If you find selecting a color palette a challenge when decorating, here’s an interesting way to find a combination of colors that appeals to you. Start with photos.

Of course, many people recommend looking at pictures of rooms in various home décor magazines, and that’s good advice. But don’t stop with the standard room photos. Any photo that appeals to you can serve as an inspiration for a room’s look and feel.

Take a look at the photo here. This close-up shot of a beach with its small stones and shells has a wealth of natural colors to draw from when planning a room’s design. Rich caramel browns, soft grays, lights and darks combine to make a cohesive selection of colors. Let’s see how they look when translated into a room.

This living room has its colors drawn from the photo above. The two shells are evident immediately. The one in the foreground provides just the right shade for the wood flooring and trim. Notice how the brown and white of the wall and trim match the swirls on the spiral of the shell.

The inviting leather sofa has the same shade of brown as the shell toward the back. To capture the variety of gray and soft warm tones of the stones, take a look at the area rug. The accessories also feature the darker tones evident in the beach photo.

Your dream colors may be part of a fall woods scene or a garden full of flowers. No matter what the image, if you like the photo you can create a room that you will love using the photo of your choice as inspiration.