Have you ever walked into a restaurant or hotel and felt welcome, excited, or at peace? A properly coordinated color scheme can create those feelings in any space.
A well-put-together color scheme brings cohesion to otherwise chaotic décor and harmony between rooms. Without an understanding of what color combinations work well together, you’re setting yourself up for failure out of the gate. The following tips can help you fix up your haphazard space, create your ideal mood and flow, and feel genuinely at home in your apartment community.
Using the Color Wheel to Achieve Your Look
A color wheel is an excellent tool for beginning decorators. With its help, you can create color schemes that work without much effort. A color wheel is a simple tool with 12 different hues. Six of these are considered cool colors, while the other half are considered warm colors. These colors are one of three categories—primary colors, secondary colors, and tertiary colors.
A primary color exists on its own. This means no mixture of colors can create it. This includes red, yellow, and blue. A secondary color, like green, purple or orange, is created by mixing two primary colors. Finally, a tertiary color is created by combining a secondary and primary color. A few examples are purple and red (magenta), blue and green (teal), and yellow and orange (amber). Finally, by adding black, white, or gray to a color, you can create new tints, shades, and tones, respectively.
So, why are we taking you back to art class? Knowledge of the color wheel helps us understand how different colors interact and complement one another. Let’s look at a few different color wheel strategies for decorating your adult apartment.
The Monochromatic Scheme: This color scheme uses different shades, tints, and tones of the same color throughout your apartment or a single room. The gradual change creates a simple look that keeps a room balanced and minimalistic. A popular tactic is to use blue or green shades, tints, and tones to produce a feeling of peace and serenity perfect for a library, meditation room, or study.
The Complementary Scheme: Grab two colors directly across from each other on the color wheel. These colors work together to create a contrasting pair that forms energy and burst. For example, a room that’s painted blue or teal can be splattered with bursts of orange furniture or art. Remember to utilize the brighter colors in moderation.
The Analogous Scheme: By picking two or more colors that are neighbors on the color wheel, you create a harmonious pattern that exudes natural beauty. Again, be sure to use the colors throughout the room in moderation.
The Triadic Scheme: With a triadic scheme, you’re looking to utilize three colors from the wheel that form an equally spaced triangle. The result of this strategy is a collection of colors that vary drastically and create an empowered, energetic design. As always, utilizing considerably different colors in the same scheme means you should choose a primary color and complement it sparingly with the two that complete its triangle. Using softer tints can also avoid over-saturation of color.
The Complementary Split Scheme: This color pattern is similar to the triadic scheme, but it creates a less drastic look. You can employ this scheme by creating the same color triangle, but selecting a color on either side of one of those complementary colors. The result is a burst of colors that are a bit more subtle for a quieter decoration scheme.
By taking these color schemes and playing with designs, a beginner can easily create a room that looks like it was designed by a professional. The key is using more powerful colors in moderation and using the right furniture, art, rugs, and light fixtures to complement those color schemes. Once you find out what colors you love to work with, these styles will bring them to life in your apartment.
Let’s take a look at how we put some of these color schemes into practice.
Get Inspired by A Pattern
Before you get to work, you’ve got to have a good understanding of what the result should look like. That doesn’t mean you can’t get a bit creative along the way, but you should have a few ideas in mind before you start putting paint on the wall. One great way to get inspired is to find a single patterned object that excites you and can be used as a focal piece. The chances are that patterned piece has a collection of hues that bring you to life, so bring that same joy to the rest of your color scheme.
Stick with Neutrals for a Sure Thing
If you focus at least 30-40% of your color scheme on neutral colors, you make pulling a space together simple. This may not be as thrilling initially, but it ensures that your area looks mature, cultured, and is easy on the eyes. This kind of color scheme is particularly important in a room where you want to meditate or wind down after a long day.
Make it Pop
If you aren’t employing a few bright pops of color to bring together a look, then your apartment is sure to suffer. This technique employs a purposeful color burst from colors like yellow, red, or pink. The key is to use these colors in moderation to complement your space—maybe 3 or 4 times across the room. You can effectively employ this method on throw pillows, artwork, rugs, or lighting fixtures. Make sure the color shades match as near-perfectly as possible.
Be Shade Inclusive
If you have a large amount of space to work with, you can employ a lateral color palette. This means that you can employ a range of similar hues as well as a shade’s close neighbors. Grays, blues, and greens with a pop of color like orange can create a simple yet gorgeous space. If you go this route, make sure you have ample space in the room to both utilize and show off the different shades in use.
