When decorating your home or room, picking a color scheme can be a daunting
experience. You worry that you may pick the wrong color and need to start your
decorating project all over again. Following are descriptions and
characteristics of the colors, based on a color wheel, to help you choose the
right color for your room.
Color Wheel
Choosing color combinations is easier once you understand the important tool:
The Color Wheel. The color wheel determines whats colors are complimentary to
each other.
There are three basic groups that comprise a color wheel. They are as
follows:
- Primary Colors
The primary colors are red, blue and yellow and
when used in decorating color schemes, offer a strong feeling to your room.
- Secondary Colors
The secondary colors are green, orange and
purple. Secondary colors are made from the combination of two primary colors.
- Tertiary Colors
The tertiary colors are the combination of a
primary color and the closet secondary color. For example, Red-Orange.
Color Moods
Even though the color wheel is an important tool in choosing complimenting
colors, we must also consider the mood that the colors emit and create. Colors
behave in three ways:
- Active
Active colors are warm colors such as red, orange and
yellow. Warm colors tend to stand out and dominate a rooms presence.
- Passive
Passive colors are cool colors such as blue, green and
purple. Using cool colors helps to calm atmosphere.
- Neutrals
Neutral colors are beige, brown, gray and white.
Neutral colors neither activate or calm a room. They merely act as a combination
between active and passive colors.
Color Characteristics
As colors have general moods, each color has its own influence it creates
when used in decorating color schemes. Browse through the influence some colors
have to choose the right scheme for you.
- Red - Symbolizes passion, empowers, stimulates,
dramatizes.
- Orange - Stimulates appetites, conversation, and charity.
- Yellow - Increases energy, expands.
- Green - Encourages emotional growth, balances, refreshes.
- Blue - Produces peaceful moods, relaxes.
- Purple - Comforts, spiritualizes.
- Pink - Soothes, promotes affability and affection.
- White - Purifies, energizes.
- Black - Strengthens, encourages
independence.
