Homeowners will oftentimes feel overwhelmed about choosing a color scheme for a room. The tricky part about choosing a color scheme is that once you choose one color, you then have to decide what other potential colors to put in the room as well. So what’s the best way to choose a color scheme? One of the best tools to have at your fingertips is a color wheel.
What Is the Color Wheel?
Sir Isaac Newton was the first to use the color wheel. He performed an experiment with a prism. Essentially, he discovered that pure white light had a wide spectrum of colors that would reflect. Since then, people have been using this spectrum of colors (otherwise known as the color wheel) for classifying colors and help in decorating.
The Classification of Colors Using the Color Wheel
The color wheel is made up of three categories of color.
1. The first category is primary colors and is composed of red, yellow, and blue.
2. Next are the secondary colors, or orange, green, and violet. You get these colors by mixing the primary colors.
3. Finally, there are the tertiary colors, which include colors like red-orange, yellow-orange, blue-green, and yellow-green. You combine the primary colors with the secondary colors next to them to create these colors.
Monochromatic Color Scheme Explained
If you choose to go with a monochromatic color scheme, expect the result to look exactly as it sounds. You are pretty much going to be picking one single color and using only that color for the entire room. The key is to pick varying shades of that color, from light to dark. You can also use white in the color scheme, which will help break up the color.
Analogous Color Scheme Explained
With an analogous scheme, you include anywhere from two to six different colors a room. You want to use colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. Consider the color red, for example. You might choose orange or purple as the accent colors, being that they are the colors next to red on the wheel. When choosing your colors, it’s always best to start with your main color and then choose between your accent color choices.
Complementary Color Scheme Explained
When looking for a decorating scheme, people will often go with a complementary color scheme. Essentially, you begin with a main color (such as yellow or red) and then go directly across to color wheel to find its complementary color. If your main color is yellow, then the complementary color would be in the purple family. For the color green, you would look in the pinks. This can always be played with a little bit. Try mixing the family of colors: it could be green and pink, or it could be green and red.
Triad Color Scheme Explained
Another very popular design for homeowners is the triad color scheme. Here you use the three colors that form a triangle together on the color wheel. One example of a triad would be the colors orange, green, and purple. Choose one of these colors as your main color and use the others for accents. Or you might use two of them as the primary colors and then accent with the third.
No matter what color scheme you choose for your home, remember that both white and black are neutrals. Thus, they can be added to any colors without changing the color scheme too much. By playing around with the color wheel and some of these color scheme suggestions, you will be able to come up with some great options for the rooms in your home.
About the Author…
For over four decades Leon Tuberman has helped people with their home furnishings and interior decorating needs. He owns and manages a popular furniture store in Los Angeles. They have a large inventory of handcrafted American built solid wood furniture for your bedroom, dining room and living room. Are you searching for a oak nightstands for your bedroom or a wood dining table for your dining room then they probably have everything you need.
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