The Best Color Schemes for Homes
Interior decorators do not use colors haphazardly; they work with color theory, often using a color wheel to pinpoint color schemes. Colors opposite each other on the wheel create a complementary scheme. Colors next to each other on the wheel are analogous. Variations on a single color create a monochromatic scheme, and different colors evoke different moods. By combining a knowledge of color schemes with color families can you create many variations on a thoughtful decor that is best for you.
Yellows
Yellow evokes warmth, joy and creativity. Combined with its complement, blue, it suggests a traditional French country look, informal and welcoming. With its analogous color orange, it suggests warmth and autumn. Green is its other analogous color; with green, yellow creates a cheerful, fresh spring-like mood. Combined with white or black, it can become formal--think of yellow and white silk draperies.
Reds
Reds can provoke or evoke. A lot of red might suggest anger--or sensuality, but when used with its analogous colors, orange and pink, it softens to create a romantic environment that also suggests creativity. Against its complementary cooler color, blue-green, red creates drama, masculinity and perhaps mystery, if the hues are dark. For example, imagine a pool table with its green felt in a room with deep red drapes. As an accent color, red brightens a room and adds interest.
Blues
Blues connote coolness, serenity and reliability. Often used in business settings, blues can take on a serious tone. In the United States and Great Britain, blue with red connotes patriotism, but with grays and white, it takes on a sophisticated high-modern feeling. To some people, the high modern look is dull and uninspiring, unless splashes of blue's complement, yellow or one of the colors analogous to yellow, such as yellow-green, take the cool edge off.
Greens
Greens, of course, suggest the natural world. Interestingly, they can be cool or warm, depending upon which way you turn the color wheel. Toward the brown and orange side of the color wheel, they are warm and homey. But brighter greens that turn toward the blue side of the color wheel are cooler, more playful and often used with primary colors to create a child-friendly environment. As the predominate color in a decorating scheme, green can be difficult to live with, so unless it's a light hue, green is more often used as a secondary or accent color.
Earth Tones
Not as adventurous as some of the other colors, earth tones--browns, beiges, taupes, grays and even mauve--are tried and true in the world of home decor. They can also be boring, especially if the decorator uses a lot of brown and beige against contractor white. On a wall, they work effectively in saturated versions--coffee and taupe, for example, with other furnishings introducing one or more of their analogous cousins, dusky purple for example. Splashes of one of the brighter, cooler colors, such as magenta, can brighten the room.
Whites
White by default--meaning the decorator didn't make an effort to change what was there--rarely works. But by design, a white monochromatic color scheme is another story, a sophisticated one. White always requires a thoughtful approach. While other colors may allow for more play, with any vibrant shade white can be harsh. On the other hand, it adapts to neutrals with ease. In fact, it looks good with most subdued tones, such as beiges, water-washed pastels and grays, with which white creates a calm, perhaps dreamy, environment.
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