The Color Wheel

I recently discovered a very valuable color wheel after looking at several different ones on the internet.

This is from the website warrenmars.com

Discover why this color wheel is useful by reading the home page. I really like reasons #2 & 3.

The color wheel is a popular way to keep track of colors. Primary colors are not mixtures of other pigments. Red, blue, and yellow are the primary colors.

Secondary colors are mixtures of two primary colors. Orange is a combination of yellow and red. Purple is a combination of red and blue. Green is a combination of yellow and blue.

Tertiary colors are a mixture of a secondary and a primary: yellow-green for example.

We use these terms to make up our color schemes for interior decorating, (and also clothing design).

-A monochromatic color scheme has one hue as the key note of the entire color scheme.

-Analogous: adjacent hues make up the color scheme. My favorite analogous color scheme is blue and green.

-Complementary: opposite hues on the color wheel make up the color scheme. It provides greater contrast and is more forceful. For example: blue and yellow. The colors intensify each other when together. See how the yellow seats "jump out" at you in this subway.

-Split complementary: one color plus colors on each side of its complements. Scheme works best when the key hue is a primary or secondary color.

-Double complementary: one color plus colors on each side of its complements. Scheme works best when the key hue is a primary or secondary color. Here is a picture from my college notebook showing a room with pink, green, yellow, and violet together.

-Triad: colors found in a triangle on a color wheel. such as yellow, blue, green. Sometimes the primary colors are used as a triad: red, yellow, and blue are sometimes found in a nursery. At https://www.tigercolor.com/color-lab/color-theory/color-theory-intro.htm, you can also find explanation for rectangle and square color schemes. Maybe it will help you understand some of the others I have mentioned.

-Achromatic: meaning "without color." This scheme is restful

Planning a color scheme has many aspects that you need to consider. Some include individual and family preferences, purpose of the room, and the decorative theme of the room. We may pick up on these later.