It's been a while since I've posted some good basic design tips and I'm taking you all back to elementary school art class with this one. Choosing a color scheme in your home can be a much easier-said-than-done task. Painting a wall can change the whole look of a room! There are actually a bunch of basic rules to follow when choosing a color that will truly fit in your space and flow with the rest of your furniture and decor. One great rule to keep in mind when choosing a color scheme is the 30-60-90 rule which I have posted about in a past post (Click here to learn more about 30-60-90). It's a great rule to know how much of a certain color you should use in your space. Another basic piece of design information to understand, not only in design but also in art, is the color wheel (ring a bell?). As a painter myself, the color wheel is something very familiar to me. I also think it's an important tool when it comes to interior design. So lets get started :)
Just a little background info to know - Sir Isaac Newtown developed the first color wheel in 1666...quite a long time ago. Color wheel and the term color circle can be used interchangeably. There are three categories which include Primary Colors, Secondary Colors and Tertiary Colors. Below I will talk a little bit about each one.
Primary Colors: It all starts with the three main Primary Colors which are Yellow, Red and Blue. These 3 colors cannot be made by mixing any other colors together. Every single other color is derived by these three.
Secondary Colors: These include Green, Orange and Violet. These are derived by mixing primary colors together.
Tertiary Colors: These colors are derived by mixing a primary color with a secondary color next to it.
Color Dimensions are important to understand as well. Hue is usually referred to as a color but more specifically a hue refers to the pure spectrum colors in the color wheel. The 3 color dimensions consist of a hues tint, shade and tone. A tint is made by adding white to a hue, a shade is made by adding black and lastly, a tone is made by adding gray. I'm sure you've all heard those terms before but now you know their true meaning.
Now that you know basic color theory, how do you use this information when choosing a color scheme?? If you don't know, that's ok, I'm here to help. I'm going to talk more about common ways to use these colors in my next post...Stay tuned :)
Xo,
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