current state, I feel the most comfortable in it as well.  I think this comes from the color choices that I have been more conscious about making from one room to the next & something that is easily accomplished in any home.

When we first moved in to our starter home 8 years ago, I went nuts with color…  Red drapery in the living room, turquoise walls in the hallway, baby blue walls in the bedroom, yellow accents in the guest room…  I was treating each space as it’s own entity & in the end, it never felt cohesive.  It felt small & compartmentalized.  Two adjectives that would definitely describe our home, but not the feeling I was going for.
Over the years I have come up with a simple rule that allows spaces to flow into each other with out being completely matchy.  This easy to follow system is to allow at least two colors to coordinate from one room to the next.  Simple.  This formula allows the introduction of new colors into various spaces, but by implementing at least two colors from the previous space, you are welcomed into the next room with a since of familiarity.
Here is a little Home Tour to help you visualize what I am saying //

Rather than our front door, 99.9% of the time we enter our home off of our back deck.  This begins the color introduction to our home & welcomes our guests immediately.  From this space I have taken Black & White to lead into the Kitchen.  Black and White are also a constant through our entire home.
The Black and White background of our kitchen is the perfect backdrop for the addition of some new color.  Adding a pop of pink in the vintage runner, and floral accents help to liven the space.
Our kitchen leads to the Living Room next. The beautiful colors in the area rug help to bring the pink and teal color from the kitchen art into the space.  While the rest of the room remains rather neutral, the large swath of color on the floor brings an energy into the space.
The second room off of the kitchen is my daughter’s room (previously our dining room)…
Through this sliding barn door is her room.  Again, black and white are there but in this space I brought in the pink & green from the Kitchen.  The green comes from the leaves on the floral pillows… the tiniest patch of color will work.   Along with the deeper magentas I decided to amp up the pink in her space as well with a few neon pink touches.
The Hallway comes off of her room & our Living Room.  In this space the green is pulled from both her drapery & from little accents of green in the area rug.  I have also brought in the deeper blues of the area rug in the art work hung in this space.
While almost entirely black and white, our only bathroom ties into the hallway with a little color brought in with the small rug.
Pinks & greens represented in the drapery & artwork from the hall landed on the floor in this space.  
The last two rooms in our home are my stepsons room & our bedroom.  Again, while black and white play the starring role in the boy’s room, the addition of the camel & tan tones helps to tie his room in with the rest.  Also, the large use of black paint relates back to the black ceiling in the living room creating a since of balance in the home.
Our bedroom feels very different from our Living Room, but has the almost identical basic color pallet. The neutral tans, black & white are accented by the bright Pinks, Teals & Navy.  The addition of red & orange are also brought into this space in small doses.
I find that this technique of tying each space to the next allows for the home to feel much more inviting & appear larger than it is.  No longer does our home feel compartmentalized, it simply feels like each space is an extension of the last.  And while I wish we had more rooms (this home has gotten severely tight with the addition of my stepson this year!)  I have to say that I have never been happier with the color choices that have been implemented & how comfortable we feel in our own home.  
xo – Kristin