Should We Be Doing Seasonal Color Analysis at Home?

Photo: Lance Gerber

A while back, I used an app to figure out if I was a deep winter, cool summer, clear spring, or warm autumn. Like many others, I hoped it would help me avoid colors that wash me out and find those that make me sparkle. If you’re not familiar with the personal color analysis craze, it’s all about finding your perfect palette based on your natural features—skin tone, hair color, and eye color. You can either go the budget route with an app, like I did, or see a professional color analyst who will meticulously drape fabric swatches next to your face and give you a comprehensive list of your most flattering colors.

Professional color analysts use color theory to create harmony and balance between you and your wardrobe. The question remains, since personal style often spills over into interior design, can we use the same principles of color analysis for our homes? I consulted three color analyst professionals to find out. Perhaps this is the solution to our interior design dilemmas—a simple formula to enhance our spaces based on a clear set of parameters.

So what is seasonal color analysis?

The core idea behind seasonal color analysis is to harmonize your natural features with the colors you wear. “Seasonal color analysis in fashion aims to complement skin tone, hair color, and eye color, enhancing personal appearance,” explains Lizzie Heo, founder and director of consultants of the New York City–based color analysis studio Seklab. “In contrast, interior design considers how colors influence space perception, light, and mood.”

Jenny Mahoney, founder and CEO of Lily’s Color Lab, explains that these features include undertone (cool vs. warm), chroma (the intensity of color, whether bright, saturated, or vivid), and contrast level (the difference in value levels—light to dark—between your hair, skin, and eyes). She uses precision-dyed drapes close to a client’s face to study the effects and determine which characteristics shine best.

This is where the seasonal aspect kicks in. Color analysts like Jenny usually assign these combinations of characteristics the names of seasons. For example, a Winter means dark, bright, cool colors look best on someone, typically in high-contrast combinations. Your makeup, clothing, accessories, and hair colors should mirror these seasonal traits.

Jenny argues that interior design can use some of the seasonal color analyst methodologies to create cohesion in a space. “The same optical illusions underlying color analysis apply. You can’t simply mesh any colors together,” she explains. “The eye naturally craves and detects cohesion and coherence. So if you have a palette of warm colors and you throw in a cool color, the eye will notice that something doesn’t harmonize and won’t view this combination as pleasing to the eye.” Liz Ferhati and Annie Sosnov, cofounders of the Color Key, agree that color analysis isn’t just for your wardrobe: “Color analysis at home can absolutely be a helpful tool. Similarly to creating a cohesive wardrobe, a defined color palette can help create that feel in your home.”

Why try seasonal color analysis?

You may find that you naturally gravitate toward a certain set of colors, and in our homes, these colors often align with our seasonal color palettes. However, Liz and Annie point out that “if you move from a light, bright home into a moody one with lots of wood tones, you’ll find your old favorites may not work so well.”

As they elaborate, “our clients often discover a myriad of colors they never considered for their wardrobes before. Once they know their season, they’re empowered to experiment with colors in their homes as well.” This newfound confidence translates to a fun pop of color, such as an accent, or perhaps an entirely different color scheme than they wouldn’t have previously chosen.

Additionally, by using colors from the same palette, items feel more cohesive rather than piecemeal: an intentional look, “instead of a bunch of odds and ends that don’t go together,” Annie and Liz add.

How to color-analyze your home

In personal color analysis, the goal is to enhance your natural features: to make your skin glow, to make your eyes sparkle, and to lift your overall appearance. The aim is to ensure your features are supported rather than overwhelmed or dulled by the colors you wear. Similarly, you can enhance the natural features of your home. Liz and Annie suggest a literal personal color analysis for your home’s features. “You’ll follow the lead of your home’s features,” they explain in an email. “You’d decorate a bright, modern home bathed in light differently than you would a midcentury home with lots of wood tones. You’d assess the features you want to shine and choose a palette that accomplishes that.”

Take stock of the immovable, permanent features of your home; they’ll guide the rest of your decorating journey. Instead of trying to mimic Pinterest photos of homes with entirely different structures, shapes, and textures, focus on embracing what you have and letting it lead the way.

Consider undertone

Liz and Annie recommend starting with a similar technique as in personal color analysis: undertone. The duo uses white paint as a simple example for this: “There are thousands of white paints to consider, or, if you’re like most people we know, obsess over. A cool, wintery white can read crisp, blue-gray, and sometimes sterile, depending on the light, woodwork, and furniture. Meanwhile, a warm, autumnal white can be soft, buttery, or even yellowed, depending on its environment.”

To make your home and its furnishings look their best, find cohesion in the undertones of your home. Let’s say you have cherry floors, “you’ll see a reddish (warm) light cast onto your walls and furniture. So, in color analysis, we’d say that’s a prominent feature, and you should embrace it and figure out what makes it look its best, what complements it,” Annie and Liz note. Therefore, by applying color analysis, one can offset aspects that are hard to change: “Maybe your floor color or finish (particular wood, carpet color, tile, etc.) isn’t what you’d choose, so you can use color theory to attempt to neutralize them while still creating cohesion.”

Consider scale

Lizzie Heo highly recommends implementing lighter tones for warmer seasons and “adjusting the scale based on room size.” She also advocates for using seasonal colors as accents or focal points: vivid contrasts for spring and winter and softer tones for summer and autumn to create cozy spaces. “Consider the size of the space and natural light variations throughout the day,” she advises. “Warmer colors work well in spaces with limited light, while cooler tones help balance strong sunlight.” For larger rooms, she emphasizes how “darker hues can add depth,” whereas “lighter shades can make smaller spaces feel more expansive.”

Choose your own adventure

Another option is to forgo the traditional route and embark on your own color palette journey. Liz and Annie suggest thinking about the vibe you want to create: “Choose the vibe—regardless of the style or vintage of the home—and let that lead you. Want a moody and bold office space? Choose something from the deep winter or deep autumn color palettes.” Whereas if you want something fresher such as a spa-like bathroom, “Lean into lighter color palettes like light summer and light spring!”

However, this approach can lead to a disjointed feel if you’re jumping from a deep, cave-like study to a light, breezy bathroom. To avoid this, Liz and Annie recommend ensuring some physical space between areas with contrasting palettes.

Step 1: Choose your vibe

Since you’re not confined to matching a set feature (like someone’s natural characteristics), you can choose your palette based on the vibe you want to create. Each palette brings its own unique mood to the table.

Our color analysts suggest the following vibe breakdown:

• Summer: cool, calming, and smoky, to impart fresh and clean energy.

• Winter: vibrant, romantic, energetic, calls for cool colors and icy tones.

• Spring: bright, fresh, vivid, can create a warm and rejuvenating feel.

• Autumn: earthy, bronze, muted, fostering a cozy and inviting atmosphere.

Step 2: Grab a color wheel

Jenny suggests grabbing a color fan for the season you want to achieve. Use it for selecting furniture, paint, and accents to eliminate the guesswork about whether colors will work together. These fans offer a curated sample of a palette, so if you're eyeing a color outside the sample, hold the fan up to it and see if it harmonizes.

No color fan? No problem, Jenny has some tips: “Avoid pairing cool colors with warm ones; cool colors will appear even cooler against warmth, which can come off as ‘washed out’ on a person or disharmonious in a room. Stick to colors with similar brightness levels—don’t mix muted with bright colors. Opt for colors with similar undertones and chroma levels for a harmonious look.”

For a vibrant, energetic home, choose complementary colors within your desired palette. A bright yellow wall with purple accents can create a stunning effect. If you aim for a serene, calming atmosphere, go for monochromatic color combos—tints, tones, or shades of the same color family, like light and dark blue. For a balanced approach, use analogous color combos—neighboring hues on the color wheel, such as purple and purple-blue.

Step 3: Bring it all together

Lizzie encourages people to “harmonize with existing decor for a cohesive look.” This can be achieved by “using high contrast for spring and winter, and low contrast for summer and autumn.” Remember, the room’s function matters—colors wield the power to influence emotions and moods. In bedrooms, neutrals create a clean, calm atmosphere, while calming blues and greens work wonders. On the flip side, warmer tones like reds or oranges can stimulate lively conversation in dining areas. By balancing lighting, room size, and function, seasonal color analysis can transform any interior space into a visual and functional masterpiece.

In conclusion, seasonal color analysis isn’t just a style secret weapon; it’s a game-changer for interior design too. Considering factors like lighting, room size, and function allows one to tailor seasonal palettes to enhance both the visual appeal and functionality of any space.

Finally, your color analysis is a guide, not a gospel. While it can help you craft a more harmonious palette for your home, always prioritize what brings you joy—even if it defies the “rules.”

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest