Using the Colour Wheel to Choose Your Colour Scheme

Knowing which colour schemes and colours of flooring to use for the different rooms in your home can be intimidating. Interior designers have many different tools at their disposal. Fortunately, you don’t have to be an interior designer to access many of these tools.

One of the most popular tools that interior designers use is known as the colour wheel. The colour wheel helps organize the different primary colours, secondary colours and tertiary colours into a simple system.

Primary Colours

In the colour wheel, the primary colours are red, yellow and blue. It is important to note that, any other colour can be created through the mixing of primary colours.

Secondary Colours

The three secondary colours in the colour wheel are green, orange and purple. Secondary colours are created by mixing two primary colours together. For example, the colour green is created by mixing blue and yellow which are both primary colours.

Tertiary Colours

On the colour wheel, there are six tertiary colours which are created by mixing together primary and secondary colours. The six tertiary colours are red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet, and red-violet.

It is interesting to note that, there is no single colour that stands alone without relating back to the primary colours that are in the colour wheel. In the colour wheel, there is no indication of black, white or grey. Black is simply known as the absence of light whereas white is the absence of colour. Both black and white are used to either lighten or darken colours.

When mixing colours, the key word to remember is “relationship”. There has to be a balance between the chosen colours in order for them to work properly together. Standard colours schemes can be used to help with the coordination of main colours with accents.

Analogous Colours

The analogous colour scheme is typically three colours, although these can be expanded. This scheme involves colours that are adjacent to each other on the colour wheel, where one colour is used as a dominant colour. The other colours are used to enhance or accent the main colour.

Monochromatic Colour Scheme

A monochromatic colour scheme involves various saturations of one colour. Strict adherence is necessary with this colour scheme with regards to the cool hues or warm hues. This colour scheme usually requires a variety of textures to keep it interesting. When done right, it is both elegant and harmonious.

Triadic Colour Scheme

The triadic colour scheme involves equal use of the primary colours or the secondary colours. The root of the word triadic comes from triangle. This colour scheme provides high impact.

If you would like to learn more about colour matching or how to choose the right colour of flooring for your home or building, please get in touch with the flooring professionals at Atmosphere Flooring in Chilliwack. Our professionally trained and certified staff are always available to guide you through your options and help you pull your space together in a beautiful and cohesive way.