One of the most common concerns regarding decorating is deciding which colours go well together. The colour wheel is a tool that can help answer that question. The colour wheel is a simple diagram mapping out the colours of the rainbow. By referring to all the colours in the wheel, you can come up with the perfect colour scheme for your home. Using colour wheel theory, decorators can match complementary colours, analogous colours, and related colours in hundreds of different combinations.
What is the Colour Wheel?
The colour wheel is a chart that arranges colours according to their hues. Hue is basically the colour itself, while tint and shade are the modifications of that colour, depending on its intensiveness.
The colour wheel is a tool that helps you to choose colours to combine together. Colours that lie opposite each other on the wheel are complementary. Colours that are next to each other are analogous. You can use these two colour combination schemes to create endless colour schemes.
How the Color Wheel Works
Colours opposite each other on the colour wheel are called complementary colours. For example, yellow and purple are complementary colours because they are directly opposite each other.
Colours that are side by side are called analogous colours. For example, red, red-violet, and purple are analogous colours because they are all next to each other. Analogous colours are considered warm colours, while complementary colours are considered cool colours.
On the other hand, colours that are directly across from each other on the colour wheel are called triadic colours. The red, yellow, and blue triad, for example, is the set of three colours that are directly across from each other on the colour wheel.
You can use the ideas of complementary, analogous, and triadic to create endless colour schemes.
How to Use the Color Wheel to Create Color Schemes
One of the simplest ways to create a colour scheme using complementary colours is to choose a colour and use colours on either side of it on the colour wheel.
For example, a purple sofa starts to look a little dull. You decide to add a splash of colour with a yellow pillow. The split-complementary colour scheme uses a yellow-orange and a purple-blue.
You can use a similar method with analogous colours by choosing two colours next to each other on the colour wheel. For example, if you have a blue couch, you can use a yellow and orange throw pillow to liven up the space. The analogous colour scheme you will use is yellow and orange.
Choosing Paint Colours
The colour wheel can also help you choose paint colours for your interior. If you have a certain theme in mind, you can use the colour wheel to pick the paint colours for your room.
For example, if you want to paint your room yellow, you can use the colour wheel to choose an appropriate complement. You might consider the blue or red colour wheel because they are opposite yellow on the colour wheel.
If you want to paint your room pastel blue, you can combine that with the green or purple colour wheel.
Conclusion
Colour wheel theory is simple and complex at the same time. It can be used to create hundreds and hundreds of colour combinations. As you continue learning about colour wheel theory, you will realize how effective it is at allowing you to pick colours that go well together for your home.
BC 3D Painting LTD. is here to provide quality surface painting services, consultations, referrals and more to our clients in the Surrey and Delta area. We are a local painting contractor serving both residential and commercial clients. If you want to add a splash of colour to your home or office, contact our team today!