3 Natural Color Pallet Ideas to Create a Calm Space

May 16, 2016

6 minute read

3 Natural Color Pallet Ideas to Create a Calm Space

Anyone who spends a lot of time in nature knows the rich abundance of color inspiration it brings. Using natural colors for your interior design can bring a soothing, earthy style to the rooms you spend the most time in, like the living room and bedroom. What’s more, you can add extra layers of visual interest by combining natural colors with materials that mimic textures found in nature.

A bright living room with light green walls, patterned armchairs, a beige sofa with colorful pillows, and a wooden coffee table embraces an aesthetic natural color palette. Large windows flood the space with light for a welcoming, airy feel.

If you want to bring a natural, calming look to your home, a nature-inspired color scheme is a good place to start. Try these nature-inspired color palettes in your own home to create a relaxing, comfortable, and radiant space.

Understanding Natural Color Schemes

Before you can get started designing your space with a natural color scheme, you need to know what colors are in and what colors are out.

The most important thing to remember may also be the most obvious: nature-inspired color schemes feature natural colors. These are commonly thought of as neutral colors, like beige, brown, or white.

But, even though some common color palettes found in nature are made up of neutral tones, you are certainly not limited to them when decorating your home. If you are interested in a bolder color or a darker shade, look for inspiration in the more colorful elements of nature like dark green leaves or the bright blue ocean.

Still, it is best to avoid especially vivid colors, especially colors that are in the “electric” or “neon” range—colors not generally found in nature. If you do want to include something particularly bright, consider a floral theme with small accents of vibrant colors among a background of saturated greens and browns.

Even within the greens and blues found in nature, you can find a wide variety of shades to make any space feel at once unique, natural, and calming.

Creating a Natural Color Palette

Knowing the colors of nature and creating an appealing, cohesive palette are two different things.

To create a natural color palette, start with colors that commonly appear together in nature. It’s possible to find just about every combination of colors in a natural environment somewhere, but you will have a much easier time evoking the feel of nature if you keep it simple.

Start by picking three colors. Once you have selected your colors, decide which of the three will be the primary color for the room—this will likely be what you use as your main paint color. The remaining two colors are your accent colors, and they will help create depth and texture in your room as pieces of furniture, artwork, rugs, and any other pieces of decor.

If you need more inspiration for what natural color scheme to bring into your home, consider these three natural color palettes:

Color palette: Beige, brown/gold, and ivory

When you think of a natural color palette, this may be the first one that comes to mind. Beige, gold, and ivory are common in popular design styles such as farmhouse and cottagecore. These warm colors evoke a field of wheat and effortlessly create a cozy and sophisticated interior.

Golden wheat field glowing under a bright, setting sun with a partly cloudy sky. The sunlight casts a warm, golden hue across the landscape, highlighting a peaceful rural scene defined by its natural color scheme. Trees line the horizon in the distance.

Cozy boho bedroom with a wooden bed, beige bedding, pillows, and woven decor embraces a natural color scheme. Plants, a rattan chair, and soft natural light enhance the space. A rug and bench sit at the foot of the bed.

Light ivory walls, beige bedding, and brown furniture are a classic color combination. This palette goes especially well in a bedroom to create a cozy, calming place to rest—and a comfy place to lounge in bed on a long weekend morning. Adding soft white or taupe area rugs can pull the look together.

Modern living room with a natural color scheme of beige and brown, featuring a curved sofa, round coffee table, armchair, floor lamp, and minimalist decor. A pendant light hangs above a sideboard with vases and plates; a decorative archway is on the left.

This color scheme is organic and natural, but that doesn’t mean it can’t also be urban and modern. Ivory paint is a pleasant alternative to stark white, while a darker beige or even khaki accent wall can help give some calming visual interest. A few brown accents such as lamps, artwork, and natural or beige rugs can help round out the space and make it truly your own.

A cozy living room with wooden furniture, a round coffee table, two armchairs, and a fireplace with stacked logs. Sunlight streams through window blinds, highlighting an aesthetic natural color palette for a warm, inviting atmosphere.

You don’t have to rely on paint to give a natural look to your living room. Wood planks or paneling are about as natural as you can get without going outdoors. With that backdrop, adding additional elements within this color palette makes it a simple task to decorate while maintaining a natural look.

Color palette: Green, brown and white

A lush, green rainforest scene with a dense aesthetic natural color palette—tall trees draped in moss and a narrow dirt path winding into the misty distance under soft, filtered sunlight.

If you find relaxation from a stroll in the woods or the sounds of a jungle, consider a color combination that incorporates shades of green, brown, and white.

A bright living room with a tan leather sofa, wooden chair, patterned cushions, indoor plants, and a round rug embraces an aesthetic natural color palette, complemented by beige curtains and modern decor on the white mantel.

In this room, pops of vibrant green from the plants combine with the furniture’s various shades of brown, all of which stand out against the white walls. This color scheme creates a simple and calming living room. A round Sisal rug ties the room together.

A beige sofa with textured pillows and a knitted throw sits in a modern living room featuring an aesthetic natural color palette, green walls, large potted plants, a black coffee table set with tea, and decorative shelves in the background.

You don’t have to limit yourself to white walls in this color scheme. Bringing in multiple shades of green with lighter green walls and dark green plants is a good way to make your space feel especially forest-like. Add white or off-white decorative elements such as pots for your plants and light brown furniture to create a muted yet natural look.

A stylish living room with a green velvet sofa, mustard blanket, potted plants, and a wooden side table. Featuring an aesthetic natural color palette, cozy and modern decor is highlighted by a green pendant lamp and map art on a dark green wall.

If you are after more of a mid-century modern aesthetic, a saturated green accent wall is a bold choice and still feels inspired by nature. To continue the mid-century look, add big plants and ornamentation made from natural materials like oak or bamboo. Finally, bring in some organic texture with a natural fiber rug like our brown sisal rugs or woolen rugs in honey gold to complete the style.

Color palette: Blue, white and gray

Large, fluffy white clouds float in a bright blue sky over a calm, reflective ocean, creating a serene and peaceful atmosphere with an aesthetic natural color palette.

Whether you want to feel like you’re up among the clouds or under the sea, a blue, white, and gray color palette is a great way to create a calming, natural atmosphere in any room.

Modern living room with a blue sofa and armchair, geometric rug, two potted plants, coffee table with books, and abstract art on a gray wall. Large windows highlight the natural color scheme and fill the space with light.

Gray and white are natural colors that are a natural choice for your living room walls, especially if you are decorating a beach house. This calm background gives the sense of clouds, while bright blue furniture and a navy blue rug evoke the ocean. To make the space especially calming, don’t go too dark with your gray—stormy skies are not typically a relaxing sight at sea!

A modern bedroom with a bed featuring white and light blue bedding, a textured blue wall, and a potted plant on a white table. Stacked gray cushions and a blue patterned rug complete the look, embracing an aesthetic natural color palette bathed in natural light.

For the bedroom, consider a blue, white, and gray color combination. Blue is said to lower stress and relieve anxiety, helping you relax and even fall asleep in your personal sanctuary. White and gray are cool colors that complement blue nicely, maintaining the soothing, natural space you're trying to create.

A modern, minimalist room with a light gray armchair, white pillow, stack of books, floor lamp, and potted plant embraces a natural color scheme. Sunlight casts soft shadows on the pale blue wall and highlights the serene aesthetic.

White, blue, and gray is also an ideal palette for a more subtle color scheme. Adding light, powder blue paint to your walls and keeping furniture and the rest of the decor white and light gray will make any space feel dreamy and calming. A beautiful sisal rug in gray or charcoal wool rug can tie the room together,

Enhance Your Natural Color Scheme with a Natural Fiber Rug

The colors of nature can be a great source of inspiration for your interior design, and you can match them with with natural home decor. But what are the colors of nature without the textures of nature?

To give your space a truly natural feel, consider adding a natural fiber rug. Our sisal, jute, and seagrass rugs come in a variety of natural colors and can be cut to fit any size room.