Use of Colors in Interior Design

1. COLORS IN INTERIOR DESIGN
- Ar. Zunaira Khusro

2. Our environment is a world
of color, both natural and
manually manipulated.
Colors can be stimulating,
calming, expressive,
disturbing, impressionable,
cultural, exuberant, and
symbolic.
The most important functions of colors are to provide
visual and psychological information that generates
reactions from a viewer

3. Color is an important aspect of the design of interior
spaces.
We know that a well planned space can be enhanced by
using ‘appropriate’ colors.
An appropriate color for a space is relative and cannot be
prescribed

4. COLOR WHEEL
The color wheel provides a visual representation of which
colors blend nicely together.

5. BASIC COLORS
Primary Colors: Red, blue, and yellow. Cannot be made from mixing other
colors.
Secondary Colors: Orange, Purple, and Green. Can be made by mixing the
primary colors together.
Tertiary Colors: The six shades that can be made from mixing primary and
secondary colors.

6. To start we pick one color from the color wheel and it will
help narrow down the selections until we settle on the exact
shade that we want.

7. ADDING NEUTRALS
Once we have selected a basic color, it’s easy to create many
different versions within the same family.
All you need to do is combine that color with a neutral in order
to make it lighter or darker.
Tint: The act of lightening a
color by adding white to it.
Shade: The act of darkening a
color by adding black.
Tone: Slightly darkening a
color by adding gray.

8. UNDERSTANDING COLOR TEMPERATURE
When choosing color temperature for a space, you should
also consider the size.
Using a warm color in a tight room could make things feel a
little claustrophobic.
However, using cool colors in a spacious room could leave
things feeling stark.

9. The choice of warm or cool colors will affect the energy of the
space. Since warm colors tend to bring an upbeat and
welcoming feel to a room, they’re best in entertaining spaces.
Think about using these shades in your dining room or kitchen.
Cool colors, on the other hand, are more subdued. They work
best in bedrooms and office spaces, where a calming energy is
appreciated

10. RULE OF THREE
No matter what your personal aesthetic may be or what you
want your room to look like, you can use this rule to help make
sure that your color palette stays balanced.
In this setup, you’ll use three colors in the ratio of 60, 30 and 10.
The numbers refer to the percentages of your design that each
will make up.

11. Choose one shade to be your dominant shade and take up
approximately 60 percent of the room.
Usually, this will be a neutral or some type of subdued
hue that can take up a lot of space without feeling
overwhelming.
Next will be a secondary color, which is typically a bit bolder
and takes up about 30 percent of the space.
Finally, your accent color is the boldest shade and should
make up the remaining 10 percent.

12. Greige is the dominant color, on the walls and the sofa.
Black is the secondary color, on the bookshelf, side table, pillows
and dining chair and in the rug.
Coral is the accent shade, seen in the throw pillows and potted
plants.

13. COMPLIMENTARY COLOR SCHEME
Complimentary is the
simplest. It uses two colors
that sit opposite each other
on the color wheel.
Typically one color acts as
the dominant shade and
the other as an accent. This
means combinations like
red and green, blue and
orange, or yellow and
purple.

14. This color combination is extremely high contrast, so its best
used in small doses and when you want to draw attention to a
particular design element.
You could use it to make a small space pop or to bring extra
vibrancy to your home office.
When choosing a complimentary color scheme, neutrals
colors should be used to provide a place for the eye to rest
and keep you from becoming overwhelmed in the room.

15. SPLIT - COMPLIMENTARY COLOR SCHEME
First choose your base shade.
Then, instead of choosing the color directly opposite of your
base, you chose the two shades on either side of the opposite
color.
Those two shades will provide a much needed sense of balance
to the room.
You’ll still get the visual impact of bold color, but you’ll be able to
incorporate more of it instead of relying heavily on neutrals to
calm the space.

16. Split-complimentary works best when you use your base color as
the dominant. However, instead of choosing a saturated shade,
try to focus on a color that is more muted. Then, go bold with
your other two shades in the room’s accent pieces.

17. ANALOGOUS COLOR SCHEME
This scheme refers to using three
colors in a row on the color wheel.
Typically, two colors will be either
primary colors with the third shade
being a mix of the two and a
secondary color.
For example, you could choose red,
orange, and yellow or red, purple,
and blue

18. Again, the rule of 3 comes into play.
Choose one color to be the dominant shade, one to support
the dominant, and the third, most vibrant color as an accent.
You can also create a similar color scheme using neutrals. It’s
typically referred to as a monochromatic color scheme. Simply
choose black, white, and gray in lieu of brighter shades.

19. TRIADIC COLOR SCHEME
Triadic color scheme has set of three colors that are
equidistant from each other.
Four combinations of triadic color schemes are possible.
Triadic color scheme includes combination of both warm
and cool colors hence it is well balanced color scheme.

20. This scheme is often extremely bold, since the colors are in such
high contrast and pure hues are often used.
Best example is the children’s bedrooms or playroom areas.
When using colors that are this lively, it’s always important to
consider the spaces that are nearby, make sure that the rooms
next to your triadic space are calmer and mostly neutral.