One Easy Way to Set A Color Palette: RUGS

I’m going to share a shortcut that interior designers use when they are looking to set a color palette for a room. It is using a rug to set the color palette.

One of the things that sets a space apart that’s been done by an interior designer is that you can tell the color palette is set with intention. A rug is a really easy way to do that for yourself.

One of the reasons this is easy for an interior designer to set a color palette off of a rug is because a lot of thought goes into the colors that make up the rug.

I want to show you some rooms that have been done using the rug to set the color palette. Sometimes the easiest way to see it is to see rooms where this has been done well.

How to Set Room Color Palette with Rug

Dining Room

I’m going to start with the dining room. This dining room has a gorgeous red rug. In the picture below, you can see how they’ve used the rug. They’ve pulled the colors into the flowers, the drapes, and the artwork. Then, they’ve accented with touches of an oatmeal color for the dining room chairs and the walls.

Living Room

In this living room, you can see the rug is blue and an oatmeal and brown color. They’ve used that palette throughout the room. Notice touches of blue in the throw pillows and an oatmeal couch. In this case, they didn’t use the walls to help with the color palette; it’s mostly happening in the rug.

Master Bedroom

Below is a bedroom that has a rug that has a lot of red, brown, and black. They’ve carried the red through onto the walls with touches of black in a lot of the furnishings. One thing to notice when you look at all these pictures is that the colors are not used evenly. There’s one predominant color and then there are secondary colors, and that’s something that your eye likes to see. It doesn’t like to see everything 50/50.

This is a bedroom with the rug setting the color palette. The red in the rug is brought in with the red accent wall.

Kids’ Bedroom

Here’s an example of a rug in a kids’ room below. The color palette in this room is blue and cream and has touches of red. Blue is the predominant color and is used in a lot of the fabrics and the walls.

This is a kids room with blue and cream in the rug that sets the color palette of the room.

Two Examples of Setting Room Color Palette with Rug

1. Neutral Colors in Rug

You might be wondering, do I have to have a colorful rug to set my color palette off the rug? No.

Here’s an example of a neutral apartment where the rug is all different neutral tones. The important thing in a neutral space is that you want lots of different textures and different shades of neutral colors.

This picture is a neutral apartment showing how to use a neutral rug and incorporating textures into the room.

I did a previous post about six things that every neutral room needs to feel warm and cozy, and this room has it all. See those tips here: Transforming Your Space: 6 Essential Tips for Neutral Rooms.

2. Multiple Colors in Rug

In my living room, I’ve used my rug to set the color palette. It’s got lots of blues and reds. The rug even has green, but I didn’t use the green. You don’t have to use every color that’s in the rug in your room somewhere.

Here an a picture of a mood board showing how the rug set the color palette for my living room.

Here’s an example below of a really gorgeous green and brown rug that’s being used to drive the color palette of this room. They’ve pulled the green through and put it on the walls and a couple of the pieces of furniture. They’ve used the brown sofa with some really great plaid pillows that pick up both of the colors.

This is an example of multiple colors in a rug setting color palette for living room. The walls are green and pick up the green in the rug. And, the brown leather couch pulls in the brown from the rug.

Interior Design Tip: Use a Mood Board to Try Rugs

The last thing I want to do is show you how you can try out the rug that you’re considering to make it work with your color palette. Here’s an example of one that I did for someone else who wanted a rug that had a lot of pinks and creams and gray.

We tried out the rug on a mood board and focused on furniture to draw out the color palette that’s being used in the rug.

In this case, the sofa she already had was neutral, but we wanted to pick up the gray in a chair and some pillows.

I would also add a throw blanket that had some gray in it. Pink was brought in on the curtains. That distributes the pink and gray and cream throughout the room. This testing is something that you could do for yourself using Canva.

Are you having trouble choosing a rug for your space? I did a separate article that talks about how to get the right size for any room and the right material that will work for your budget. Don’t miss those tips here: Rug Buying Guide: An Essential Part of Decor.

One Easy Way to Set A Color Palette: RUGS