How to Match Your Home Interior and Exterior

Creating your dream home is all about building a space that feels comfortable and coherent. From the minute you see your house on the street to when you climb into bed, you want the property to offer a welcoming embrace that you’re excited to be in and around. One way to achieve this is by matching your home’s interior and exterior.

This article will offer some guidance on making home interior ideas and exterior concepts feel connected, creating a palpable sense of harmony across the property. It should offer you the competencies you need to feel centred and calm inside or out of your home.

Colour psychology and tone choices

Colour psychology is an essential consideration for all elements of the property, from exterior home painting to interior doors. The colour story will begin with a foundation made of your siding, the brick/paint of the walls, the roof and trim elements. You should start with 2–3 primary colours on the outside (neutrals always work for a calming foundation), then let these choices guide your choices for the interior.

One or two accent colours from the exterior, from things like the front door or landscaping tones, can be repeated on the inside for coherence with things like:

• Accent walls
• Artwork
• Cabinetry
• Kitchen islands
• Textiles (throw pillows, rugs)

It’s also important to consider that exterior colours will look a little lighter when the sun is shining, while natural and artificial light will impact the indoor colours. Make sure to test samples in as many environments as possible to properly understand your choices.

Q: Can you use exterior paint on interior walls?

A: No, you should not. The formulation can be high in VOCs, leading to poor indoor performance that can also lead to health risks.

Let architecture be your guide

Make sure to properly consider the architectural style of your home. This is a great way to build cohesion between the interior and exterior; for example, a traditional Tudor home might suit a cosier, trinket-filled interior, whereas contemporary houses are often filled with more minimalistic design elements. The front door is the primary link between the interior and exterior, so make sure to consciously consider elements like hardware, colour and embossing with your entryways.

Mastering materials (and textures)

Materials can be just as important as colours when it comes to creating a sense of consistency. A nice stone or brick design for home exterior walls can be echoed indoors with elements like accent walls or fireplaces. Similarly, exterior paint or trim elements that take up wood tones can be repeated with the same wood on beams, flooring or furniture.

Flooring is an effective arena for building coherence. For example, consider how a patio might connect to a sunroom. Using similar or the same flooring materials between these two spaces will help create a seamless transition. This is a technique that actually carries over into the next step, in terms of connecting the indoor and outdoor.

Blending indoor and outdoor spaces

An interior and exterior can be connected with consideration for the natural world around the property. For example, incorporating more natural, earthy textures like wicker, rattan and wood, along with fibres such as linen and cotton, is a simple but effective way to bring the outdoor world in.

For more of a biophilic approach, you can maximise the incorporation of plants (and plant depictions), which will be further enhanced by the use of larger windows or sliding glass doors. These elements will help to make the interior feel like an extension of the garden or patio.

Start creating cohesion

Now it’s time to take these guidelines to bring your vision of a coherent home to life, bringing the interior and exterior together in perfect harmony.