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Interior Design Color Schemes From Europe:
Travel-Themed Room Color Combinations

Inspiring interior design color schemes are the hallmark of hip hotels, but you don't have to stay  in one to pick up a good room color scheme. Just start your 'puter & visit a few travel sites :-)

The interior color combinations on this page are color charts I picked up while traveling (mostly) in Europe.

However, it doesn't make the slightest bit of difference for the quality of a room color scheme where you got it from, as long as you ...

... use it with gusto !

(Check out more great color combinations here!)

Paris

Dove grey + black accents + dusty plum + lipstick red + gold accents

↑   French interiors are a mix of refined elegance and don't-mess-with-me  panache.  Dramatic, saturate red is a fave accent color. And in case you're not into room color combinations that involve any kind of purple, just create a gentle, grey-white-charcoal room color scheme and use lipstick red for details (say, a glorious armchair). It works beautifully.

Best wall colors: Milky white, chalky grey, pale greyed lavender.
Best wood stain: Antique oak.

Aix-en-Provence

Pale sky blue/French blue + cotto + terracotta + golden sandstone
+ yellow ochre + white marble

↑   Provençal interiors are often dominated by warm sandstone walls and cotto floor tiles - even in elegant country houses. Light blue (not purple!) is the most-used color for wooden shutters, and yellow ochre (which used to be quarried in the area) is still used as a color for painting walls, inside and out.  (Click here for more French country color schemes.)

Best wall colors: Chalky white, ochre (red or yellow), soft sandstone.
Best wood stain: Antique walnut.

London

Slate blue + brick reds + a whacky color that 'doesn't match'
+ smoke grey + white + charcoal

↑   London is brimful of original Victorian housing stock, row upon row built from quasi-identical blueprints.  Interior design color schemes, however, vary greatly: many fine houses and hotels look pale and interesting on the inside, whereas others are boldly colorful, experimental and totally-out-there (thus much more  interesting).

Best wall colors: Any  color you personally like. (No, seriously.)
Best wood stains: Reclaimed pine [floorboards], antique oak [furniture, unless it's painted].

(Check out more interior design color schemes with red or with neutrals!)

Jaisalmer

Deep orange + pale cool pink + fuchsia + gold + desert orange + sky blue

↑   Okay, so this color combination chart is definitely not from Europe. But it's too amazing to leave out!

The ancient hill fort of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan (India) is a place right out of a fairy tale. It is built entirely of yellow-golden sandstone and has incredibly dreamy views over the surrounding Thar Desert.

The traditional houses have mud floors, and walls may be whitewashed - but it's the rugs and textiles that 'explode' the earth tone color scheme into a riot of color.

The left (orange/pink/fuchsia) side of the above color chart has traveled all the way to Europe and the USA to start a career as a wedding color scheme. (Check out more interior color combinations with orange, brown, or blue!)

Best wall colors: White, tan, golden brown.
Best wood stains: Antique mahogany, ebony.

Copenhagen

Celadon green + teal + grey + white + charcoal + chestnut brown

↑   Denmark, one of the centers of mid-century furniture production, remains a design hotspot with hotels full of iconic pieces by famous designers like Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobsen, and Poul Kjærholm. I love how this room color scheme manages to look calm and elegant yet intriguing: You could 'read' it as a slightly muddied, red-green split-complementary color scheme (with a few clean greys thrown in).

Best wall colors: Pale celadon, chalky grey.
Best wood stains: Mahogany, antique cherry.

Stockholm

The Swedes are continuing their love affair with mid-century design as well - here are two interior design color schemes inspired by retro colors:

Bright olive + mauve + dark leafy green + pale grey + cherry
+ scarlet + charcoal + light plum

Bright warm red + pale avocado green + duck egg blue + spicy chocolate brown
+ pale misty blue + dark Prussian blue + mustard yellow

↑   The cool thing about these two interior color combinations is that you don't need all  the colors of either chart for the scheme to look good. Just pick a few hues and they will make a splash - particularly in carefully edited, clean-lined interiors.

Best wall colors: Any of the above (lighter is more liveable; bold is good for an accent wall).   Best wood stains: Teak, reddish browns.

Venice

Gold + sapphire red + majolica white + royal blue

↑   For dramatic Italian interiors you need gold, lots of gold!  As well as damask, silk, and other shiny things!  If you're looking to create a suitably operatic effect but don't want to spend a fortune on giltwood antiques, oils and marble, don't despair - go BIG with color.

Allocate your resources to things where quality matters most: A fabulous rug, amazing wallpaper, a marble tabletop (on reclaimed table legs). Find the most gorgeous wall paint, use 'textile' paint effects (like suede) - you could even create a golden feature wall. Go for a sumptuous, tactile experience.

No one will even notice that you don't own a Tintoretto.

Best wall colors: Any of the above.
Best wood stains: Anything dark & gorgeous.

More Interior Design Color Schemes Here:
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