Online Colour Scheme Tools

We don't always start our decorating plans from nothing. What if we have furnishings and accents already, and need to choose a colour scheme that will bring them together? One approach is to try out lots of possibilities. You can speed up the process with online tools.

Our example householder is moving into a new flat. She has furniture upholstered in this cocoa brown:

She has soft furnishings in this shade of blue:

While this combination has been popular for several years, our householder also has a lot of electronics in black and chrome, plus dark wood and black and white appliances. She wants another colour to liven up the combination.

We went to ColourSchemer and checked out their suggestions:

 

Their ideas include green and purple shades that will freshen up the look.

We also tried Color Scheme Designer. They offered a bright complementary colour scheme with orange, very popular this fall.

Adobe's Kuler recommended a surprising mix of greyed brights.

Play around with colours online to get ideas without muss or fuss. Once you've narrowed it down, choose a few colours to audition on your walls. See how they look in your space in daylight and at night before you make up your mind.