Hotel Colour Schemes: Choosing the Right Palette for Your Interiors

In the world of hospitality and hotel interior design, colours wield a powerful influence in shaping the ambiance and guest experience. A well-curated colour scheme can evoke emotions, set the tone, and leave a lasting impression on visitors. As experts in hospitality and hotel interior design, Lesley Wong Interiors understands the importance of selecting the right colour palette for hotels. In this blog, we explore the best colour schemes for hotels, offer tips on how to choose an interior colour scheme, and demystify the 60-30-10 rule with five colours, a popular approach to create harmonious spaces.

What Hotel Colour Schemes Work Best?

The best hotel colour schemes strike a balance between aesthetics, functionality, and guest comfort. Before you settle on a palette, it is worth understanding how colour psychology shapes guest mood in each type of space. Some popular colour schemes that have stood the test of time in the hospitality industry include:

1. Neutral Palette: Timeless and elegant, neutral colours like beige, cream, taupe, and soft gray create a calming and sophisticated atmosphere. They serve as a versatile backdrop for accentuating other elements within the hotel’s interiors.
2. Earthy Tones: Incorporating earthy colours such as warm browns, olive greens, and terracotta adds a sense of warmth, grounding, and connection to nature.
3. Coastal Hues: Coastal-inspired colour schemes, featuring shades of blue, turquoise, sandy beige, and crisp whites, evoke a serene and resort-like ambiance, ideal for beachfront properties.
4. Bold and Vibrant: For hotels aiming to make a bold statement, using vibrant colours like deep reds, rich purples, or striking oranges can create a memorable and exciting atmosphere.

How Do I Choose an Interior Colour Scheme?

Choosing the perfect colour scheme for your hotel interiors involves a thoughtful and systematic approach. Here are some essential steps to guide you:

1. Understand Your Brand: Consider your hotel’s brand identity, target audience, and the desired guest experience. Your colour choices should align with your brand story and resonate with your guests.
2. Consider the Space: Examine the natural lighting, architecture, and size of each space. Colour and light are inseparable, so read our guide to hotel lighting temperature alongside this one. Lighter colours can make small areas appear more spacious, while darker hues add coziness to larger spaces.
3. Harmonious Flow: Aim for a cohesive colour flow throughout the hotel. Create a sense of continuity by selecting complementary colours that transition seamlessly from one area to another.
4. Test Samples: Before committing to a colour scheme, test samples in different lighting conditions to observe how they interact with the space and the existing décor.

What is the 60-30-10 Rule with 5 Colours?

The 60-30-10 rule with five colours is an effective way to create a well-balanced colour scheme that adds depth and visual interest to your hotel interiors. The rule suggests allocating colours as follows:

1. 60% Dominant Colour: Choose a dominant colour that covers approximately 60% of the space, typically used for walls and large furniture pieces.
2. 30% Secondary Colour: The secondary colour takes up around 30% of the space and is applied to upholstery, accent furniture, and drapery.
3. 10% Accent Colour 1: This colour makes up 10% of the scheme and is used for accessories, artwork, and decorative elements.
4. 10% Accent Colour 2: For more visual complexity, add a second accent colour that complements the primary accent colour.

What is the 60-30-10 Colour Scheme Rule?

The 60-30-10 colour scheme rule is a fundamental principle widely used in interior design. It refers to the distribution of colours in a space as percentages:

1. 60% Dominant Colour: The dominant colour covers 60% of the space, establishing the primary backdrop and setting the overall tone.
2. 30% Secondary Colour: The secondary colour constitutes 30% of the scheme and supports the dominant colour, adding depth and contrast.
3. 10% Accent Colour: The accent colour takes up 10% of the space and is used sparingly to add pops of interest, drawing attention to focal points and decor elements.

Conclusion

Selecting the right colour scheme is a pivotal aspect of hotel interior design that can elevate the guest experience and leave a lasting impression. By considering your brand identity, the space itself, and implementing the 60-30-10 rule with five colours, you can create harmonious and visually captivating interiors that resonate with your guests. At Lesley Wong Interiors, we believe that a well-thought-out colour scheme has the power to transform hotels into inviting and remarkable spaces, making every guest’s stay a truly unforgettable experience.

 
Choosing a palette for a whole property is a different exercise from picking a paint colour for one room. If you would like that handled properly, Lesley Wong Interiors is a hospitality interior design firm that develops colour schemes for hotels and resorts across Canada and the US. Contact us to talk through your project, or read more on our hospitality design blog.