Home Decorating Ideas: How to Match Paint Colors to Natural Objects

Have you ever seen a combination of brilliant hues or tranquil colors in nature and then wondered how you could incorporate them into your home redecorating and existing home decor? Maybe it was a sunset that you caught with your camera lens, or a stray bird feather. Maybe it was a field with bales of hay. Whatever it was, if you have a physical object that you can use as a visual reference, you can use that to match paint colors and bring those hues into your home decorating.

Finding the Natural Object to Inspire Interior Decorating Ideas

The natural object should be one that you like. The colors should be hues that you would like to look at daily in your home decor. The colors should create a feeling or a mood that you want your home decor to bring to a room of your home. The natural object could be something you can physically hold, from a river-worn stone, to a peacock feather.

The second option is to take a photograph of the natural object. If the inspiring colors are from the sunset or sunrise, or moving water, you will need to take a photo to use as your visual reference.

Tip: Even if you have the natural object in hand, taking a photograph of it will help you see it differently. This can be useful when drawing natural colors from an object and incorporating them into your home decorating ideas.

Dissecting the Colors for Home Decorating

The first step to approaching the natural object which can be used to inspire a home decorating project is to forget what the object really is. It is not sunrise, it is not a rock, it is not a peacock feather.

Turn the image or the object around, or upside down. Look at from a new angle. Then look at just the colors. This is where using a photograph can come in handy and help you focus on the colors, hues and shades for your new interior decor.

Which color catches your eye first? Which color dominates the object? That is the color you may want to consider for your home decorating project.

Next, find the color that best complements the first color. Is it in the same color family? Or is it an opposite color?

Also look at the more minor and subtle colors or color blends that would add to your new home interior decor.