The basic “map” for color theory is known as the color wheel. The color wheel is a circular arrangement of the spectrum that illustrates the relationship between colors.
If you were to divide the color wheel into 2 halves, you would have warm and cool colors on each half. Warm colors have a cozier feeling and make a welcoming statement in a room. Cool colors evoke a more tranquil mood within a space.
There are a few terms that help us measure color.
Hue, Value, and Saturation
Hue- refers to the color family or name of a color such as: red, orange, blue
Value- the degree of lightness or darkness of a color
Saturation- refers to a color’s purity. Highly saturated colors look clean and bright, like the color you see on the color wheel. As other colors are added or mixed with these colors, they become less saturated.
Monochromatic means one color. This scheme is easiest to understand and the simplest to work with. It consists of one color and its different values.
To bring depth to a room at least three shades of your color should be used. To bring more interest, add pops of other colors in accessories and artwork.
The analogous color scheme is similar in feeling to the monochromatic where you choose a color and the two colors adjacent to it on either side. Stay within similar values on either end of the color you have selected.
A complementary scheme uses two colors directly across from each other on the color wheel, such as, green and red. This scheme creates a contrast that can be vibrant and exciting or soothing and relaxing depending on what value of the colors you use. With this scheme it works best to allow one color to be the dominant so that the colors don’t compete with each other.
This scheme uses a combination of any three colors that are an equal distance from each other on the color wheel. It can be a lively environment so it’s best to let one color dominate and to use toned down versions of the other two colors.