How to use a Color Wheel

You have been told all your life that some colors match and others don´t. Not True. You can make any color compliment another just by playing with different versions of it. Here´s where a good color wheel will come in handy. Color Wheels help us understand the relationship between colors we like, and it makes fabric, paint or flooring decisions a lot easier.

Here are some of the design terminology you´ll hear when you use a color wheel or speaking to designers of all kinds, especially painters.

Primary Colors

Blue, red and yellow are the foundation of every color in the world, so they´re known as primary Colors.

They represent all the colors in the color wheel, when mixed in specific ways. These three primary colors are arranged at equal distances from each other on regular color wheels, the same is shown above.

Secondary Colors

There are three secondary colors on most color wheels. They´re positioned in between the primary colors. It´s important to note that secondary colors are created when one mixes equal amounts of the two primary colors on both sides of them.

• Green is equal parts of blue and yellow

• Orange is equal parts of yellow and red

• Violet is equal parts of blue and red

Highlight color: This is a color that is used to emphasize certain parts of the room. It´s usually a color that contrasts more with the primary and secondary colors, and as such, but it should be used with extreme moderation to not degrade its value. It´s common to use a complimentary or split-complimentary color for this.

How do you know if you´re working with too many colors?

Matching colors and having them work well together is hugely important, but how do you know if you´re overdoing it? Too many colors will make your home feel too busy and it usually makes it harder for people to feel comfortable. It is also more tiring to the eyes, especially if the colors are bright. A wall or room with too few colors, on the other hand, risks being seen as kind of boring, but this may not always be the case, minimalist is in, if it´s done right.

Need more information? Contact one of our expert designers for advice or a consultation.