Some homes feel sleek and unified, while others seem disjointed, with every room setting a jarringly different tone from the rest of the house. What accounts for the difference?

Often, it’s color flow.

“We’ve all been inside homes where an explosion of color created a choppy feel between rooms — and sometimes, the urge to run,” notes a recent Houzz article.  A unified color scheme, by contrast, gives the home a more spacious, coordinated look.

Here are some tips from Houzz on how to achieve this goal:

Pick one color to serve in flow-through areas: Make the foyer, hallways and other connecting spaces the same color.

Pay attention to sightlines: What do you see when standing in a particular room? “If you have a view into the kitchen, the dining room and the foyer, the colors for those spaces need to work well together,” notes Houzz.

Stay within one color group: While the paint color can change from room to room, stick with the same “temperature family”: warm or cool.

Select one or two colors and use variations of those colors throughout the house: “If the main color is blue, you might select a gray-blue, a pure blue and a navy paint as you move from room to room,” suggests Houzz. You can also ask the paint store to create a “tint” of a color, mixing lighter and/or darker versions of it.

Save risky colors for small rooms: “Rooms out of the sightline of other rooms are good places for going wild,” notes Houzz. A powder room, for example, is a great place for a bold color choice.

Use accessories to introduce bold colors: While neutrals are generally more relaxing and give a greater sense of openness when used on walls, that’s no excuse for boring décor. Accessorize with pillows and other décor in bold colors; that way, if you tire of the color, it’s easy to change it.