Do You Know The Ten Commandments of Colour ?
One of the hardest interior design elements with which homeowners grapple is in the area of colour. Most people don’t want to live with a riot of colour. So live with the ten commandments of colour instead.
The ten commandments of colour will enable you to create perfect colour interiors that suit YOU and your unique preferences. While neutral colours can be a default position if you feel cautious about using colour, most people don’t want to live with cool and boring interiors either.
So where is the balance? Right here with the ten commandments of colour.
#1 The 60/30/10Rule
As a guide for beginners, divide your colours into 60% primary or dominant colour, 30% a secondary colour and 10% an accent color. This enables you to use colour without a room appearing unbalanced.
As a rough guide, walls and floor may be 60%, furniture and upholstery may be 30%, and the 10% is left for trims and small accessories.
Whilst I love breaking rules, the ten commandments of colour are rules that probably shouldn't be broken.
#2 Embrace Emotions
Tap in to the emotional connection you have with a space. Cool colours are calming and warm colours are more active. What colours truly appeal to you? Find a connection and be confident with your choices. Sometimes it helps to look in your wardrobe for clues to colours you love. Is there a colour you wear often? Which colours are you drawn to?
#3 Complementary Colours for Vibrancy
These are the colours opposite each other on a colour wheel – yellow + purple, red + green, blue + orange – they are strong yet they work together.
Complementary colours of red and green in a Palm Springs inspired by Plush Design Interiors, Adelaide
So if you love one, try bringing in the other one but at different levels – one dominant and the other secondary. Use black as the accent colour to tone it all down.
#4 Analogous Colours
These are good neighbours on the colour wheel. They are similar so they look good together providing a cohesive and casual feel.
Soft green analogous colours by Plush Design Interiors
Analogous colours can be bold or pastel, think yellow with green or blue with violet. You choose the intensity. If you prefer a neutral, or tonal, effect but don’t want white, cream or beige, then choosing a colour theme and making it analogous is a great solution. And you still get a designer effect.
#5 Bright Colours
Small room? Choose a bright colour and paint the floor and walls in the same colour. The connection between wall and floor is blurred giving the illusion of a bigger space. This is one of the more surprising ten commandments of colour.
#6 Colour Combinations
Cool or dark colours recede and warm or light colours come towards you. To make a small room appear bigger, don’t be afraid to use dark colours - such as black, indigo, chocolate, navy blue, dark green, deep purple, etc.
To make a large room feel cosier, use warm colours and even paint the ceiling a dark colour to make it appear lower.
#7 Add Black
Black toughens up a room especially when you’re also using pastel colours, such as pink. Adding a touch of black stops a pink room from feeling sickly sweet (unless it’s a bedroom for a young child) and gives structure and interest to other colours. Black injects sophistication and edginess that interiors often need.
Consider using black for window or picture frames, lamp bases, to trim cushions, as a coffee table, even as a textured rug under a dining table.
#8 Warm Up /Cool Down
Create warmth with red, orange and yellow (although not too much in a bedroom) and cool a room down with greens and blues to create a fresh palette.
Cooling blues and greens by Plush Design Interiors
Understand how much natural light enters a room and at what time of day. If your space faces the sun for most of the day adding more warmth with a warm colour may not be what you want. Conversely, if the space is on the cold side of your house with little sunlight, don’t use cool colours because the room will feel colder than you expect.
#9 Neutrals Are Good Too
You can create impact with neutrals but they don’t have to be white or beige. Consider warm golds, rich caramels, and relaxing pastels in green, pink, blue, mint and grey.
When creating an analogous colour scheme (using colours next to each other on the colour wheel) you will create a tonal effect . So you can still use colour in what is considered a neutral palette, not a riot of colour.
However, if you love a cream and mocha effect remember to add blonde textural wood, some metal, plants, and natural fibres to stop the space falling flat.
#10 Memories
Use colours from your past as inspiration. Live with what you love. Embrace colour that’s meaningful.
Grab HEAPS of cool ideas with colour and paint on our Pinterest board dedicated to Paint . Love living with colour by remembering the ten commandments of colour.
Looking for More?
We have other resources including our FREE digital magazine, Plush Homes (see links to all issues below), our sister business, Plush Design Renovations, which has a great renovation blog, and of course our own services. For a no-obligation chat, please contact us further.