Image via Complex Original
If you want to have the freshest crib possible, at some point, between picking out furniture and other interior swag, you’ll need to think about color. The right color combinations for walls, sofas, bedding, cushions, and carpet can make a huge difference in how you feel about where you live, and better yet, how your guests feel about visiting.
Having the right mix of colors also says a lot about your style. Though sometimes full-on renovation is out of the question, with just a little resourcefulness and a basic understanding of color theory, you can take your crib from a 6 to a 10.
So WTF is color theory? Essentially, it’s a lot of information that researchers have gathered about the way we see color and how different color combinations affect us. Color theory can be used by artists working with canvas, just as much as it can be used by everyday people looking to paint their walls a new shade.
Here’s What Guys Should Know About Interior Design: Intro to Room Color Theory.
It all starts with the three primary colors
Remember those from elementary school? Well, simply remembering them as an adult can help you out: They’re red, blue and yellow. They cannot be made from mixing other colors. However, mixing them with one another is what results in a variety of colors. Our eyes have three different color receptors, which more or less respond to light via the mix of primary colors.
The color wheel is your best friend
The color wheel, which has 12 colors total, shows us the shades of color that occur from mixing each combination of primary colors. If you look directly across from one color, you’ll see its complementary color.
Colors opposite each other on the color wheel work best together. Blue and orange, turquoise and peach, and purple and yellow are all examples of complementary pairings that make great starting points when considering which colors to pair in your interiors. Use sites like Paletton to experiment with the shades of different color combinations, or let Home Depot help you figure it out with their online Color Center. Their app can show you what a specific paint color will look like on your walls, so you can get a sense of its effect well before you commit.
Know the difference between “warm” and “cool” colors
It may seem obvious, but when applied to where you live, it’s important to remember the difference between “warm” and “cool” colors. Warm colors—reds and yellows—can make a room feel cozy, high-energy, and sometimes, way too much (imagine a room decked out like Valentine’s Day aisles at the drugstore).
Often your best bet is to go with cool colors—blues and greens—which create a sense of calmness and go well together. Unless your room is always the party house, and you know how to balance out red walls with light colors everywhere else, home may be the place you want to feel as relaxed as possible (like the space pictured above).
Colors next to each other on the color wheel create a sense of unity
Particularly when colors are the same intensity, like the blue and green in the photo above, they give off a feeling of togetherness. This doesn’t mean you need to go all-bright-everything. It just means that you don’t have to rely on complementary colors if, say, you don’t think purple and yellow will work for you. Pairing two yellows or two greens together with some white or cream tones in between can be simple but game-changing.
Absence of color also communicates a message
Sometimes that message is downright boring, but in recent years, off-white and monochrome looks have been trending. A lack of color can create calmness and unity in its own way, especially when using whites, greys, and blacks of the same intensity.
Don’t be fooled, though. If you try to do a stark black and white space, the contrast may be more jarring than if you’d used colors. Choosing to go with no color is a challenge in its own right, but it can pay off by giving a cool, sophisticated, of-the-moment space.
Don’t add a bright color in the midst of pastel colors
The intensity of saturated colors overwhelms the pastel tones and communicates imbalance. If you’re trying to draw attention on purpose, then go for it, but a red couch paired with light yellow walls and light green accents probably isn’t necessary.
Bright or light spaces are the first places people’s eyes go
After you’ve decided what color combination you want to lead with, and what colors not to break it up with, remember that our eyes are drawn to bright or light spaces first. So if you have furniture with accents, or the one orange wall among the white ones, people will look there first. That may not necessarily be a bad thing, but if you’re putting work into the entirety of a room, you may want to figure out how to achieve balance and calmness over anything else.