When Interior Design Meets Colour Analysis: An Architect’s Perspective

After getting my Colour Analysis done, I started looking at people’s preferences for colours from another perspective.

A Bit of Context: My Background in Interior Design

Just to give a bit of context, I'm an Architect specialising in Interior Design, so being attentive to details is part of who I am. As a good observer, I noticed that my friends’ and relatives’ preferences for colours were, most of the time, connected to their natural colouring. This assumption blew my mind!

What is Personal Colour Analysis?

In case you're not familiar with the topic, Personal Colour Analysis refers to someone's colour palette according to their features (skin, eyes and hair). It's based on colour theory and is categorised according to the Seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter), where each season has colours with similar characteristics (hue, saturation and value), resulting in a harmonious set of colours that bring many benefits if used close to one's face.

The 12 Seasons flow - design by Lari

My Dual Perspective: Design + Colour Theory

I've been professionally involved with Colour Analysis for more than 3 years now, and having both the Colour Analysis and Interior Design point of view made me realise two things:

1. Around 70% to 80% of people, in a subconscious way, are already drawn to their colour palette. Most of them already use these colours for makeup, hair and clothing. That’s because we can usually “feel” when something looks good or not. Finding their colour palette is a happy confirmation of their preferences.

2. Most of these people use their preference for colours not only for clothes and makeup, but also for accessories, stationery items, home décor, etc. It’s something natural—to use the colours that make you feel safe and comfortable in your surroundings.

   
   

Artists and the Concept of Subjective Timbre

I find it incredible that, in the case of artists, they also use their personal colours in their work (e.g. painting, graphic design, etc.). That's not something I discovered myself—this concept is called “Subjective Timbre” and was developed by Johannes Itten, a Swiss painter and colour theory teacher at the Bauhaus (1919–1923). Itten noticed his students would always use the same colour palettes when painting, and these colours were connected to their natural colouring. He then organised colour palettes into 4 seasons.

Subjective Timbre by Johannes Itten

Real-Life Examples of Personal Colour in Design

This concept opened my eyes! Because of it, I could understand, for example, why one of my friends, who's a Warm Spring, has a very vibrant and colourful house—all in her colour palette (note that she designed her home long before discovering her colour palette). Not only her place, but also her work reflects her personal palette. She’s an amazing designer, and you can check her work here to understand what I’m talking about: https://www.instagram.com/studiohellojoy/

Hello Joy Instagram - a Spring artist

I also understood why my mum would use deep greens, browns and oranges to decorate her place (and I hated it when I was younger, as I considered those colours “old people colours”). Can you guess my mum's palette? She is a Deep Autumn, as I am—and today, I love those shades.

Autumn mood board by Lari

Why This Connection Matters

I could list many other examples of how I’ve seen this concept in real life. But what I aim to do here is to pinpoint this connection between Interior Design and Colour Analysis. I have been exploring this subject for a while and am committed to going deeper into it.

If you are an Interior Designer, Architect or Stylist and would like to chat more about how you can use Colour Analysis in your projects, I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or contact me at lari@larioliver.com.au.