5 tips for understanding colour

An amazing interior relies on a great colour palette. But the colour spectrum is so vast it can be confusing narrowing down where to start, which to choose and what actually works. Here are my top tips for learning a little bit about colour so you can translate the hues you love into a colour palette for your place. 

Here are some nature-inspired colour palettes I’ve created for clients:

Use a colour wheel

It helps to understand how colours work together, the effect they have on a room and mood, and how to use them to achieve the style you want. One of the principles of interior design is harmony, and colour plays a bit part in this. If you walk into a room and the colour scheme is made of colours that don’t have a relationship to each other the result will be less harmonious and more chaotic. This is great if you want an enlivening and unique look – there are some incredible designers who mix clashing bright and bold patterns to wow effect. But if you want the room to feel calming the room reveal is not going to go well for you! To learn about colour play around with a colour wheel. A colour wheel shows one colour’s relationship to another and helps us observe the effect colours have on one another. You can pick one of these up from your local Resene ColorShop.

Understand colour schemes

Complementary 

Complementary colours are any two colours which are directly opposite each other, such as red-green and red-purple and yellow-green. They should probably be called opposing colours because they are completely different to one another, create maximum contrast, and are perfect if you want a bold, clashing, unique interior.

Analogous 

Analogous colours are any three colours which are side by side on a 12-part colour wheel, such as yellow-green, yellow, and yellow-orange. Like in many close friendships, one of the three colours usually tries to dominate! The result is a casual, restful, muted interior – imagine soft blues and greens in a coastal home, or terracotta and mustard in a bohemian home.

Monochromatic 

While many think this refers to black and white, it’s actually variations of the same colour. I love this type of colour palette as you can play with just one colour family to create a powerful visual effect on a room with graduating tones. I liken this colour palette to looking at a mountain valley for greens, or the ocean for blues – you’ll always find several tones of the same colour and the effect is serene and restful.

Understand your undertones

Ahhh undertones. Just when you think you’ve painted the walls in the perfect white a sneaky yellow colour comes through when you put your grey chairs against it. Simply speaking there are two types of undertones: cool and warm. If you are doing an interior with blue, grey, black, purple or green as features the paints will need a cool undertone, i.e. those that have had black added. If you are doing an interior featuring shades of yellows, oranges, reds you will need a warm undertone, i.e. paints that have had yellow added. Always have a fan deck on hand as the undertone is written on the back of each paint swatch.

Use the 60, 30, 10 trick

If you’re struggling to balance out how to distribute your colour palette around the house or room try this trick. Use the hue you want to dominate for 60 percent of the room, the secondary colour for 30% of the room to provide visual interest and the 10 accent colour to sprinkle on some wow factor. So say your colour palette is white, blue and brass. That could translate to 60% white (all of the walls plus a chair and duvet cover), 30% blue (headboard, cushions, quilt, artwork, accessories), and 10% brass (furniture legs, light fittings, candlesticks). This way the colours are applied in a nice rhythm around the room.

Use nature as inspiration

Mother nature is the ultimate colour expert so start to notice the colour values of the outside world in your everyday life – consider it free colour training! Think of the four seasons as examples – mustards, terracotta and the earthy tones of autumn make a warm and restful theme. Soft pinks, saffron yellow and warm white is uplifting and inspired by spring. Blue, white and sandy tones is a summer classic and why coastal is a popular interior style. 

TIP

A tint is a colour that has white added for a lighter effect; a shade is a colour that has black added to make it darker.

For more colour advice grab a copy of my book ‘Live Luxe’, available at all good nationwide booksellers.