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Okay… so you have read the first article and taken the test about shadows and their affect on color. If not… I recommend you start with reading Interior Colors For Great Rooms before we get started learning about Choosing Colors For Adjoining Rooms. 

photo credit: robertgaal

All colors are derived from a total of no more than eight basic colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and black - white.

Some colors are lively, some are somber. Compare the bright colors of a Mexican or an Indian blanket with the mauves and deep browns or greens of a typical Victorian living room of the 1890's.

Using Color In Combination:

When two or more colors are used together, one of two things happen:

• They will be harmonious, which is pleasant.

• They will be discordant, which is unpleasant.

To understand how to pick complementary colors to use together, imagine that all colors are located in a circle, or color wheel. The follow in clockwise order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue-green, blue, purple, magenta.

Four Rules For Grouping Colors: 

Here are the four rules for grouping colors successfully:

• Each color and it's opposite on the color wheel (for example, red and blue-green) have strong contrast. In using two opposite colors, be sure they are not too bright, or displayed together in too large areas, or you will have a clash. If one color or both are somewhat grayed, they look better together.
• Each color ant its neighbor (red and orange, blue and blue-green, etc.) arranged together, insure mellow beauty.
• A combination of three colors (two adjacent colors with an opposite color) is obtained by drawing a triangle over your color wheel. Where the triangle meets the color wheel, the corresponding colors (for example, red, blue and green) are harmonious. The use of three colors is always more interesting than two.
• Color variations within a single color family look well together (for example: pink and red or maroon; orange and brown; yellow and olive or sage green)

Five Rules of Color Contrast: 

You obtain a harmonious color scheme by using various shades of the same color - reds, for example. However, this arrangement may lack interest. Here are some simple rules to cover combinations of contrasting colors which go well together:

• One color is "warm" or "advancing" (with a yellow or reddish component), and the other is "cold" or "receding" (contains a blue component).
• One color is light (containing white) and the other is dark (containing black)
• One color is grayed and the other is pure (bright, with little gray to tone down the intensity).
• One color is used in a large area, the other in a small portion of the design.
• One color is the complementary color to the other. We have noted what the complementary colors are on the color wheel.

photo credit: NoahANoahA

What Colors Do To Each Other:

When two colors are placed side by side they will "influence" each other; they will appear different from the way each looks by itself.

For example, a light red, place beside a dark yellow, will appear darker and bluer; the yellow will look greenish. You must be as careful in selecting two colors to go together as you would be in selection a frame to go with your favorite painting.

Luckily, as you can see, it has been possible to set up a chart of colors for you to use, which will cut down the danger of using colors which do not go well together.

But even in using the colors of this chart, some combinations can be picked out which would not harmonize. You can get around this danger, however, by using a third color, which has the effect of tying the color scheme together attractively.

Now you have a little better understanding of Color Theory and Choosing Colors for Adjoining Rooms… next we are going to cover a bit about creating a color chart for your home.  The effects of paint color will also be covered in a later article.  

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 at 3:51 pm and is filed under Choosing Colors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.