ARCHITECTURAL INTERIOR

AR113-1P/A51

Color Basics, Color Identification Systems

and Color Schemes;
Color Illusions and
Advance Scheme Principles

Submitted by:
Guanzon, Maria Kristien B.

Submitted to:
Ar. Cristina Sumera Miraflor
Basics of Color Design
It is important to learn the basics of color design before playing with colors while decorating. It is
easy to do too much or too little, and many people shy away from bright or strong shades entirely.
The most striking and beautiful rooms are often full of strategically placed color - learn the best
ways to introduce some into your home.

The Color Wheel in Interior Design

The color wheel is an important piece of basic of color design. It is literally a wheel with twelve
colors on it made up of primary, secondary and tertiary colors.

Primary Colors
Primary colors are colors that cannot be created by mixing with other colors. These are often
referred to as the true colors, because you need them to create all the other colors. They are:
 Red
 Blue
 Yellow
Use primary colors to create simple but effective designs in the home. Primary colors have been
used, along with black and white, in pop art and modern design for the last 60 years. Create an
unusual setting by painting built-in cabinetry or woodwork in primary hues, with white walls. Or
create an accent wall of a bold, clear primary color such as red. Don't be afraid to tone down or
punch up the shades of primary colors until you get the hue that works best with your home.

Secondary Colors
Secondary colors are created by mixing primary colors. They are:
 Orange
 Green
 Violet
Secondary colors allow you to branch out more in color design. Where red might be too bold,
orange might be a better fit. Most secondary colors have a wide range of variation, owing to the
amounts of primary color that are included in their base. For example, you can have a green that
is closer to yellow or a green that is closer to red. For a more subtle approach to color, with less
dramatic results than primary colors, introduce secondary colors as wall, ceiling and fabric color
choices.
Tertiary Colors
Tertiary colors are colors created by mixing a primary and secondary color. They are:
 Yellow-orange
 Red-orange
 Red-violet
 Blue-violet
 Blue-green
 Yellow-green
Tertiary colors are the perfect way to tie together a color scheme in a room. For example, create
an ocean palette of pale blue walls and green drapes. Use the tertiary color blue-green in accents
such as lamps, throw pillows and in the walls art. Tertiary colors help cement the color design
within one space and can help you transition from one area of color to another.

Types of Color Schemes

The place where the colors are on the wheel and where they are in relation to the other colors can
tell us a great deal. It can tell us which colors will work well together.

Complementary Colors
Complementary colors are the colors opposite each other on the color wheel. These colors often
work well together. Use complementary colors for bold design choices in your home. For example,
paint the walls of a room blue and use orange accents such as throw pillows or wall art. Because
blue and orange are opposite one another, they will complement and highlight each other without
competing for your eye.

Analogous Colors
These are colors next to each other on the color wheel. These colors also work well together but
do not offer the contrast of complimentary colors. Consider using analogous colors for a more
subtle palette. For example, use yellow, green and yellow-green together in one room. Select one
color for the main walls, a second for an accent wall and the third to be placed in draperies, rugs
and furniture. Alternatively, keep the wall color neutral and combine analogous colors into the
furniture and accents for a subtle breath of color in the room.
Triad Colors
Decorating with a triad means that you use three colors off the color wheel that form a triangle.
This method can be difficult, but it creates a very balanced color look. Triad colors can be as simple
as including shades of red, blue and yellow - the primary colors - in one room. Use one color, such
as yellow, on the walls for the room's main color. Use red furniture in the same palette as the
yellow, and include throw pillows, rugs and window treatments that include both red and yellow
with pops of blue to enliven the design.

Neutrals
Neutrals are often used in home decorating because they work so well with each other and are
fairly easy to use. Neutrals include colors like:
 White
 Brown
 Gray
 Black
Neutrals make a great background for accent colors, and give the eye a place to rest. Even if you
love color, don't shy away from some well placed neutrals to anchor your design. Crisp white trim
against a saturated wall can help bring the room into focus, while a rich brown or a stormy gray
will make other colors pop against them.

Temperature
Temperature is a relative color term that relates to the warmth or coolness of a color. Blues and
greens are generally cool, while reds and yellows are generally warm. Select cool colors for the
walls and ceilings of small rooms. Cool colors recede from the eye when viewed, so painting walls
blue or the ceiling a dusky purple can actually help open the room. Use warm colors to create cozy
feeling spaces and conversation areas. Use warm colors on accent walls or in long, narrow rooms
to shorten the space and bring it into proportion.

Colors and Emotions

Colors can provide an emotional reaction, especially in decorating. It's important when learning
the basics of color design to know what emotions certain colors evoke. If you are aiming for a
peaceful, calming space, like a bathroom or bedroom, decorate in blues and greens using soft,
soothing shades. If you are aiming for a more energetic room, like a kitchen or living room,
decorate with yellows and reds to amp up the energy of the space
Remember that many people specific colors that they love and hate. Some may see blue as a
depressing color, while others think of the ocean. With green, some might see it as an envious,
jealous color, while it reminds others of the natural world. Take your personal feelings into
account, but look at the room itself as well. You may want a bright, cheerful yellow kitchen, but
if your kitchen is already strongly lit with sun and/or fluorescents, painting the walls yellow might
be a little overwhelming. Tone down to a cream or light tan instead and inject your yellow into
prints, dish towels and kitchen backsplash tile.

Choosing Colors for Decorating

There are several ways to go about selecting the colors for your home. Your favorite colors make
a great starting point to jump off of. Pick one color that you feel works well in the space and try
pairing it with its complementary color, or an analogous color to see the effect. Pay attention to
what the space is telling you as well; tone up or down the color or temperature to enhance the size
of the room.
Wall art can be a wonderful jumping off point for color design in a space as well. Use a favorite
print, tapestry or photograph and pull colors from within it for the walls, floor, ceiling and fabrics.
With one piece of art tying the colors together, this can create a harmonious effect in the room.
Start slowly when designing with color for the first time. Use paint samples and fabric swatches,
and live with them for several days to see the effect of light and shadow. Remember that color isn't
permanent, and can frequently be changed, but getting it right the first time is always a much
simpler approach.

Creating Illusions through Color

Ever wished your living room was a little larger, your hallway a little wider or your if you have
the opposite problem, feeling small or isolated in a large cavernous space? There are ways to create
the perception of more space without having to knock down walls, or build them. Through simply
painting, using different paint treatments and playing with scale within a colour you can challenge
the perception of space.
You can create the feeling of more height when your ceilings are low, length when the room feels
short or width when the room feels narrow all without changing the physical dimensions.
Our eyes perceive colours and tones in such a way that it is possible to create optical illusions that
apparently change the dimensions of a room.
Colour: Context and Scale.
Lighter or Darker: The grey dot appears to be larger when surrounded by the lighter grey and
smaller when surrounded by a darker hue. To put this an interior context think, dark walls with a
white ceiling will give a sense of the walls coming towards you.

Different or the same: Without getting to scientific, when you place two hues next to each, add
light, natural or artificial, they reflect into each other and start to absorb the connecting colour.
You know that problem, you brought the pale blue paint, finished painting the room, put your
reddish sofa back in the room and all of sudden the colour of the walls change. The red will bounce
a red colour cast around the room, so remember to keep this in mind when choosing wall colours
in relation to your furnishings, it’s more than simply a matter of creating a colour palatte.
Close or Distant: This is the most common trick, lighter walls open-up and recede whilst darker
walls close-in and advance, there are other options apart from the extremes of white or midnight
blue. By exploring colour, it’s tones and different paint treatments or finishes you can create the
same effect.
When the Space is too Small
Cool and lighter hues and tones such as blues and green give the appearance for the walls receding.
Low contrast combinations will create a feeling of spaciousness. Pale tones will open up a space
visually, even with warm colours. Painting the ceiling, walls and architectural details all in the
same colour will result in a seamless look and will minimise unwanted fussiness. This also works
when the ceiling is to high and want to bring it down.

When the Space is too Large

Warm hues such as browns, reds and oranges give the appearance of the walls advancing or
appearing closer than they are in reality. These warmer tones will also make the room feel more
cosier and intimate.
Tone (when grey is added to a hue) can be used to modify or reinforce the required illusion. Dark
tones – even when you are using cool colours – will advance.
When the Space is too High
When you paint a ceiling a darker tone than the walls, it will appear lower and cosier. If you treat
the floor in a similar way, you can almost make the room seem squeezed between the ceiling and
the floor. This sounds like it could be a negative action to take but it essentially will visually just
close the room in.
To create a cocooning feeling paint the walls and ceiling the same colour. Especially effective
when you want to visually enlarge a connecting room. Another trick is to bring the ceiling colour
down along the wall. How far down? Well this is really up to you. It could be just 200mm south
of the ceiling or as low as your picture rail should you have one.

When the Space is too Low

Painting the walls darker than the ceiling will visually heighten walls.
Using the reflective quality of a gloss finish on ceiling will create a sense of endlessness. Gloss
also bounces light around the room. If gloss is to much for you tastes, try semi-gloss. Note gloss
will show all the imperfections on the wall or ceiling.
Painting vertically, using striped wallpaper or wood-strip panelling on the walls will also
counteract the effect of a low ceiling.
When the Space is too Narrow
A long, narrow hall or entrance will feel less enclosed if you visually push out the walls vertically
by decorating them with pale colours, and being light colours they will also bounce light around.
Another trick could be to paint the shorter end wall a darker colour which will re-proportion and
foreshorten a long narrow room.
References
 Hammet, Wilma. Furnishing Your First Home: Color and Design. Extension Interior
Design Specialist, North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. 1995.
 Neimeyer, Shirley. Color Expressions in the Home. Extension Specialist Interior Design
and Home Furnishings, Nebraska Cooperative Extension Service.