10 Color Theory Basics Everyone Should Know

By Tara Mastroeni  October 30, 2014 in Freshome's Very Best

Most of us aren’t interior designers by trade and that’s okay. Whether you think of interior design as
an enjoyable hobby or a necessary evil that helps keep your home looking presentable, sometimes it
can be tough to understand the industry lingo. After all, how often do you hear about Tertiary
Colors, anyway?
At Freshome, we aim for our content to be accessible to everyone – no college degree required. So,
today, we’re going back to basics. Gear up for a little Design 101. In this post, we’ll tackle color
theory basics that every design enthusiast should know.
After you’ve read, make sure to store this link somewhere readily accessible. It’ll come in handy
next time you’re not quite sure whether you’ve chosen the right paint color.

Understanding color theory will make your design projects much easier. Image Via: Caitlin Wilson

1. How To Use The Color Wheel

Like trigonometry, the color wheel is probably one of those things that you learned about as a young
child and haven’t thought of since. However, to really understand color, you may have to dust off
some of that knowledge.
Simply put, the color wheel provides a visual representation of which colors blend nicely together.
It removes all the guesswork, essentially. Most models are comprised of 12 colors. However, in
theory, the color wheel could be expanded to include an infinite number of shades.
Don’t worry if you haven’t memorized the color wheel just yet. There are tons of ways to access it
digitally. Paletton is a website that will let you create your own color scheme from the comfort of
your computer screen and ColorSchemer offers the same capabilities in an app that’s available for
iphone.

The color wheel is paramount when understanding color theory. Image Via: University of Makeup

2. What Are The Basic Colors

We bet some of you read the last paragraph and went, “12? How are there 12 colors in the color
wheel? There are only 7 colors in the rainbow. “ True. But, trust us, there are, in fact, at least 12
shades on every color wheel. Here’s how things break down:
• Primary Colors: Red, blue, and yellow. Cannot be made from mixing other colors.
• Secondary Colors: Orange, Purple, and Green. Can be made by mixing the primary colors
together.
• Tertiary Colors: The six shades that can be made from mixing primary and secondary
colors.
If you’re unsure of where to start when it comes to decorating a colorful interior, one of these 12 is
often a good jumping off point. Pick one and it will help you narrow down your selections until you
settle on the exact shade that you love.
Primary and secondary colors instantly brighten any space. Tammara Stroud Design

3. Changing Colors With Neutrals:

Once you’ve selected a basic color, it’s easy to create many different versions within the same
family. All you need to do is combine that color with a neutral in order to make it lighter or darker.
In interior design parlance, this is known as tint, shade, and tone.
• Tint: The act of lighting a color by adding white to it.
• Shade: The act of darkening a color by adding black.
• Tone: Slightly darkening a color by adding gray.
Many artists recommend experimenting with color by mixing paints until you have a feel for how
drastically neutrals will affect a color. However, if you don’t have access to art supplies, you can
easily see an example of tinting and shading by going to your home improvement store and picking
up a few of those sample color palettes.
Create tints and shades by adding neutrals to your base color. Image Via: Hughes Design Associates

4. Understanding Color Temperature

You may have heard colors described as having a temperature. A dining room may be decked out in
warm tones while your friend may have chosen a cool color to finish off her bedroom. These
temperatures also describe where the color falls on the color wheel.
Reds, oranges, and yellows are often described as warm colors. They are typically more vibrant and
seem to bring a sense of liveliness and intimacy to a space. In contrast, blues purples, and most
greens are the cool colors. They can be used to calm down a room and bring a relaxed feel.
When choosing color temperature for a space, you should also consider the size. Using a warm
color in a tight room could make things feel a little claustrophobic. However, using cool colors in a
spacious room could leave things feeling stark.
Use warm colors to encourage lively conversation. Image Via: Axis Mundi

5. Complementary Color Scheme

When it comes to color schemes, complimentary is the simplest. It uses two colors that sit opposite
each other on the color wheel. Typically one color acts as the dominant shade and the other as an
accent. This means combinations like red and green, blue and orange, or yellow and purple.
This color combo is extremely high contrast, which means that it’s best used in small doses and
when you want to draw attention to a particular design element. You could use it to make your
powder room pop or to bring extra vibrancy to your home office.
If you choose a complimentary color scheme, you really need to embrace neutrals. They will
provide a place for your eye to rest and keep you from becoming overwhelmed in the room.
Use neutrals to balance out the high contrast of a complimentary scheme. Image Via: Katie
Rosenfeld Design

6. Split-Complementary Color Scheme

If you like the idea of a complimentary color scheme, but are afraid it may be a little too bold for
your tastes, split complimentary is a safer choice. To make this color scheme, you would first
choose your base shade. Then, instead of choosing the color directly opposite of your base, you
chose the two shades on either side of the opposite color.
Those two shades will provide a much needed sense of balance to the room. You’ll still get the
visual impact of bold color, but you’ll be able to incorporate more of it instead of relying heavily on
neutrals to calm the space.
Split-complimentary works best when you use your base color as the dominant. However, instead of
choosing a saturated shade, try to focus on a color that is more muted. Then, go bold with your
other two shades in the room’s accent pieces.
Split-Complimentary color schemes are often calmer versions of their complimentary counterparts.
Image Via: McCroskey Interiors

7. Analogous Color Scheme

The analogous color scheme refers to using three colors in a row on the color wheel. Typically, two
colors will be either primary colors with the third shade being a mix of the two and a secondary
color. For example, you could choose red, orange, and yellow or red, purple, and blue.
The key to using this color scheme successfully is proportion. Again, the 60-30-10 Rule comes into
play. You’ll want to choose one color to be the dominant shade, one to support the dominant, and
the third, most vibrant color as an accent.
Interestingly, you can also create a similar color scheme using neutrals. It’s typically referred to as a
monochromatic color scheme. Simply choose black, white, and gray in lieu of brighter shades.
Stay in one section of the color wheel to create a relaxing look. Image Via: Morosco Construction

8. Triadic Color Scheme

Triadic color schemes, sometimes also referred to as a triad, refers to using three colors with equal
space between them on the color wheel. The three primary colors (red, blue, and yellow) are a
perfect example, as are the three secondary colors.
This type of color arrangement is often extremely bold. Since the colors are in such high contrast
and pure hues are often used, you’ll most often see this scheme in children’s bedrooms or playroom
areas.
When using colors that are this lively, it’s always important to consider the spaces that are nearby.
You wouldn’t want to put two different triadic color schemes next to each other. That would be too
busy. Instead, make sure that the rooms next to your triadic space are calmer and mostly neutral.
The boldness of a triadic scheme makes it the perfect choice for a kid’s room. Image Via: Wen-Di
Interiors

9. Tetradic Color Scheme

After the triadic scheme, things get a little more complicated. We’re moving on to balancing four
colors in the space. The tetradic scheme, also sometimes referred to as a rectangle scheme because
of the shape it makes on the color wheel, focuses on using two distinct pairs of complimentary
colors.
In this scheme, color temperature plays a very important role. Try to make sure that you choose two
warm colors and two cool colors to fill the space rather than an odd number. Using an even amount
of both will help bring balance to the space.
It’s also important to vary how we view the colors. Look for patterns that fall within your color
scheme and don’t hesitate to mix them among your solid pieces. If you use all solids, the room will
seem overly saturated, but too many patterns will clash, so focus on choosing one or two to help
break up the space.
Balancing warm and cool colors is essential in a rectangular color scheme. Image Via: John David
Edison Interior Design

10. Square color scheme

The square color scheme is very similar to rectangular in both number and name. It uses four
shades, but instead of focusing on opposing pairs, the colors are evenly spaced throughout the color
wheel.
No matter which colors you choose, this scheme will be comprised of one primary, one secondary
and two tertiary colors. Vary the intensity of the four colors by making two shades more neutral and
two a little bolder.
Again, similarly to the tetradic scheme, you’ll want to pay attention to achieving an equal number
of warm and cool colors. But, rather than giving equal attention to both color pairs, you should pick
one shade to dominate the space and use the other three as accents.
Mix patterns and solids to add visual interest. Image Via: Rachel Reider Interiors
Sometimes interior design lingo can seem like its own language. No one could blame you if talking
about furniture, layouts, and décor, makes your head spin. There are so many terms! In an effort to
make design accessible to everyone, we’ve revisited some color theory basics. Use this as a guide
before starting your next project and you’ll be able to navigate it like a pro.