Complementary
colors are opposite colors on the color wheel.
Red
and Green are Complements
Yellow and Purple are Complements
Orange and Purple are Complements
Orange and Blue are Complements
Yellow and Blue are Complements
Complementary
colors work well together. When used in an interior setting
they should be used in equal amounts and equal tone or
intensity.
Harmonious
colors are the colors next to one another on the color
wheel.
Red
and Orange
Blue and Purple
Blue and Green
Green and Yellow
Yellow and Orange
Red and Purple
In
the 1920’s Itten, who is affiliated with the German Bauhaus
movement, developed the color star that included 12 colors.
3
Primary Colors
3 Secondary Colors
6 Tertiary Colors
Mixing
two secondary colors together creates Tertiary Colors.
Shade
Adding
white or black to a color changes the shade of that color.
For example: adding white too red creates a pink, which
is a shade of red.
An
interior scheme made up of different shades of the same
color is a monochrome color scheme.
Tone
Tone
describes different gradations of a color. There are warmer
and cooler tones of a color. For example: add green too
blue and you have blue-green that is warmer or add blue
to purple and create a blue-purple that is cooler.
The
important concept to understand is every color has a different
tone or undertone.
Many
times the undertone does not show itself on a single paint
sample. It helps to see the colors that come before and
after the color on the paint chart. This will give you
a hint as to what tone the color may take on.
Another
way to see a color's undertone is to put the color next
to the other colors in the room. You will then begin to
see the undertone of a color.
Have
you ever painted a room one color and it turns out to
be another? This is because all colors have an undertone.
Looking at an all white paint chart will help you to visualize
this concept. They are all white but if you see them next
to one another some appear pink, yellow even blue.
In
issue two we will discuss the effects' colors have on
people. For example: Green has a calming effect.
