The color wheel is an excellent device for understanding how color families interact.
The color wheel most people are familiar with includes high-intensity pure colors. While you may not use these vibrant colors as they appear on the color wheel for your home decorating, the principles associated with this helpful tool will assist you in achieving the effect you want to create.
Color Designations
There are 12 colors in a standard color wheel that are divided into three designations: primary colors, secondary colors, and tertiary colors.
Primary colors - These are pure red, blue, and yellow colors only.
Secondary colors - A combination of two primary colors to create a third color: orange (red + yellow), green (yellow + blue), and violet (blue + red).
Tertiary colors - A combination of primary and secondary colors: blue-green, yellow-green, blue-violet, red-violet, red-orange, and yellow-orange.
Do you ever wonder how some rooms look so pulled together with even the simplest furnishings and accessories?
Color is the element that takes a room from "okay" to "outstanding" more effectively than any other decorative feature.
The Color Basics section on the Personal Color Viewer is an excellent resource to learn how to work with color. Learn about the fundamental principles of color, from color psychology to top color decorating myths and tips.
Color Basics Will Teach You:
Color Principles
Learn basic color terminology and how the traditional artist's color wheel is used in creating striking color schemes. Learn the importance of lighting and how it affects color, along with our top-10 decorating tips for getting that professionally-designed look you want.
Color Psychology
Learn to appreciate the difference between colors that soothe and comfort, and colors that energize and excite. The study of color psychology is a fascinating realm that delves into the behavioral, physical, and emotional responses we have to various colors.
In addition, you will learn about color perception and how it applies to decorating through our top ten decorating myths.
Color and Decor
Discover how various decorating styles and their representative color palettes interrelate. For example: There are colors that summon images of an English country manor, and those that best complement the linear architecture of a contemporary condo in the city. Learn how to tell the difference.
You will also see how faux finishes have taken on a fresh new dimension with exciting new products and techniques. Faux finishes can produce stunning effects on even the simplest surface.
