Home > Paint > Color wheel Principles

Selecting the color is the enjoyable part of painting, even if it seems somewhat confusing at first.

White or off-white may be a safe choice, but it’s not the only option. Even a casual look at the color wheel can be intimidating, but it’s a useful tool if you want to explore other colors for your walls and woodwork. Designing a color scheme is a straightforward process: choose one color and then select other colors that complement it based on their positions on the color wheel.

The primary colors-red, blue, and yellow-combine to form all other colors. Combine any two primary colors, and you’ll get two primary colors on the wheel. Tertiary colors are the a secondary color-secondary colors always fall midway between combination of a secondary color and a primary color. You’ll find them between the secondary and primary on the wheel.

Complementary colors are found directly opposite each other on the color wheel.

Keep a few guidelines in mind, and you’ll be making wise choices in no time:

• Color principles apply to pure colors and also to all of their darker shades or lighter tints.
• All colors look most vibrant when paired with their complementary color.
• In a room, it’s generally advisable to select one primary color and utilize accent colors in smaller proportions.
• A proven and effective combination is to use one color, or even two colors, plus white.

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