How To Choose The Right Colour Scheme For Your Home Interior
3-Minute Read
Experimenting with colours in your interior design schemes can sometimes be a daunting prospect. “Will these colours go together? What if they clash?” It can often be easier to work with more neutral tones but for those who are looking for a more vibrant design, how can you make sure you avoid any costly, disastrous colour schemes?
Let us introduce to you the colour wheel - a tool used by designers from all industries. We will give you our insight into how to use three of the schemes you can use on a colour wheel to level up your design. These will include complementary, analogous colours and split-complementary colour schemes.
So, what is a colour wheel?
It is made up of twelve colours, starting from the three primary colours (red, blue and yellow). When two primary colours are mixed, it creates three more, called secondary (orange, green and violet). We then mix the primary and secondary colours together to make up six more called tertiary (red-orange, yellow-orange, blue-violet, red-violet, yellow-green and blue-green). The colours are located on the wheel to give you corresponding colour suggestions, depending on the method that you wish to implement.
Complementary Colours
Want to create a more striking colour palette in your space?
Our first scheme uses colours directly opposite each other on the colour wheel.
For example, these are complementary colours that pair together:
Red and Green
Blue and Orange
Yellow and Violet
You should consider this method if you want to keep your colour palette simple, as this scheme is only made up of two colours. This results in a visually striking finish.
For rooms that you want to have a more stimulating feel or focus on certain accent points of a room, this scheme will be perfect for it. The best way to achieve this is by picking a main colour.
When choosing this, you should consider the emotion, mood and feeling you want for the room first. As shown by this design, they have used a dark orange as the main colour. As we are using a complementary scheme, naturally, blue would be the colour to go for. However, as the walls are a darker shade of orange, which creates a bold look, we would look to add a darker blue in a similar tone shown by the rug in the image to keep the consistency. If you want to create something less intense for the room, you can look to add lighter tones of both colours to create a more subtle version.
Play with the ratio of each colour and the shades within to create the interior you want.
Remember darker tones will contribute to a more intense feel whereas lighter tones will be more subtle and spacious.
Analogous Colours
This scheme consists of three colours that are next to one another on the colour wheel.
They share similar undertones. With this, we can create a more cohesive environment.
Examples of analogous colour groups would be:
Red, Red-Orange, Orange
Blue, Blue-Green, Green
Yellow, Yellow-Green, Green
The style of scheme is perfect for environments that need to be more cohesive and have a sense of consistency. The method creates a harmonious feel - it offers more synergy than the striking contrasts of complementary colours.
This room uses the grouping of reds, red-oranges and oranges to create a well-layered look. This creates a curated colour scheme which looks playful, as there are hints of other colours that work similarly to each other.
For example, in this image, they have used warm undertones. Or if you want to create a different environment, for example, something that has a cooler feel, you could change the group to something with bluer tones.
One thing you can do that this room does well is use subtle transitions within the base of each colour. This is where you can play with tints, tones and shades of colour to add depth to the palette while keeping within the desired scheme.
An example would be the red door frame, which is one of our pure colours. If you use a lighter shade such as pink, like the sofas, which still offer that warm undertone of red, it can sit seamlessly with one of our other pure colours, which is orange.
This is a great way to elevate your space if you already have an existing monochromatic scheme in place as you already have the foundations of one of the colours. Try and get creative with using the tones of each pure colour to give this scheme its full effect.
Split-Complementary Colours
This scheme consists of three hues, which will be dictated by your base colour. This then picks the two others which are always the colours that sit on either side of the complementary scheme.
Examples of split-complementary colour groups would be:
Blue (primary colour) has the complementary colour of orange, and the adjacent (split) colours are yellow-orange and red-orange.
Green (primary colour) has the complementary colour of red, and the adjacent split colours are red-orange and red-purple.
This strategy of colour offers a softer palette to the complementary scheme. You can play with a few more blends of colour. Great colours to play with within this scheme are pastels. This would be great for people who want a space that offers slight contrast but is pulled together through an opposing undertone.
This example is a great use of the scheme, where the purple walls are the main focus of the space acting as the accent in the room. With this method, the two other colours (in this case green-yellow and yellow-orange) give the overall room a subtle warmth that you would not get from purple alone.
We have the yellow-orange in a lighter tone to give the ceiling a softer, less cold feel, and the green-yellow chairs offer warmth at the lower level. This offers a balance from the floor to the ceiling of the space. Using this scheme has the benefit that colours feel very safe yet curated.
Now, you understand the fundamental principles of the colour wheel. You can use these methods to start your new project or add to your existing space. Just make sure you take the time to choose your base colour carefully. The colours you pick should always offer the right emotions and feelings you want to achieve with the space.
Still need a helping hand with developing your colour scheme? Contact us today to see how we can help bring your interior design vision to life.