Color is where Regency style gets genuinely fun, and as a painter before I was a rug designer, it is my favorite part of the whole conversation. The Regency palette is rich and confident: jewel tones, gilt, deep saturated color used without apology. The trick to making it feel current rather than like a costume drama is all in the undertones and the balance. Here is how I think about Regency color, and how to use it in a modern room.
The classic Regency palette
At its heart, Regency color is jewel tones: emerald green, sapphire blue, ruby red, amethyst, set off by gilt and gold. These colors read as luxurious for a simple reason. They are deep and saturated, the opposite of timid, and they have been signaling richness for centuries. Jewel tones will always be beautiful to me, and a Regency room is where they belong most. Pair one dominant jewel tone with gold accents and a few complementary hues and you have the bones of the palette.
Undertones make or break it
This is the part most guides skip, and it is the whole game. A jewel tone with the wrong undertone goes muddy or garish fast. An emerald that leans too yellow, a ruby that tips orange, a sapphire that reads synthetic. My painter's training taught me that undertone is everything and the hardest thing to get right, so before you commit, live with a large sample in your actual light, morning and night. Get the undertone right and the color sings; get it wrong and no amount of gilt will save it.
The modern update
To bring Regency color into a contemporary room, soften it or use it sparingly. A muted, dusty version of a jewel tone, a sage instead of a forest, a dusty blue instead of a full sapphire, gives a subtle nod to the period while feeling fresh. Butter yellow and lavender both work the same way: classic enough to belong, soft enough to feel now. Then let one or two true jewel tones come in as accents, a pillow, a chair, a length of velvet, rather than painting the whole room. And every room still needs a hint of red somewhere, even something as small as the binding on a book. It wakes the whole palette up.
How to bring the color in
Walls and wallpaper are the boldest move, a chinoiserie or a deep lacquered color like the ones in my Buckhead project. Velvet textiles in jewel tones add warmth and depth. But the easiest, most forgiving way to set a Regency palette is underfoot. A single saturated hue from the CHROMA solids grounds a whole scheme, a hand-knotted Iconium Turkish rug brings jewel-toned depth and pattern at once, and the graphic Color Study flatweave carries bold color in a cleaner, modern form. The rug does the color work for you, and it is far easier to change than a painted wall.
Where this sits in New Regency
Color, used with this kind of confidence, is one of the three loves behind my New Regency approach, alongside classical proportion and a little glamour. For the broader style, see my Hollywood Regency guide, and if a single soft hue is more your speed, my take on blush pink paint colors shows how a quiet color can still feel rich.
Regency color: quick answers
What colors are used in a Regency palette?
Jewel tones lead: emerald green, sapphire blue, ruby red, and amethyst, set off by gold and gilt. Soft neutrals and pale grounds often balance them so the saturation has somewhere to breathe.
What is a Regencycore color palette?
The same rich, jewel-toned palette reframed as a current trend: deep greens, blues, and reds with metallic accents, used for a glamorous, theatrical effect.
How do I use jewel tones in a modern room?
Pick one dominant jewel tone, get its undertone right in your own light, and bring the rest in as accents through textiles, a rug, or a single piece of furniture. Soften with a muted version if a full jewel tone feels like too much.
Where to start
Choose your one dominant color, test the undertone in your light, and let a rug carry it. Browse the CHROMA solids and Iconium rugs for jewel-tone foundations, or the full range of area rugs, and start a custom rug if you want a specific shade made to order.
