Choosing the right paint color for your home is a dauting task – especially when you take into account all the things that actually make up color. Knowing how to properly use the color wheel to determine which hues and shades will compliment each other is an invaluable skill for the amateur home painter or aspiring DIY-er. 

For instance, too much saturation or conflicting temperatures can feel overwhelming and make your interior space feel like an intense sensory experience as opposed to a relaxing place to unwind. However, when done correctly, the right shade can transform a room and create the basis of an aesthetic that can be incorporated throughout your living space. 

If you’re already a little bit confused, that’s okay. We’ll start with the basics. 

Let’s talk about the color wheel. 

The color wheel is like a cheat sheet – it can help you determine which colors will naturally compliment each other, and gives you a little bit of insight into the individual properties of those colors. For instance, when we mentioned temperature earlier, we’re referring to the difference between warm and cool colors. The “warm” end of the spectrum comprises red to yellow-green. The “cool” colors are green through red-violet. 

Warmer colors tend to make spaces feel smaller and cozier and intimate while cooler coolers do the opposite and make things feel more open. Let’s say you have a more minimalistic sensibility when it comes to interior décor. You likely won’t have as many pieces of furniture, wall art, or knickknacks. Using warmer colors can help to offset that sparseness without actually taking up any space. 

You can use the color wheel to make a variety of different color schemes work. 

Monochromatic, complementary and analogous, for example. 

What are the differences? 

Monochromatic color schemes us only one color in various hues. The best part about this style is that it is completely universal – you can use it with any color on the color wheel. A complementary color scheme means using two colors opposite each other on the wheel. As mentioned earlier, these colors will be naturally complimentary and include one warm and one cool color. Finally, an analogous color scheme incorporates three adjacent colors in one color scheme. Generally, one will act as the “dominant” color with the other two serving as accents. 

We may have gotten a bit more technical here than we normally do in our blog posts, but it’s important to remember that the bottom line is creating a harmonious design and aesthetic for your home’s interior. If you’ve got any follow-up questions, feel free to reach out to our very own color consultant, Jennifer Comfort.